On-line resources have become a hot consumer commodity. More and more people are getting on-line to browse the web or talk in chat rooms. In this article by Annette Markham, she tries to define computer-mediated communication. People think of it in many different terms so it is very difficult to understand what is exactly meant by computer-mediated communication. In her article, she thinks of computer-mediated communication as a tool, a place, or a way of organizing.
People use the same technology, but they experience it in different ways.
This article will help us understand other people's experiences on-line. This was a study done on CMU students in the late 80's and early 90's. The data from this study showed that the computer-mediated groups were less productive and experienced less satisfaction. One factor that could have caused this is the fact that group communication was slowed to typing speeds rather than talking speeds. There are many different forms of CMC, such as electronic mail, computer conferences, and online databases.