Concept 1

Email is clearly one of the best examples of asynchronous communication, as discussed in Module 2, Concept 1 - Asynchronocity. This is primarily due to the fact that you can send an email to someone, even though their computer may be switched off and their internet disconnected, yet when they do eventually access their inbox, they will still receive your email.

Here is an excellent example of how email is an asynchronous form of communication, it can be seen by visiting: http://www.futureme.org/index.php. Here, you are able to email yourself in the future. What better way to demonstrate emails' independancy, in that interactions with another person don't require us to be online at the same time or location.

To communicate effectively on the internet, it is important to recognise that tools, such as email, can offer us greater flexibility, allowing us benefits such as time to think and reflect before we respond, as opposed to a face to face interaction. It allows us to manage our time better, to prioritize what we read and write, to some extent, it can even foster more honest communication, as Piotr Wozniak states:

"Remove emotional pressure: People find it easier to tell the truth via e-mail. Difficult pieces can be mulled over and shaped in the least painful manner without affecting the core message. It is easier to refuse. It is easier to withstand a mental pressure imposed by others. It is easier to minimize the hurt to the other person's feelings while being unmoved in one's stand. "
Wozniak, Piotr. "E-mail, incremental reading, creativity, and time-management." 2004.http://www.supermemo.com/articles/e-mail.htm (accessed March 18, 2007).

and also stated here by John Suler:

"In e-mail and message boards, communication is asynchronous. People don't interact with each other in real time. Others may take minutes, hours, days, or even months to reply to something you say. Not having to deal with someone's immediate reaction can be disinhibiting. In real life, it would be like saying something to someone, magically suspending time before that person can reply, and then returning to the conversation when you're willing and able to hear the response. Immediate, real-time feedback from others tends to have a very powerful effect on the ongoing flow of how much people reveal about themselves. In e-mail and message boards, where there are delays in that feedback, people's train of thought may progress more steadily and quickly towards deeper expressions of what they are thinking and feeling." Suler, J. "The Psychology of Cyberspace,The Online Disinhibition Effect." June 01, 2002.http://www.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/disinhibit.html#anonymity (accessed March 18, 2007).

If we want to become more effective when using tools such as email, it also important to recognise the appropriateness of it's use. To do this we need to consider not just it's benefits, but also some of it's disadvantages, which can in themselves assist us in communicating more effectively. From a asynchronous perspective, we need to be aware that for anything urgent or that requires immediate attention, some other form of communication should be used:

"No immediate feedback: You know little of if your message has been received. Your curiosity as to the answer is not instantly satisfied."
Wozniak, Piotr. "E-mail, incremental reading, creativity, and time-management." 2004.http://www.supermemo.com/articles/e-mail.htm (accessed March 18, 2007).

For example, if I was catching a flight today and wanted to confirm it's departure, I would'nt email the airline with my query. Alternatively, if I did this two weeks prior to departure then I would have allowed myself a reasonable timeframe to expect a response. Being aware of emails' asynchronous nature, as a communication tool, helps us to determine in what circumstances it should and should not be used.


Web Resources:

Suler, J. "The Psychology of Cyberspace,The Online Disinhibition Effect." June 01, 2002.http://www.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/disinhibit.html#anonymity (accessed March 18, 2007).

Wozniak, Piotr. "E-mail, incremental reading, creativity, and time-management." 2004.http://www.supermemo.com/articles/e-mail.htm (accessed March 18, 2007).

Rettie, Ruth. "Optimizing Connection: Marketing on Instant Messenger ." http://www.kingston.ac.uk/~ku03468/docs/Optimizing%20Connection,%20Marketing%20on%20Instant%20Messenger.doc (accessed March 18, 2007).

Lipschultz, Wesley. "What Can and Should We Do with E-mail? An Outline for a Systematic Approach ." January 01, 1999.http://www.psu.edu/dus/mentor/990101wl.htm (accessed March 18, 2007).