Back to the Roots? Emerging Communication Paradigms in the Context of Secondary Orality

Back to the roots? Emerging communication paradigms in the context of secondary orality Johanna Kollmann @johannakoll 30 October 2009

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sanjayausta/3345622099/ „ Orality is the base of all human experience.“ Lance Strate

http://www.flickr.com/photos/josemota/3610060819/ Walter Ong (1912 - 2003) „ After people learned to write, they continued to talk, probably more than ever – they had more to say. But they did not talk the same way .“

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sanjayausta/3345622099/ „ Orality is participatory, interactive, communal and focused on the present. The Web is all of these things .“ Irwin Chen

instantaneous

transcends the barriers of time and place

grounded in everyday life, empathic

facilitates development of communities

communal ownership of information

allows for knowledge to be preserved

stand alone texts, but potential for aggregation and linking material

Secondary Orality

have been evolving

from supporting written communication

towards enabling conversations

showing more and more characteristics of secondary orality

Digital communication tools

Changing interfaces of communication tools http://www.flickr.com/photos/taller/3873192274/

Changing interfaces of communication tools

Google Wave

„ Oral communication unites people in groups .“ Walter Ong http://www.flickr.com/photos/donncha/260452213/

„ Our age of secondary orality, because of its orality, makes us yearn for interpersonal relationships . “ Walter Ong http://www.flickr.com/photos//adamcharnock/3848547234/

Communication  Conversations  Collaboration http://www.flickr.com/photos//adamcharnock/3848547234/ Me  Us Yes, I care  Yes, I do

Thank you [email_address] [email_address] @johannakoll