CMC Genres

   The driving force behind current changes in communication technologies is the Internet. The Internet is generally defined as a "network of networks" because it consists of many smaller computer networks that are interconnected to each other. Individuals exchange messages and share information through the Internet in a variety of ways. For example, people send e-mail messages, engage in real-time conversations through chat, participate in discussion lists, play games, and send instant messages to their friends. Each of these Internet genres creates its own unique social environment. For instance, instant messages and chat are used for fun and recreation; in contrast, discussion lists are used to talk about serious business, political, and academic topics. CMC genres such as MUDs, chat, and instant messenger also foster social discourse and interaction. There are a lot of electronic genres in CMC, however, electronic mail is the most popular.

   Electronic mail or e-mail was an unexpected outcome of early networking systems. It originally developed during the government-sponsored Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) experiment in the early 1970s. Prior to the development of the ARPANET, packet switching and the establishment of communication protocols made possible computer-based communication. Packet switching enables messages to be transmitted as discrete packets of information and sent over any available route through the network. When all of the packets arrive at their destination, they are reassembled as a complete message. With the invention of the ARPANET and packet switching, people could send messages to remote computers and share computing resources.

   Although the sharing of resources was a goal of the ARPANET creators, to their surprise the most popular feature of the system was e-mail. Computer researchers began to distribute working papers and brief communications through the network. These messages could be distributed widely and rapidly to all sites connected to the system. With the aid of networking, computer scientists quickly formed an electronic research community. Graduate students could apprentice to professors who could offer fascinating problems and develop their skills no matter where they were physically located. Colleagues could work together based on shared interests, and physical proximity was no longer a requirement for friendships to develop. This online sharing of information and personal expertise contributed to the rapid development of computer technology in the United States. In the 1980s, increased computing power combined with the decrease in cost of personal computers made computers available to more people.

   Today, over 50 percent of American households have personal computers (PC). Many of these machines have modems that connect to telephone lines. Adding a modem to a personal computer transforms the PC into an interpersonal computer, a computer that facilitates human-to-human communication. People are now using their computers as a medium of communication to contact business associates, friends, and relatives.