Week 16 Discussion #2

Review the Observation of an Outside Group project. What did you find useful/not useful? Did you like this project? Why/why not? Why did you choose the group you observed for this project? In short, briefly introduce your project to the members of the class, and discuss its usefulness, frustrations, etc.... (I expect for most, that the answer to this question will be quite long - go ahead and make it as long as you'd like).
In this assignment, I observed an organization called Aiesic. Once every other week, they discuss about world issued and opportunities to intern in foreign countries. The reason I chose to analyze this group was because a friend highly recommended it. It did not hurt that he has been a member of the group for three years. I thought it would be interesting to hear other people offer their opinions on the current world news. The thing I found useful was learning about the Aiesic organizations throughout the world. There are many chapters in the California area as well. A group like this consists of diverse individuals which make it unique. The people from certain parts of the country have great knowledge on news from their hometown. When I listened in on one of the discussion, a member from Taiwan had strong opinions of the conflict between his place and China. I realized that a diverse group of people offer interesting insight based from their culture. It results in an engaging and enlightening discussion on important news stories. The best thing about it was how people split into small groups to talk about a particular topic. In the end, everyone would come together and each leader summarizes the main points of their discussion. I felt that the organization of the meeting was effective in a large group environment. The leaders allowed everyone the chance to contribute in the conversations. As a result, there were no frustrations from observing the small group. All members got along well since they have been together for the last few years.
I enjoyed this project since I got to understand more on how the small group process works. It was a great change of pace from participating in a group to just witnessing a weekly meeting. I was also able to learn some good fundamentals in order to have an effective group. Maybe in future group projects, I will implement the useful skills necessary for success.

Week 16 Discussion 2

How does CMC differ from f2f communication? (Think outside the box).
CMC, which stands for “Computer Mediated Communication”, involves using media like video, audio, and text messages for communication purposes. One can communicate by using technology related objects. Face to face communication is where people talk in a real life setting. A person can understand the content, recognize the vocal tone, gestures, and can see one’s facial expressions. Many people are becoming used to using social networks like facebook, twitter, and My Space. It is a good way to keep up with good friends and classmates, but not conducive in meeting new friends. In a sense, the dialogue between two people is shielded from a computer. They can type anything they want, but the viewer cannot tell if it is what the sender truly meant. For example, the things they type on the computer might not characterize their true selves. As more people become used to text messaging, they might not feel the need to communicate face to face anymore.
Computer Mediated Communication does help when I do not have time to chat with people during the week. It is convenient to ask each other about one’s day via computer. Overall, I prefer face to face communication where I would truly know more about the other person. I like to see how people react or actually respond to things I say. By seeing other’s true emotions, I will get a sense of how they truly feel. From reading lol’s or emoticons, I don’t really enjoy it as much compared to hearing real laughter.

Week 16 Number 3 on concept that needs further discussion

The concept I that I thought needs further discussion was Social presence. It “is the perception among participants that the communication medium facilitates the development of social-emotional-relational communication and shared meaning among group members (Harris & Sherblom, 301).” People believe they could find how dedicated the person is towards group communication. It involves the various tasks and discussion that occurs within the medium. Individuals can tell the feelings from the particular person. From a normal meeting, we can find out fellow member’s emotional reactions to certain ideas. If their facial cues show differently than their response, it is obvious that they disapprove the decision. More ideas are exchanged between group members in a face to face meeting.
When communication involves text, it is difficult to find more about other members. It would be hard to tell what they truly think about the discussion topic. One can listen to their voice, but not see their nonverbal expressions. There are instances where you can’t tell if the other person is comfortable, attentive, and relaxed. From reading messages, an individual won’t be able to hear the pitch, volume, or projection of the other’s voice. Most people prefer posting on message boards or blogs because they fear others listening to their speech. There is the sentiment that they enjoy typing more than communicating in real life situations. By talking face to face, an individual will get to know more about other’s mannerisms and understand who they truly are.