The article I discussed pertained to the idea of Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) and how forms of it compare to letter writing. I found the comparisons made to be interesting, yet a bit outdated considering the article was written in 2000. At that point, e-mail was not cutting-edge, but it was still fairly new for most Americans. It was important to take into account the year in which the piece was written, while giving my presentation. In today’s context even e-mails can seem a bit outdated and formal to adolescents. It was interesting to see the perspective that everyone had when it came to how they viewed letters versus e-mails. The overall consensus was that the major difference between e-mails and letters is the tone in which each piece is generally written. E-mails tend to be written in a hasty fashion, therefore they can sound more negative, while letters tend to be more thought out. This is simply due to the time it takes to write a letter and the effort that must be put in to buying postage and mailing it.
After discussing the main portion of the article, I showed some present-day statistics that pertained to the number of text messages, e-mails, and letters sent in the present. The numbers were informative and showed a steady decline in the number of letters sent per year and even that the number of e-mails sent per day in 2015 outnumbered the number of letters sent in the entirety of 2015. This fact was astonishing to me at first; however, once I took time to think, I realized I should not have been surprised at all. The internet has taken over the lives of almost all Americans in a matter of a decade. Without the internet, businesses would not function and life would be completely different than it is today. The invention of texting also significantly impacted the way in which people communicate. It created a new form of communication that allowed for shorter, less in-depth messages that conveyed important information in a way that could be considered quicker than e-mail. Almost ninety-percent of Americans text regularly, which shows that is imperative for business owners and others to keep up with the most updated form of CMC. Communication is an ever-changing practice and the form in which humans communicate also dictates how they communicate.
Eloquentia Perfecta 
November 25, 2016 at 9:47 pm
I agree with these remarks. It is very interesting to look at how written communication has developed over the past few years, but moreover, how rhetoric deviates from form to form. I believe a key example of this can be seen through text messages. These can be considered modern day letters, as they typically serve the same purpose. However, text messages only have to be comprised of one character. In contrast, today, it would be shocking if a letter, or even sometimes an email, were not at least a page long and discussed various topics. Beyond this, the lack of response of a text message in itself sends a message. In Medieval Times, it would have been common not to respond to a letter, because it was expensive to send a letter to a person, especially if they were not close by. Today, though, many people do not respond to text messages, and even use the lack of a response to convey the act of ignoring. This deviation marks a stark contrast in the use of written rhetoric between the past and today. I believe these topics and thought-provoking sentiments were beautifully articulated in your reading and discussion.
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November 30, 2016 at 2:36 am
In “Computer-Mediated Communication: The Letter of the Future,” Yates writes that letters and e-mails differ in that the former has much more time put into it and the latter often is rushed. The consequence of this difference in detail causes a letter to read as though it is much more prepared and “thought out” compared to an e-mail. Yet, this is exactly where the Yates shows its age. To write an e-mail today in many cases is a remarkably serious undertaking. For example, students write to their professors, and applicants apply for jobs all through e-mail. If the text is rife with spelling and formatting errors, the intended recipient may not even read the full message. Due to the sheer number of e-mails received a day, a Darwinian effect occurs where only the best e-mails are read and the lesser ones are trashed. Thus, in modernity, it is more imperative than ever before to compose e-mails with great care and deliberate intention. Rather than the e-mail, today it is the text message which is the fast and easy way to communicate. This is known through the prolific use of image macros, emoticons, and abbreviation in the medium. In conclusion, Yates’ article still rings true in many regards; however, truly his piece is outdated on the topic of the relationship of e-mail to the world of today.
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December 5, 2016 at 9:05 pm
Kevin, I completely agree with your comment and also found the article to be outdated; however, I found that the article gave a helpful perspective on how e-mails were viewed in the recent past. It was just in the past few years that text messages became so integral to our way of life. People can communicate quickly in a way that is much less formal than e-mails and does not require strong internet connect, just cell service. The invention of the cell phone completely transformed the way businesses run, families communicate, and friends stay in touch.
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December 7, 2016 at 8:53 pm
I thought that this article and your presentation were awe striking. I had not quite realized the extent to which communication is through technology. As Kevin mentioned above, the article is definitely out dated and lacks some of the newer types of communication. However, Maxwell’s presentation filled in these gaps by covering the modern day statistics. The article points out the difference in tone between letter writing and email writing (or now probably texting) and I agree with this point completely. I believe that the reason we send so many texts and emails, is because they can be short and casual. If i was to write a letter to my friend from home telling her about college, it would be much longer and more detailed and descriptive. But since we can text every day, I can send four words simply to say “That test was hard” and then she could ask why and I could answer, and the conversation could cover as much information as the letter but in a matter of 100 text messages. The discussion of writing in technology was extremely relatable and I think the whole class left the room with a deeper understanding.
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December 8, 2016 at 2:11 am
I think you make some really interesting points. You’re presentation really got me thinking about how in ten or fifteen years I bet texting will be obsolete and something new will take over the same way email took over letters and texts took over emails. Rhetoric is so interesting because of its malleability. It applies to so much, that no matter what direction expression moves in it will grow and change to adapt to fit that form. Rhetoric has been around since before Plato and I don’t believe it will ever go away because of the great importance it holds.
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December 13, 2016 at 8:15 pm
Even though this article was outdated, it got me thinking about communication technologies. Even before the internet and text messaging, telegraphs were used to send short messages quickly. Just like texting, telegraphs charged by the character. Today, emails are used as the more formal communication route. The article discusses how the easy of sending emails has impacted communication. Today, people are more likely to rant in text messages sent late at night than in an email. But, people are even less likely to send and angry letter by “snail mail”.
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December 15, 2016 at 4:41 am
This article was especially interesting because it was very clearly outdated, but it made me realize how emails seem to have taken the place of letters as a more formal way of communication that generally takes longer between sending and reply. Text messaging now is probably more analogous to how the author viewed emails at the time this was written. I know I put a lot of time into most of my emails, and they’re usually much longer than a text. Even if there isn’t much text in the actual body of the email, I usually attach an entire essay or news articles or a link to a digital photo album. It’s also interesting to consider the state of letters today. The physical mail I send is usually just short thank-you notes, and the letters I receive now are usually only a sentence or two long. People let the card or an attached image speak for them, and the messages they convey are usually very unimportant. If people want to tell me something important, or something they’re excited about, they email or text me. Letters have become nothing more than an inclusion in annual Christmas cards (to give a general summary of the year and obnoxiously show off to all the relatives and neighbors) or an empty message to say “happy birthday” that is meant to have more emotional weight because it costs money and is physical and slow.
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