Neil Olonoff wrote:
> Each virtual session was a separate 'thread,' and so you could read all
> the comments that had come before you. You wrote your response in a text
> entry box. Caucus feels quite a bit different from Lotus Notes, although
> it's difficult to explain the difference. It feels a bit 'warmer' perhaps
> because the text of previous messages and author names is easily
> scrollable. That's a weak explanation, but all I have at the moment.
>
> The conference was facilitated by the Metasystems Design Group who have
> long experience in this kind of thing. There was a peculiar sense that you
> were 'among friends' (or at least colleagues) on that conference. I
> commented to Rick that I feel more prone to 'ping-ponging' here on the LO
> listserve than I did in there. In other words, I feel more prone to
> argument and discussion, less prone to listening and reflecting. Neil
> Olonoff
I am also intruiged, Neil, by the different atmosphere created by
different conversation software tools. And I think the the Collaborate
'98 has s distinctly different quality that this, or other listservs. I
think anything that allows pictures, even the mimimal graphic Rick posted
here are few days ago, begins to warm the feeling up. I'm not sure why
but here's my guess:
The written word goes straight to a certain cognitive capacity
(oversimplification says "the left brain"), where analysis comes naturally
and fragmentation is never too far away. Pictures and colors, on the
other hand, are absolutely useless to the left brain, and must be
processed by the cognitive neighborhood where some of other processes you
might associate with warmth -- emotion, movement, synthesis, intuition,
etc. --also take place.(often called the right brain).
Right now, it seems to me that listservs are the stronger tool for
accessibility (not everyone goes to a web site, many more do check their
email) and for pur information-seeking. The richer, more multi-layered
environment of a Caucus, or Webboard, or Expressions Interaction Suite
(some of the better web conferencing out there) seems to offer more for a
group who are as interested in building a community (i.e. relationships
between users) as they are in simple knowledge acquisition.
Does anyone have more experience on how software seems to shape
conversational process? Is there a software out there that combines the
rich graphic capacities of HTML with the convenience and push of email?
--Marilee Taussig <mtaussig@netreach.net>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>