For AIM, the main categories that away messages fall under are:
- Denotative - stating the obvious (say, for example, that you put your away message as "gone to the store.")
- Connotative - stating something with a subjective meaning (such as "in class, shoot me now!" The reader of your away message can then interpret this as saying that you don't want to be in class.)
This brings me to another thing: if someone logs on and automatically reverts to an away message, why are they even on in the first place? Baron says this is because the person wants to have control over who they speak to, which I think is true. I remember when I used to log on to AIM constantly (this was a few years back), I would sometimes just put an away message even though I was not busy and available to talk. This enabled me to choose who I wished to speak to, and ignore those that I didn't. Again, the keyword is control.
Besides AIM, Baron also took a crack at Facebook (back in its infant years); back to when you had to be either a high school or college student to create an FB account (because it required you to give your .edu email address).
First off, let me begin by going on a mini-FB rant: what is the point of having hundreds or even thousands of friends? Do you really talk to them constantly, or is it more like a once-in-a-blue-moon kind of thing? Wouldn't you rather have a small list of friends, but know them completely, as opposed to thousands of friends whom you speak with every few months, or worse, never? What about getting friend requests from total strangers? Now personally, in FB I've gotten a lot of friend requests from people I've never met, but they send me a request because we have a mutual friend. I usually end up denying the requests mainly because I don't know the person! I prefer to have an offline connection with a friend/mutual acquaintance first, and then have them connected via social networks. I mean, what if the person turns out to not be who they said they were? There are some pretty crazy people out there - always be safe! Sometimes, I feel as if FB is a popularity contest, just like Baron noted, "what matters is that they [friends on FB] pile up." Don't even get me started on "poking". Don't poke me, better yet, send me an FB message, or if you have my number, send me a text!
In all, Facebook allows its users to be in charge of how they wish others to view them, and even who has the privilege to see their profiles.Most FB users wish for others to see them as socially desirable and easy to approach ("popular, well-rounded, thoughtful, etc." as Zhao et al. notes in their article, "Identity Construction on Facebook"). Many people do this by adding specific information about themselves in their profiles, such as pictures with friends on a night out, or the various countries they've visited or wish to visit one day. They can also select what kind of music, books, TV shows, and music they prefer.
What do you think? Do you agree with Baron and Zhao et al.'s comments? What's your take on AIM away messages? Did you create your own or did you use the default one? How often did you put your "away" status, and were you really away at that time? If you have [or had] FB or any other social media platform, is there a specific selection process you use[d] when approving friend requests?
I agree with what Baron states in her book, it is al, about control. I never had aol and I do not have facebook, but I dihfd have IM chat from Yahoo and I was able to control who I spoke to. There are just those days where you just do not feel like talking to a specific person, there's nothing wrong with that. But, I have come to realize that we not only do these things with online chats or social media sites. As we have discussed in class we do it through text, when we just don't respond and/or ignore a phone call. But, we also do it outside of our "controlled" enviornments. For example, if we are walking down a street and see someone who we are not in a mood to talk to we make U-turn or walk pass the hoping they did not see us. Although we cannot control the fact that they are present, we can take control over the situation with the choices we make. I think it's pretty much part of our human nature and we apply those patterns in everything we do, whether it be through media or personally.
ReplyDeleteIt is important for us to feel important; to feel that we are being paid attention to. This constant use of social media allows us to get that attention one way or another as we able to expand our social circles to the world. With Facebook, I only add people that I am or used to be friends with. But I have some friends that add whoever adds them and they end up with thousands of random friends that they will probably never meet, either because of the geographical difference or because they will have never spoken to each other despite the fact that they are friends on Facebook. That small number beneath our name or our photos means so much to us because we think that it quantifies our importance.
ReplyDeleteI remember a professor of mine a few years ago commented on the influence of numbers on Facebook when she recounted the story of her twelve-year-old son being extremely happy when he came home from summer camp. When she inquired of the reason for his happiness he responded, “I made 15 new Facebook friends.” We have and develop (or reduce) our worth based this number that does not mean really anything but we somehow give a meaning and a gauge to determine our significance in this world. We post certain statuses and pictures, compete for followers on twitter just to gain in this intangible, seemingly arbitrary number to define us.
