Communication Gaps and Social Responsibility on the Web

Short text based communications on the web, or on a mobile devices can leave a lot to be desired as far as effectiveness of accurately communicating a message. Without a richer set of context clues, words can be misinterpreted and understood in ways the sender never intended. A recent NPR piece explores this problem, and the question of social responsibility on the web with the story of Twitter user “Thordora“.

NPR reports:

Alarm bells went off Sunday night for readers of a Twitter message by a woman known on the Web as Thordora. She writes a “mommy blog” — Spin Me I Pulsate — about the triumphs and tribulations of domesticity.

In a tweet, Thordora asked, “If I smother my 3 year old, who will NOT GO TO F****** SLEEP, is it REALLY a crime?”

Followers of Thordora’s blog know that she is bipolar. And that she feels burdened, overwhelmed at times. She is also quite sarcastic in her blog entries and Twitter messages, but as that tweet went out, there was genuine apprehension among her users/readers/followers/friends.

Over the next two hours, a new kind of Web story unfolded — including a real-world visit by police to check on the child’s safety — raising all kinds of questions and anxieties. Who is telling the truth and what can you believe in the echo chamber that is the Internet? What is the meaning of trust and loyalty in the Age of Twitter followers and Facebook friends? And what are the demands — and limitations — of social responsibility in this new world of social media?

NPR: “Social Responsibility And The Web: A Drama Unfolds”