Symposium on the Evolution of Communication

December 3, 2007 - December 5, 2007
NMC's Virtual Conference Center (Second Life) hosted by NMC

The NMC Symposium on the Evolution of Communication explored the premise that technology has not only mediated communication in countless ways, but that the very ways we communicate—and even the ways we talk and think about communication—are changing as a result. A white paper on the topic has been released to help inform the topic and to generate discussion

Part of this premise is backward looking, in the sense that if we set literature and the creative side of communication aside for a moment, the formal communication strategies we have been taught in schools were often focused on how to convey lots of ideas or information (at relatively infrequent intervals) and generally in the form of written papers, books, or compilations.

Added to and fueling the premise is an admittedly unscientific assessment of how we have added to those forms in recent years. A look in almost any direction will reveal patterns of communication very different than the traditional writing in which we were trained. Small bursts of information, technology-mediated for the most part, permeate our experiences, and increasingly we have people with whom we are in contact almost constantly—and more so every day, these people are scattered across the globe.

Mediated by new tools and new technologies that have made the marginal cost of long distance communication essentially free, both work and social activities are commonly shared by groups of people who need not be geographically near each other to be close. Our premise, simply put, is that these and similar trends represent a significant shift in the way we interact with others and in the way we understand the nature of those interactions.

The Symposium is designed to encourage an examination of the ways communication is changing and to further explore both the positive and negative effects on learning, social interaction, creative self-expression, and more.

The event will be conducted entirely online in the virtual world of Second Life. Sessions, which will be conducted live, can incorporate a variety of visuals and rich media, and are generally about 45 minutes in length, with about one-third to one-half that time devoted to dialog with participants using the audio tools of the environment.

Registration and Fees

The registration period opened on November 8, 2007 and the process was completed entirely online. Registrations received on or before Monday, November 26 qualify for the Early Registration rate. After November 26, attendees were required to pay the late fee.

All attendees, including presenters, must register for the conference and pay the registration fee.

Note: Access to the Symposium will require an account in Second Life. If you do not have an account, you will be able to obtain one as part of the registration process.

Registration

Online registration is available November 8, 2007 - November 27, 2007. After this date late registration fees will apply.