Affordances of communication in technology: Instagram.

Affordances of communication in technology: Instagram

Instagram is a huge public social networking site that is only accessible through an app on a smartphone or tablet, which significantly affects the persuasion to buy certain products that aid this type of communication and social networking via the internet, which is a great marketing technique for companies that sell this kind of technology, for example Apple. It is great for the younger generation because a high proportion of young people possess a smartphone and/or a tablet, therefore this age group are more likely to use it, but nevertheless, it also encourages the older generation to buy new technology to be able to connect using this developed social networking app.

Instagram encorporates mixed mode, which include qualilites of speech and writing, as you can post pictures, videos and writing. This includes comments on posts and also private messages through 'Instagram direct'. This allows more personal types of messages with private pictures, but also messages that the person alows to be public. Commenting on photos can have constraints, because you may not always understand the exact tone of what the person is trying to say as you cannot make a judgement on their paralinguistical features, such as body language. However, emoticons allow you to comment using different faces that can allow the recipient to get a better understanding of what you are saying and what you mean when you comment or send a message. This makes it easier for the reader to acknowledge sarcasm, irony or even just a change in tone.

The picture on the left shows private communication through Instagram. As you can see, the user who has sent the message hasn't chosen to send a picture with the message, however this function allows you to send an unliminited amount of pictures and messages privately. The user has also send emoticons to express the emotion witgh the messagek, and you cab also see how long ago that the message was sent on the right hand side.

The picture on the right shows public communication through Instagram, and shows how writing, emoticons and links to other pages are used on one post. This is used by the process of 'tagging', which notifies another user to look at the particular post they are being directed to. The emoticons are used to express feelings and emotions that the commenter wants the recipient to understand, which is very effective.

Changes in Communication over Time - Research Task

Changes in Communication over Time 

Thanks to Martin Cooper, his first phone call will go down in history. The first ever phone call made. He made the call on a Motorola DynacTAC from New York, that marks the occasion of the 40th anniversary. 

It is extraordinary, that this phone was '9 inches tall, comprised 30 circuit boards, had a talk time of 35 minutes, and took 10 hours to recharge.' Well look how it has come on now, 40 years on, with the use of 3G and internet on our now called 'smartphones', the mobile phone industry truly has taken off. 

But still innovators are looking further at how our modern day smartphones can be advanced further. I don't quite understand how they can make them any smaller, or thinner, I mean it's mind boggling to think how small they are and what they are capable of. 

I seriously cannot comprehend what will happen within the next 40 years, and Dr Short says: "It's very difficult to predict 40 years' time because the pace of innovation is speeding up. I would say that we'll all be mobile, globally, everyone will be mobile." "I'd also say that we'll be connecting many more machines via wireless mobile technology as well."
I know I can't wait to see what the technology the future will bring us, many more fascinating and mind-blowing things, I would imagine.

Analysis of a transcript from a communication exercise. 03-11-14.

Transcript Extract

....

Sophie: so literally in the  middle of the page (.) are you ready?

Isabel:   [laughs] 

Sophie: oh my god, are you laughing at my spot? (0.5)

Isabel:   no! [laughs] that's on record! 

Sophie: okay, so in the middle of the page (.) there's a backwards 'C', and it's about (3) four centimetres long (1)

Isabel:  yeah (.)

Sophie: and where it ends (.) there's like (.) a 'C' the right way round, the same size, right (.) are you listening? 

Isabel: yeah [laughs]

Sophie: right (.) now in the middle of that... (2)

Isabel:  in the middle of what?

Sophie: in the middle of the 'C' you just drew (1) the backwards one (.)

Analysis

In the text the power of the two speakers is equal, because we are both similar ages and have equal status and respect for one another. However, because of the task, Sophie will speak more as she is describing what needs to be drawn and is instructing me, and therefore it requires longer amounts of time to speak. I am usually just back-channelling to show understanding or using an interrogative about the task, in which I am usually encouraging the speaker almost channelling 'underneath' Sophie as she speaks. This could be interpreted that she has more power, but because of our knowledge of the context, this is not the case.

There are a few timed pauses within the extract, usually when I am thinking about the instruction I have been given, or when Sophie is working out the spacing on the page or thinking about how she can explain the shapes to me to draw them effectively. Another timed pause in the transcript is when Sophie says: 'now in the middle of that', and this shows that I did not have the pragmatic understanding to follow on from the instruction and draw what she was about to explain, and therefore had to ask 'in the middle of what?'. This shows that we can be co-operative with one another and together can communicate strongly and effectively.

In the conversation, I do laugh regularly, particularly in this extract. This suggests that we are comfortable around one another and perhaps the context in relatively informal. In contrast, it could also suggest that I am more powerful, because I'm allowed to laugh when I like or when I feel it's appropriate however Sophie only laughs when it is acceptable for her to do so after I have laughed myself. It can be interpreted in different ways, however again, because of my knowledge of the context, I know that I am not more powerful.