Does more talking mean better communicating?

Has the rise in different methods and means to communicate led to better understanding, more awareness, better conversations?

Quantity does not equal quality.

The key to communicating is talking and listening. We are all getting better at talking on the web, at promoting ourselves and distributing the details of our lives [irony noted], but are we getting better at listening?

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Context: ruminations on social networks…

Social networking is still in its infancy, all of us, users and business alike, are still figuring it out. It is tricky to replicate the intricate social networks that we all navigate in our lives, weaving through the natural ebb and flow of all our relationships and changing mix of work, school and other social ties.

Facebook is hot right now, but it is not the end.

The list of past and current social networks are too many, and have happened over a surprisingly short period of time, to draw any final conclusions over what will win out.

But what trends have emerged?

Control
People want more control, more flexibility, more ability to tailor their online persona.

Integration
Have we reached the day yet where we stop referring to the “online” and “offline” lives, as if they are still seperate things? At the end of the day, all we are doing is looking for ways to better our complete lives.

Acceptance
While accepted in social settings, are we accepting of using these same networks for business use? Has it reached the mass market yet? While we have yet to saturate the population, generational change and the aging of the early Internet adopters will lead to widespread acceptance, sooner rather than later.

Trust
As we lose trust in the network, we stop using the network, or stop communicating using that method. Phone, mail, email all have their own problems with unwanted mail, messages coming from people we do not want to hear from. Texting, IM and social networks have yet to encounter serious problems with spam, but the day will come. The real question: is there a solution to fight spam?

Think: why do you use the communication tool you use?