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Pre-web Technology, The Communal Table

Has anyone dined at a communal table? You know the scene. You're seated facing absolute strangers. This may sound awkward for some, engaging for others, or simply a matter of function and nothing to fuss about. Maybe, it really depends on how hungry you are. No matter which camp you find yourself in, it would make sense to lean on some pre-web technology skills. I mean, I’m sure you’re going to be as pleasant as possible while trying to enjoy a meal.

Harkening back to undergraduate linguistics, I recall the conversational maxims presented by Paul Grice in his highly regarded work, "Logic and Conversation". Applying this criterion for welcomed discourse at our hypothetical communal table (or no-tech social media platform), we succeed in breaking the ice, getting to learn about new people, and not being overwhelmed in the process (I really hope there’s some decent grub involved here). How does this relate to Web 2.0? Well, thanks for asking. We can also tie the maxims directly into social media as best practices for a community.

Conversational Maxims
Maxim of Quantity: Make your contribution as informative as required.
Maxim of Quality: Do not say what you believe to be false.
Maxim of Relation: Be relevant.
Maxim of Manner: Be brief, orderly, avoid ambiguity, and obscurity of expression.

Considering these maxims, prompted me to take another look at the multi-faceted honeycomb conceptual diagram offered up by Keitzman and company in "Social media? Get serious! Understanding the Functional Building Blocks of Social Media". I'm mostly drawn to the conversational facet and its implications on microblogging platforms, as Keitzman shows us that conversation is explicitly tied to ‘conversation velocity’: the rate and direction of change in a conversation. The rate of change is the number of new conversations over a specified period of time, and the direction of change is the continuity-discontinuity of the conversation.

I can’t help but think how Grice's conversational principles and Keitzman's conversational facet have implications for positive cooperative engagement and reinforcement of message continuity. Whether situated in a community based on a brand building loyalty among it's users or a community of practice working on mutual goals, digital exchanges that meet the Gricean criterion would establish value in the message.

References
Chapman, S. (2008). Paul Grice, philosopher and linguist. Besingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Kietzmann, J. H., Hermkens, K., Mccarthy, I. P., & Silvestre, B. S. (2011). Social media? Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media. Business Horizons, 54(3), 241-251. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01.005

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