Communication in the 21st C

Nigel Gibson

We’re going to….• Look at what we mean by “communication”• Look at how it’s used• Look at how it’s changed

What is it?• Communication is a process that allows “things” to exchange

information. Exchange requires feedback. • The word communication is also used in the context where little or

no feedback is expected such as broadcasting, or where the feedback may be delayed as the sender or receiver use different methods, technologies, timing and means for feedback.

• Thus communication can be synchronous or asynchronous

It needs• Effective communication needs three things:

– A sender– A receiver– A medium to carry the message

• And the message!

English?Whan that Aprille, with his shoures soote

The droghte of March hath perced to the roote

And bathed every veyne in swich licour,

Of which vertu engendred is the flour;

This is “Middle English” circa 14th C

EnglishWhen in April the sweet showers fall

That pierce March's drought to the root and all

And bathed every vein in liquor that has power

To generate therein and sire the flower;

Eeek!• wen n Apr d swEt shwrs fll • Tht stab Mrchs drought 2 d root n all• n bthd evry vein n :-pr dat hs pwr • 2 gNR8 der n sire d @}-;

Have to bung this geezer in• Queen. Thanks, Guildenstern and gentle

Rosencrantz;And I beseech you instantly to visit my too much changed son. Go, some of you, and bring these gentlemen where Hamlet is.

• Guil. Heavens make our presence, and ourpractices pleasant and helpful to him!

• Queen. Ay, amen!

To be honest• 0s and 1s make more sense!

Or pictures

• The cast-aside clogs are a gesture of respect for the wedding ceremony and also show that this event is taking place on holy ground

• The contrast between red and green, which appear side by side in the painting, suggest the coming together of opposites

• The mirror may represent the eye of God observing the vows of the wedding.

• A spotless mirror was also a symbol of Mary, referring to the Holy Virgin’s immaculate conception and purity

The Arnolfini Portrait Jan van Eyck 1434

A problem• In 1763 the Duke of Bridgewater’s canal opened

between his mines at Worsley Delph and the centre of Manchester

• Boats were crewed by families and often they were the people who first dug the canals – the “navvies”, short for navigators

• Many canals run through countryside so mobile phones didn’t work so how to keep in touch with friends and family on other boats?

Solution • Next to pubs and at junctions and locks and some bridges on the

canal network there were boards or posts• People would pin messages on the board and identify the

people/boat it was for• Of course anyone could read it if they chose• The recipient might read it (or have it read to them – literacy was

low so the local publican might have to read and write messages on behalf of the boat dwellers)

• Replies might be added to the message and it would be reposted to wait for the other boat to pass on the return trip

Sound familiar?• Of course the same idea is still in use in the digital

world• Facebook has The Wall, blogs allow comments• Wikipedia is based entirely on postings by users• This is asynchronous communication

Where next?

This bloke is worth listening to – more of him in a moment

How we communicate now

Think• The number of text messages sent every day exceeds

the population of the planet• It is estimated that 40 exabytes (4 x 1019) of information

will be created this year – more than was created over the last 5,000 years

How we communicate now• Quickly!• On a number of different media at the same time• And what we say is often persistent – it’ll be around for

a very, very long time

How will we communicate in future?

Who knows?Who knows?But you can help decide…But you can help decide…

If ingenious games designers can inspire thousands of people to collaborate to solve a puzzle, could we do something similar to tackle global warming, keep communities safe, provide support for the elderly, help disaster victims, lend and borrow money, conduct political and policy debates, teach and learn, design and make physical products?

Any questions?• Thank you