And it is for that reason, that incessant need to feel important, admired, envied or otherwise, that we put a lot of time in constructing who are and how we want other people to perceive us on the internet. Constructing our identity on the internet is equivalent to what corporations do with their businesses in advertising. We advertise ourselves because we want people to want us. We want them to stop and use their precious commodity, in this case their time, on us. We want to be the center of their attention, at least for a moment, among our friends. It makes sense that Facebook was created in America because it is a capitalist society and capitalism loves marketing and competition. Because advertising is so ubiquitous and omni-present it becomes second-nature to market ourselves. We have learn to readily adapt and creatively market ourselves on the internet so that others in our social circles will take the time to look through our photos (Facebook-stalk us) and read the posts on our walls. And we all like it. We like to be in the spotlight even if we do not know if our friends are taking the time to pay attention to us, there is that hope and the possibility that they are and that is exactly why we continuously and consistently portray our best selves on the internet.
I think away message on AIM and “status” on Facebook are similar. People use them to express themselves. However, On AIM, the away message is originally used to tell people that the user is not available; the user will not be able to respond right away, however, some people use the away message as the way to present themselves. Laura asked “if someone logs on and automatically reverts to an away message, why are they even on in the first place?” The answer would be what I say before which is to let people know the user’s thoughts and feelings instead of really telling people that I would like to chat and “I will be right back”.
ReplyDeleteOn AIM, only the away message is available to present oneself. Yet, on Facebook, people can present themselves in various ways. Besides posting the status, the users are allowed to share their educational background, working history, family, and nationality. People will be able to create a mini biography about them.
In Zhao, Grasmuck, & Martin’s article, they mentioned the difference between anonymity and nonymous environment. I do agree them. When people perform tasks anonymously, they do not have to worry others will release they lie. Therefore, they can exaggerate a little bit while if they present themselves by their real name, they actually need to be careful when they are creating their own biography. When I post and share stuff on Facebook, I have to be careful since I am using my real identity.
One may not retain to his or her original identity forever. The identity may changes according to the interaction the person has during lives.In Norton & Toohey’s article, they talk about immigration. What came up in my mind was that when people immigrate to another country and have interaction with local people frequently, they may start have the feeling of identity changes.
In general all we see is what we get. When we turn on the television or are reading Facebook post, people only show the side that they want to portray. I agree that “people consciously or unconsciously present themselves to others as if they were actors on a stage.” Not only is it true but it is also sad to think that many of us hide or stay away from the truth. The approval or satisfaction people seek in having amounts of friends on Facebook, I feel is just a medium to test things to reality. What I mean is that if you have thousands of friends on Facebook and you try to know them through Facebook you can’t necessarily tell if they are really going to be there for you until something serious happens and you announce it. You may have long conversations on AIM or Facebook with someone but until you don’t meet them in real life you won’t know if that person is who he or she says they are. So, this so called “acting” on CMC is just a test for real life.
ReplyDeleteTo add to your rant on Facebook, I think many people choose to have large amounts of friend for two main reasons. They want to stay connected to different networks of people because they may get different opportunities. They easily connect to their friends and family overseas at less cost, anywhere, anytime. The only reason why someone may have many friends and use Facebook is to show off, then they may not use their connections to its fullest. For example, kids don’t know how to use Facebook, so they only consider having large amounts of friends.
AIM away messages were not useful to me because it is just a way to show people you are not really using AIM. Having an automatic away message sometimes means that you are not available, although you are choosing not to close the application. If you are not available or away you should close and sign off. When you’re available you should sign in and IM, otherwise it means that you want to control who you speak to. Honestly, if you can’t talk to certain people just let them know with an away message. I never had my away messages sent because if I couldn’t talk I would send you a message saying I cant talk. The only scenario I see that someone may have an away message as a default would be if that person gets tons of messages everyday.
If you send me a Facebook friend request and I don’t know you at all or have any mutual friends then don’t expect me to accept your friend request. If you are an acquaintance maybe I will accept because we are trying to get to know each other and there is a little bit of history in our relationship.