How Xanga Influences Communication - Essay Example

How xanga influences communication I. Introduction The role of communication in modern society is significant. Communication is considered to be one of most important parts of social life around the world; however its forms tend to be differentiated in accordance with the local culture and the personal attitudes of people involved. On the other hand, communication can have many aspects and refer to a general influence by specific published material (media) or to active involvement in a two-or more-sides communication channel (like the chat rooms in Internet). In any case, communication should be regarded as very important for the development of society and the personal development of people around the world. However, as in all forms of social activities, communication should be based on specific criteria trying to avoid the development of relationships that may hide a risk for people participated. Xanga is considered as one of the most important ‘online communities’ around the world. Its importance is based on the fact that its site is accessed by an extremely high number of visitors on a daily basis. Taking into account the aspects of communication as presented above, we could come to the result that Xanga leads to the development of specific communication schemes and in this way it influences communication in accordance with the preferences of the public but also personal attitudes as they are presented and analyzed through the community’s site. II. Communication – aspects and characteristics Communication is an issue that has been extensively examined in the literature especially the last years when human relationships face significant difficulties. In this context, the parameters of a ‘proactive’ communication have been analyzed in order to identify the main aspects of interaction between human behaviour and communication. One of the most important results of this effort has been the conclusion that effective communication cannot be achieved without the active involvement of all participants while personal attitudes have been found to have a catalytic role. Towards this direction Butterfield et al. (1997) examined a particular aspect of communication named ‘Communication Apprehension’ and its influence on a specific part of life, the healthy diet. The above study can be used as an indicative example of the importance of communication on all human activities regardless their social or political character. Indeed, Butterfield et al. (1997, 244) noticed that ‘Communication Apprehension does not influence health behaviours which do not require communication (with the possible exception of diet) but only when the behaviour has a strong communication component (talking with physician, information seeking) does CA appear to play a role’. The above study refers to a specific part of human activities; however it can be used as an indicative example of the role of communication within modern life. On the other hand, because of the development of technology, people around the world can communicate easily even if not directly but through a series of especially formulated systems. Regarding this issue, it is supported by Ihator (2000, 38) that ‘globalization of business has created the need for international public relations practitioners to identify, study and understand the world views, mindsets, and habits of their global publics in order to effectively communicate; communication styles and meaning, as well as realities, as perceived by individuals are culturally induced’. In other words, communication has been alternated under the influence of technology in order to meet the increased needs of people around the world. If considering communication as an ‘international’ vehicle of developing human relationships we can understand its significant role in all human activities including commerce. However, in order to develop an appropriate communication scheme – that will serve the target described above – firms in the international market should differentiate their practices and their structures especially their human resources strategies. For this reason, Newman et al. (1996, 753) suggested that ‘the multinational enterprises need to adapt their management practices to the national cultures in which they operate in order to achieve high business performance; work units that are managed consistent with national cultural expectations will be better performing than work units whose management practices do not fit the national culture’. The above study refers specifically to the use of culture as a communication tool in order to improve the performance of the business within a particular country – in the international marketplace the above practice could be also applied in accordance with the ethics and the social structure of the country involved. A relatively new method of communication is through the WWW. The so called ‘computer-mediated communication’ has been extensively examined in the literature the last years because of the extremely quick expansion of this communication technique. Moreover, a series of contradicted assumptions have been made regarding the role of computer in communication. In accordance with the study of Walther (1996, 3) ‘recognizing that media sometimes facilitate communication that surpasses normal interpersonal levels could be characterized as a new perspective on "hyperpersonal" communication’. Other aspects of computer – mediated communication have been examined in the literature. In this context, Rice et al. (1987) tried to analyze and evaluate the phenomenon of public computer conferencing in relation with ‘two particular aspects of human communication: (1) content, the extent to which such systems can support