tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974492.post850115556015926512..comments2024-03-28T18:54:13.800-04:00Comments on alien romances: I Love Web 2.0Rowena Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974492.post-71408637619507037732008-11-13T11:46:00.000-05:002008-11-13T11:46:00.000-05:00On BODY LANGUAGE:Well, some people are more adept ...On BODY LANGUAGE:<BR/><BR/>Well, some people are more adept at using it to mask their true selves, some people are less adept at reading it properly. <BR/><BR/>Yes, I rely on it a lot for subtext and subliminal clues, but if you DELETE BODY LANGUAGE, AND TONE OF VOICE, which can be "noise" you may hear the "signal" better.<BR/><BR/>Then again, you might not. <BR/><BR/>There's the challenge to writers, you see. And yes Margaret's post nails the counter-argument.<BR/><BR/>Remember, the essence of story is conflict and the internal conflict mirrors what's happening in the external world (which happens in reality sometimes, but is the signature of Art -- symmetry, composition, etc) -- and we are in a world fighting the battle Marion Zimmer Bradley explored in the Darkover Series -- technology vs Magic. <BR/><BR/>Right now, the battle lines are drawn along generations -- people who grew up "playing" online and grabbing for the next best cell phone vs people who once defied authority by using ball point pens in school. <BR/><BR/>People born in the late 1980's process information differently and their brains adapted and wired themselves differently.<BR/><BR/>Older people can change, but don't want to and don't enjoy it and don't see the point. Younger people LOVE the sensation of their brains adjusting to some new action-response process (such as playing harder faster computer games). <BR/><BR/>Some older people (I knew Robert A. Heinlein when he was very old and he still had a YOUNG brain and a young attitude) love that sensation of brain development too. <BR/><BR/>So the gap is blurred and smeared, but it is there, and it is one reason Obama won. He mobilized younger people via the web, people who want to change the world into something more amenable to their online lifestyle. <BR/><BR/>And there are more of them than there are older people - and that disparity of numbers will grow.<BR/><BR/>In a majority rule world, minorities have to give up. Don't they? <BR/><BR/>Jacqueline Lichtenberg<BR/>http://www.simegen.com/jl/Jacqueline Lichtenberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01613040740264804278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974492.post-84730109165439861432008-11-13T11:35:00.000-05:002008-11-13T11:35:00.000-05:00Actually, the social networks that arrange a mailb...Actually, the social networks that arrange a mailbox for you actually SEND the real mail to your email box you sign in with. <BR/><BR/>So net-net it's no change in your behavior. But only people who belong to that particular social network can send you email. Thus (so far) you end up signing up for a whole bunch.<BR/><BR/>That won't last. Change is happening fast, and since most of these facilities are advertising supported and advertising is going to tank during this recession (it always does, but more-so this time) many of these sites will disappear.<BR/><BR/>That's the other problem -- you can depend on yourself, but NOT on tools supplied online. <BR/><BR/>Yes it's a complicated world. Real tech sophistication is marked by extreme simplicity. <BR/><BR/>That's a Worldbuilding principle.<BR/><BR/>Jacqueline Lichtenberg<BR/>http://www.simegen.com/jl/Jacqueline Lichtenberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01613040740264804278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974492.post-58667532974833002432008-11-13T11:32:00.000-05:002008-11-13T11:32:00.000-05:00I forgot to mention texting and IM. Good grief. Th...I forgot to mention texting and IM. Good grief. They combine the disadvantages of online activity (dubiously reliable in operation) with the disadvantages of phone calls (people pestering each other in real time). I also meant to ask a question about online relationships: I've seen the point made that in e-mail and texting one doesn't get the body language cues that contribute so much to understanding in face-to-face communication. Emoticons provide only an imperfect substitute for body language. Do you think the other qualities of online communication outweigh or somehow compensate for this disadvantage?Margaret Carterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08293021955480708191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974492.post-79331121986281240502008-11-13T11:26:00.000-05:002008-11-13T11:26:00.000-05:00Until I'd posted my entry for today, I didn't noti...Until I'd posted my entry for today, I didn't notice how it fits with (as a counter to) Jacqueline's post! I admit I'm more in the "dragged kicking and screaming" camp where innovation is concerned. Once I've found something that works for me, I don't want to go to the trouble of changing it. Not unless I'm shown a very clear advantage. For instance, I don't need a new computer every few years. My husband, OTOH, does, because the games he plays keep demanding more powerful machines to play on.<BR/><BR/>Meanwhile, the Web frustrates me by continual upgrading so that eventually I have to accept a new computer whether I want to or not, just to be able to visit websites. (Praise to the designers who include an alternative version as a feature to accommodate older browsers.)<BR/><BR/>I resisted the idea of e-mail at first. I couldn't grasp why anybody wanted a mode of communication in between letters and phone calls. Once I started using e-mail, I got the point. It's like a phone call, except the other person doesn't have to be home, and you don't have to worry about interrupting her. It's like a short letter, but faster; also, some people who never answer their mail may actually respond to e-mail. Cool!<BR/><BR/>But, no, I don't want to bog down my computer time with visiting multiple social networking sites. I belong to MySpace but haven't done anything with it so far except accumulate friends. And I certainly wouldn't want services like that to replace e-mail. I always protest at any suggestion that a list I subscribe to be replaced by a bulletin board. I never remember to visit bulletin boards. (Heck, some weeks remembering to do the minimum chores necessary to get through the day is a stretch for me.) E-mail lists land in my in-box automatically. (I keep them all on digest to make them manageable.)Margaret Carterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08293021955480708191noreply@blogger.com