I think web speak/netspeak is definitely having somewhat of an influence on our culture. One example that comes to mind is LOLCats which everyone knows as the funny cat pictures with captions. ‘Lol’ started out as an abbreviation for “laugh out loud” which indicates laughter in a text message or IM. Now, it has become part of our culture. There is also a popular rap song called “Lol :)”. Lol seems to be popping up everywhere in our culture. I have heard younger teenagers talking amongst themselves and they well say lol and omg. I think part of this is that teenagers and even adults text/email/IM so much that the abbreviations start to come out in normal conversation. I do think the web speak is more “talking” than writing because when you are texting someone a lot of people don’t consider it as writing. If my mom asks me if I have talked to my dad, even if I have just had a conversation through texting with him, I will say yes that I have talked to my dad. My friends and I also have our own abbreviations. For example, if we are talking about McDonald’s, in a text message we will use the abbreviation ‘mcds’. There are also a lot of other abbreviations we use to refer to different situations and sometimes our abbreviations do pop up when we are having conversations face to face.

The first thing I found interesting were the quotes at the beginning of Chapter 3 in our text book. The quotes illustrate how people feel about communicating face to face, over the phone and online. People favored face to face communication the most stating it is “much more personal; I enjoy it the best” (Baym, 50). People least favored internet communicating stating that they “really couldn’t get a strong sense of the person”. A lot of people liked communicating over the telephone, but still said it was not near as personal as communicating face to face. I would agree with all of these statements. I do enjoy talking on the phone with someone if I can’t meet up with them in person, but I am also more excited to see them in person.

The second thing I found interesting was Social Presence Theory which is a theory that describes how “interactants perceive one another” (Baymn, 52). Social Presence Theory deals with facial expressions, direction of gaze, fillers such as “uh huh” and body language. All of these things indicate social presence. I found this interesting because it directly applies to myself. Usually when I am retelling a story to someone, I do use hand gestures to enhance my story.

The third thing I found interesting was  the section on “flames” which are comments online that considered particularly argumentative or agressive. I have heard of flames before. I have also seen people make negative comments about certain things or people. On Facebook. you see people getting into it a lot. I personally feel they should pick up the phone and call each other or just meet face to face to discuss whatever problem they are having. As far as arguing with random people over the internet that you don’t even know, I feel that this is pointless because you will most likely never see the people. I am going to use my anger on people I actually know.

I have had experiences with non English languages on the Internet before. There have been times I have wanted to read stories and they end up being in a different language. I could very well translate what I’m trying to read, but I just skip over it and find something in English to read. I think this will be an issue in the future.

I think the main hope for CMC is that it will continue to make people’s lives easier. In some ways it does save time and money. With email and the internet, companies can send you paperless billing statements which is better for the environment and also saves you money on a stamp. One of the main fears with CMC is the whole trust issue. How do you know which websites are legit and also who to trust? One of the main things I think that is important to remember about it is that you do not give your credit card numbers out to just anyone. The only way I will type in my credit card number is if I am purchasing something online. I have Page Plus Cellular which is a pre paid phone service. To renew my minutes each month, I have to purchase them off their web site because Page Plus is not one of the main carriers that you can buy the cards for at Wal Mart or other retailers. I think the hopes and fears with the internet are well founded. There are pros and cons to everything. When Herring says that CMC tends to “slouch towards the ordinary” I think she is meaning that CMC has become an ordinary part of our daily lives. Most people now a days have cell phones and computers. It is also ordinary for online students like ourselves that have to have the internet as a way to do our school work.

According to the study, I am an “ambivalent networker”.  Ambivalent networkers make up 7% of the adult population. They are described as “adults heavily use mobile devices to connect with others and entertain themselves, but they don’t always like it when the cell phone rings” (Horrigan, 2009). I do not quite fit the demographic type. In the report it says the demographic is “primarily male (60%), they are young (late 20s) and ethnically diverse” (Horrigan, 2009). I am obviously a female and in my early twenties and I am definitely not ethnically diverse. However, I do fit this type perfectly. Ambivalent networkers are said to be avid texters. I text probably more than I call. Most of my friends usually just text me if they want to check in with me or see how I am doing. Usually, the only time I get phone calls is when it is something important. I can be having a casual conversation and send 3 page texts depending on what the topic is. I always hate it when my phone goes dead when I am out somewhere, especially if I am talking to someone important. I do have my days when I kind of take a break from my phone and internet to just relax and read  a book. When I have these days, I don’t text anybody back or answer calls because I am just in one of those solitary moods where I don’t want to deal with anyone. One side of it is that I love my phone and other technology, but I also think its good to take breaks from it.