socioemotional communication, and (2) connectivity, communication patterns among system users (1987, 85). The main results of their study have been the following ones: ‘(1) computer-mediated communication systems can facilitate a moderate exchange of socioemotional content and (2) basic network roles did not generally differ in percentage of socioemotional content’ (Rice et al., 1987, 85). In the above context, people can use CMC (computer-mediated communication) in order to retrieve information on other person’s attitudes and preferences, an issue that needs to be taken into consideration when designing plans for safety when surfing in the Internet. However, even under this condition, CMC still remains a significant ‘channel’ of communication for people internationally. Towards this direction, Walther (1992, 52) noticed that ‘communicators develop individuating impressions of others through accumulated CMC messages; based upon these impressions, users may develop relationships and express multidimensional relational messages through verbal or textual cues; predictions regarding these processes are suggested, and future research incorporating these points is urged’. On the other hand, communication through the Internet should be closely monitored by governmental authorities in order to prevent any possible harm of persons involved. The above assumption is supported by the fact that because communication through the Internet is easier and faster, CMC can be used as a basis for the creation of relationships that cannot be controlled as of their cause – especially for both parts involved. Moreover, the study of Postmes et al. (1998, 689) showed that ‘when communicators share a common social identity, they appear to be more susceptible to group influence, social attraction, stereotyping, gender typing, and discrimination in anonymous CMC. Although CMC gives us the opportunity to traverse social boundaries, paradoxically, it can also afford these boundaries greater power, especially when they define self- and group identity’. In other words, CMC can be controlled even if there are many chances for the people involved to put themselves in danger. In the long term, CMC has been proved to be valuable for the development of communication even if sometimes its forms are not the targeted or expected ones. One main reason for this outcome is the fact that people tend to be influenced differently by the events and the changes in a specific society even if they have common culture and social stereotypes. The role of media in this case is significant. Indeed, mass media can influence the views of people within a particular region (or even internationally) regarding a specific event. Towards this direction, the study of Straus (1996, 115) showed that ‘patterms of interaction and performance in computer-mediated groups do not depart substantially from face-to-face groups, although CMC may introduce new process losses’. The above results are in accordance with those revealed through the study of Markus (1987) who tried to examine the role of interactive media in the development of communication and found that interactive media have a series of advantages, like the following ones: ‘First, widespread usage creates universal access, a public good that individuals cannot be prevented from enjoying even if they have not contributed to it; second, use of interactive media entails reciprocal interdependence, in which earlier users are influenced by later users as well as vice versa; consequently, interactive media are extremely vulnerable to start-up problems and discontinuance’ (Markus, 1987, 481). The above results could be also supported using the views of Grill (2007) who stated that ‘Despite the limited information about key aspects of mass media interventions and the poor quality of the available primary research there is evidence that these channels of communication may have an important role in influencing the use of health care interventions’. The above study refers to a specific aspect of life, i.e. health, however the assumptions made can be considered as applied equally to other ‘sectors’ of daily life, like social interaction, personal and professional development and so on. The relation of media with communication is analyzed extensively because media is considered to be the main tool for the development of communication among people worldwide. In order to examine the effects of mass media in the formulation of human behaviour Ball-Rokeach (1976) used the ‘dependency model of media’. The above theoretical model is ‘presented as a theoretical alternative in which the nature of the tripartite audience-media-society relationship is assumed to most directly determine many of the effects that the media have on people and society while audience dependency is said to be high in societies in which the media serve many central information functions and in periods of rapid social change or pervasive social conflict’ (Ball – Rokeach, 1976, 3). Apart from the ‘dependency model of media’, as presented above other theoretical schemes have been formulated in order to explain the role of media in the development of communication (mainly through the influence on human behaviour and personal attitudes). Another theory referring to the above relationship is the ‘persuasive press inference’ which ‘suggests that people infer public opinion from their perceptions of the content of media coverage and their assumptions of the persuasive impact of that coverage on others’ (Gunther, 1998, 486). In order to evaluate the validity of the above theory and its appropriateness for the explanation of the interaction between media and human behaviour Gunther (1998) made a research in which ‘data were gathered in an experiment measuring participant responses to news stories on two current issues, each presented with either a favorable or unfavorable slant’ (1998, 486). The above research led to the following results: ‘people appear to estimate public opinion based on their own reading of press coverage—an indirect effect of mass media that can have significant consequenc’.