Read You Me
I just read a very interesting article about flirting (thanks Aaron for the article). It states that "When you first meet new people, their initial impression of you will be based 55% on your appearance and body-language, 38% on your style of speaking and only 7% on what you actually say".
I don't think flirting is always between people who like one another. I think you could describe the way a charismatic politician speaks to an audience as flirting. Politicians of course need to have that amazing ability to captivate an audience. I am willing to venture and say it is not so much by what they are saying, but how they are saying it that earns them such adulation.
Granted, on our blogs, we are by no means flirting with people we adore, but there is something about keeping our readers' attention and making our actions seem genuine that we seek. On my blog, you are not able to see my subtle winks, or hear my sarcasm, or even see me put my hands on my hips. You have no idea how I intended the statement through inflection or facial expressions. The reader is forced to rely solely on the words I write. Is this affective enough? Are we missing something greater? Are vlogs the solution to this?
I don't think flirting is always between people who like one another. I think you could describe the way a charismatic politician speaks to an audience as flirting. Politicians of course need to have that amazing ability to captivate an audience. I am willing to venture and say it is not so much by what they are saying, but how they are saying it that earns them such adulation.
Granted, on our blogs, we are by no means flirting with people we adore, but there is something about keeping our readers' attention and making our actions seem genuine that we seek. On my blog, you are not able to see my subtle winks, or hear my sarcasm, or even see me put my hands on my hips. You have no idea how I intended the statement through inflection or facial expressions. The reader is forced to rely solely on the words I write. Is this affective enough? Are we missing something greater? Are vlogs the solution to this?
posted by Kathie Legg at 2:52 AM
11 Comments:
I think the tone of a good writer does often convey winks, sarcasm, eye-rolling. The problem with a video log is that physical appearance counts for, I think, too much. People assume so much, most unconsciously, from appearance. Even gender has huge effect on how people are seen. Men are seen as more authoritative, women as more emotional. Women are seen as more personable while people have an easier time seeing men as funny. I have liked having my appearance concealed with this experiment because I know I come across as under-confident in spoken word.
interesting. i would guess i come off better in person. So, what's good for one may not be good for another...
I think the potential is always greater to communicate--or flirt; I think that's a great way to describe it--in person, because we've evolved to use all of our senses when interacting with other people. I also think you're totally right that we generally attempt to do something similar when writing a blog--I know that I definitely use a lot more commas, parenthesis, and dashes when writing on a blog as opposed to a memo.
The really good writers certainly can communicate on the page almost as well as in person--James Wolcott certainly comes to mind--but I also find it to be somewhat draining to read such prose for a long time. I guess like just about everything else we've talked about in this class, it's a balancing act: keeping it interesting, trying to convey your personality, but also making things clear and concise.
I never thought of it as flirtatious, but now that you mention it, it's a pretty good analogy, for a certain type of provocative and engaging writing style. I believe Arianna Huffington does this. I think I have almost subconsciously tried to do this in some of my past writing, though I don't think I am doing it on my blog or comments - maybe I should try it - I might get more comments!
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On the subject of flirting, this cracked me up:
http://www.tremble.com/scribblins/000539.html
There's a lot of interesting stuff about MoSoSo and flirting:
MoSoSos Not So So-So.
yeah i saw that emi! Thanks! I must say though, i think dodgeball sucks. It's too much to ask a user to update where they are. But, it's articles like that in Wired that start the next big trends!
You say “Politicians of course need to have that amazing ability to captivate an audience”.
Charisma is what separates the great from the good. Can you win a US Senate race without charisma? But it takes charisma to be a true leader. Intellect and knowledge can make a great scholar, or bloger, but men follow courage and valor. Men will fight and die for a leader with charisma.
Hello K hie Legg, been looking for the latest info on attracting girls and found Read You Me. Though not exactly what I was searching for, it did get my attention. Interesting post, thanks for a great read.
Hi K hie Legg, Out surfing for information on art of seduction & happened upon your site. While Read You Me wasn't exactly spot on, it did strike a note with me. Thank you for the really good read.
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