Jim Carrey gets on my nerves. He can be a good actor, but he just seems like the guy at the party everyone edges away from as he gets progressively more manic in his attention-getting. But I saw something he’d Tweeted:
@JimCarrey The trble wth twtter is tht because of the device’s proximity, thoughts go out unprocessed, without contemplation or consideration. Blah ;^Q
Communications scholars think a lot about what a communication technology can do, and how that capability will affect its users and the messages they send. They think about the speed at which it sends your message. They think about the breadth of audience it can reach. They think about the senses you use in composing and in receiving the message.
But it never occurred to me whether it matters how close the technology is to you at all times.
And it’s an obvious, important thing to consider. It’s more specific than ease of use. It’s more specific than accessibility. It’s whether or not you have it in your pocket to use the instant you’ve got a dumb idea.
The coolest thing about social media and communication technologies are that they’re so equal-opportunity. They make us all geek out. We all turn into communication scholars. Who’d have predicted you could get a new concept of understanding communication technology… from the Claw?