(Gunther, 1998, 486). It seems from the above that media has a significant role on the development of a particular human behaviour regarding a specific issue. After studying the role of media from a sociocultural aspect, Newton (1999, 577) came to the result that ‘reading a broadsheet newspaper regularly is strongly associated with mobilization, while watching a lot of television has a weaker association of the same kind; tabloid newspapers and general television are not strongly associated with measures of media malaise; it seems to be the content of the media, rather than its form which is important’. In other words, media can affect human behaviour but in order for this influence to be completed it is necessary that people involved keep a close relation with media, i.e. they tend to use media in order to communicate or just be informed on social, political and financial changes around the world. From this aspect, the relationship developed through the years cannot be characterized as ‘communication’ but rather as a ‘one-side’ influence. III. Xanga and communication Xanga could be characterized as an ‘online community’ in which people can communicate in accordance with their interests, their culture and their attitudes. Regarding the above ‘community’ it is stated that ‘Xanga is a free Web-based service that hosts weblogs, photoblogs, videoblogs, audioblogs, and social networking profiles; each site is officially called a "Xanga Site," commonly referred to as a "Xanga"; the Xanga users themselves are often referred to as "Xangans." The sites are used largely by teenagers. Users are allowed to post any number of weblog entries per day, and may also customize how their Xanga looks using pre-made templates or custom HTML; Xanga sites are most commonly used as personal journals’ (Wikipedia, 2007). In accordance with another description of the above community, Xanga is ‘is one of the world’s biggest blogging platforms, with around 27 million users; the New York-based company launched in 1999 with a service that allowed users to share book and movie reviews; since then, it has morphed into a full-blown blogging platform, but the reviews feature is still a big part of the community; according to the Hitwise stats for June 2006, Xanga is the third biggest social network in the US, with 3.81% of the market - it’s particularly popular with teens’ (Mashable Networking News, 2006). The above descriptions of Xanga refer mostly to the site’s general provisions towards the public and avoid referring to its role in the development of communication worldwide. Indeed through the specific site, people around the world can exchange views, experiences and ideas while significant tools of developing a personal profile in the WWW are being offered. IV. Conclusion In accordance with the issues developed above, specific online communities, like Xanga, can influence communication in its current form. The development of technology can be considered to have the main responsibility for the interaction between media and communication however there are also other issues and events that can interact in the above described relationship. On the other hand, Xanga should be considered to be a well structured online community helping people to communicate across the world. Indeed, the tools for this communication are too many – as provided by Xanga to the public. Moreover, the examination of the community’s site proved that participants are – at least at a significant level – protected against any possible violation of their rights. However, because of the technology failure in many cases, it would be preferable to consider Xanga as an important ‘vehicle’ of communication internationally. Any possible additional influence or impact of this community on people’s communication should be regarded as rather useless or out of sense. Works Cited Ball-Rokeash, S., DeFleur, M. (1976) A Dependency Model of Mass-Media Effects, 3(1): 3-21 Butterfield, S.B., Chory, R., Beynon, W. (1997). Communication Apprehension and Health Communication and Behaviors. Communication Quarterly, 45(3), 235-247 Grilli, R. (2007) Mass media interventions: effects on health services utilisation. Medscape Today, available at http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/485263 Gunther, A. (1998) The Persuasive Press Inference. Communication Research, 25(5): 486-504 Ihator, A. (2000). Understanding the Cultural Patterns of the World -- an Imperative in Implementing Strategic International PR Programs. Public Relations Quarterly, 45(4): 38-47 Markus, L. (1987) Toward a ‘Critical Mass’ Theory of Interactive Media. Communication Research, 14(5): 491-511 Mashable networking news (2006) available at http://mashable.com/2006/08/13/xanga-profile/ Newton, K. (1999) Mass Media Effects: Mobilization or Media Malaise? British Journal of Political Science, 29: 577-599 Postmes, T., Spears, R., Lea, M. (1998) Breaching or Building Social Boundaries? Communication Research, 25(6): 689-715 Rice, R., Love, G. (1987) Electronic Emotion. Communication Research, 14(1): 85-108 Straus, S. (1996) Getting a Clue. Small Group Research, 27(1): 115-142 Walther, J. (1996) Computer-Mediated Communication. Communication Research, 23(1): 3-43 Walther, J. (1992) Interpersonal effects in Computer-Mediated Interaction. Communication Research, 19(1): 52-90 Wikipedia (2007) available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanga Read More