Developing Shared Understandings Online

In the previous unit we discussed the importance of doing things with others. In this unit, we explore the notion of developing an affinity with, or empathy with, someone online (whether or not you have met them in a physical space before; that’s a crucial distinction).

Our relationships and interactions with people online will be different if we have known them and met with them in a physical environment. Developing a brand new relationship with someone online is more difficult.

Watch the following video and ask yourself the following questions:

• What are the key differences in forming relationships with people online who I have known previously compared to those I am meeting for the first time?
• How is an affinity with or for someone developed over time spent with them online?
• What does Clive mean by a ‘projected affinity’ and when is this important?

Communicating with someone that we know already is always going to be easier online than communicating with a complete stranger. Clive’s argument is that as we become familiar and comfortable with the online environment then its initially rather strange or uncomfortable effects begin to diminish (think about his analogy to the recording technologies in the group interview). In this respect, forging positive relationships with new people that we have not met before is probably more worrying beforehand than it is once that initial contact has been made and the ‘unfamiliarity’ of the space becomes less visible and obvious.

Experienced communicators online have planned for the opportunity for a shared understanding or affinity to be built with thousands of individuals, many of whom they will never meet personally or even know by name. Clive discusses the importance of this ‘projected affinity’. This will be particularly important if you are recording content that will be viewed asynchronously (i.e. not ‘live’).

In the fifth unit in this series of discussions with Clive we’ll be considering whether there are limits to the online interactions we can have with others.