Words, Words, Words...

Words, words, words… There is so much to say about words as there is so many different aspects of it to discuss. Or should I say communication? I think that would be a word more fitting the situation. Communication is essential for us humans to have a certain level of skill in to make it through life. The majority of the people out there in the world use several forms of communication in their everyday life. Oral communication (not only by using words, but also how these words are expressed, and sometimes even only by the power of onomatopoetic uttering in various forms), the written word, body language and more, even silence (an area I most likely will try to, at least partly, cover in the future). Each of these different communicational tools has their different strengths, but of course, they carry weakness with them as well.

The written language is no different. It is glorified by many, and for good reasons, but it is in no way the perfect way to communicate. Let’s list a few of the major negative points to it.

• Emphasis – It is hard to write how you wish your words to be read. Every word can have a different meaning depending on how it is read and a sentence written one way can most often be misinterpreted if the receiver reads it with a different melody than was originally meant.
• “Too simple” – The written language is only but a simplification and a structuralization of its original form, oral communication. Not only does the spoken language not go by the same strict rules, but we’re also able to express what we say with our body at the same time. Someone that can skillfully use paralanguage (all forms of non-verbal communication) can even communicate with people that don’t speak the same language, which pretty much proves how big of a role it plays in face-to-face communication. This is completely stripped from the written language.

There are ways to “imitate” the things that the written language doesn’t have by writing the word you wish to intonate in a special way in italic or bold or something similar, or by using non-alphabetical characters around that word (e.g. “-“, “*” or “><”). Paralinguistic additions are usually written with non-alphabetical characters around the description that symbolizes the use of paralanguage (e.g. “*points at you with my whole hand*” or “<makes a circular motion with the arms>”). Even by using these methods, it can never reach the effectiveness of what it is trying to replicate. However, there’s other benefits with the written language you can use to your advantage in a discussion on, let’s say, a forum.

• Take your time – This goes both for reading and writing. When discussing things on a forum, you have a lot more time to understand what is really meant. You have the access to dictionaries if you don’t understand a certain word. Also, if you get a strong negative feeling about something that is written, you have the benefit of cooling down before you make your reply so your reply doesn’t come out in rage, in an irrational and rude manner. Also, when you do write your reply, there’s always a chance to read your own reply to see if what you’ve written really is reflecting what you wish to say, and in a constructive way at that. There’s no reason to stress a reply; it most often only results in more energy being used to argue or further explain what you wish to say in the end.
  
• Research – If you have a point you wish to make, but don’t fully have the arguments to back it up, you can research. That way, you’ll not only have a better chance of being understood, you will also gain more security.

The written language is beautiful. Just don’t forget to use its strengths. That way, you’ll get so much more out of it.

- Kaffe Myers Nov 23 2007

Interview: Naughty @ Trend Magazine

This was written for Trend Magazine, like many of my other articles. However, this interview was written on demand. I interviewed the creator of Trend Magazine, Naughty.

:: It’s a cold November evening. The rain is gently tapping me on the tip of my nose as to remind me every so often of its existence, deliberately trying to make my thoughts loose focus from the main concern of the moment. This day is the day where I’m going to interview Naughty, the creator of Trend Magazine. ::

:: “There’s the spot!” I hear myself utter frantically, and eager as I am, I lose all my professionalism and run to the café were we decided to meet. By the entrance, I take a deep breath, open the door and walk in… ::

K: Hi!
N: Hello.

:: I take my seat, and, as her presence leaves me unable to come up with anything better, I try to do the professional thing and start the interview without further presentation, not aware at the moment that this move could be considered rude. ::

K: So, I'll start off with the question: What made you start Trend Magazine?
N: *small laughter* In all honesty?
K: In all honesty. That is what this is all about.
N: An e-zine I used to work for really rubbed me the wrong way. The boss took advantage of my willingness to give and help her out. In return, I quit, and I found that she was still using some of the items I had made -- even after I asked her not to. My friends told me I was good at it and should make my own regardless, so I tried. It took a while to get there, but I got it up eventually.

:: As the fool I am, I smile childishly and lean forward as I continue... ::

K: Interesting. How long did it take to get from idea to the first released issue?
N: Wow… *thinks for a second and emits a humming noise* …an eternity? *laughs* No, let’s see here: We released our first issue in July, so February to July makes it 3 months.
K: It must have been one hell of a process getting from idea to actually releasing your first issue; the searching for people to help you make your vision become reality and all that. How did you feel during that period and how much time did you have to dedicate to make it happen in the first place?

:: Seriousness fills the air as she delicately awaits the dramatic pause to finish, decorating the last half of a second of said silence to put a curl in its place by gently escorting it away from the face with the index finger of her right hand ::

N: Frustrated. A mixture of frustration and excitement, kind of like when you have a craving for the cake you made yesterday, but go home to find out someone else already ate it. The process was repetitive, and it was a daily thing. Luckily, it was going into summer and I only had to work.
K: "Only had to work"... what do you do besides this? I'm pretty sure everyone is wondering about what you do when you DON'T take care of the magazine and hang around IMVU...
N: Work and school – that’s pretty much life right now, considering where I live.
K: Tell me more about ALL of that. Work? What do you do? School? What do you study?
N: Work? Right now I'm working at a book store as a sales rep/ipt (stock team member) and currently training to work in the coffee shop we have there. Usually I work from 5am to mid day. From there I head over to school, where I’m double majoring in medicine and psychology. I may decide to change the majors but I’ve been doing that so far.
K: That's quite an impressive combination! Why those specific subjects? Also, what makes you hesitate?
N: My father picked my majors. I actually prefer to write, though many don’t know it. I am not entirely sure what I want to do quite yet though.
K: So you write... What do you usually write? What have you done so far? Got anything officially published? Tell me ALL about it!
N: I write what I feel like writing, to be honest. I've been working on a novel, but I mainly do it for my enjoyment. I don’t share very often, though I had a poem published in high school… *laughs* …if that counts.
K: Well, you do like to write, it seems to be a passion for you... yet, you do not show what you do to the public... What makes you keep your written creations away from other people?
N: The way I think is completely different from other people, much like the way I feel or interpret or even react to some things. I remember putting a poem on my page once and my friends got mad at me. They said I was morbid and depressing. I haven’t thought to share anything else since.
K: I understand! I guess the people will have to keep on wondering what you have yet to uncover.

:: The waiter that has been standing next to me the last couple of minutes, waiting for my order, gently coughs to grab my attention. I get slightly thrown off balance, order a regular coffee and turn my attention back to Naughty. ::

K: Hmmm, did I ask you anything about how you choose the people that are working for the magazine?

:: Naughty tilts her head and smiles. ::

N: Noo…
K: Then that is the question I wish to get an answer to right now!
N: Well, I tried to make the application for Trend as open ended as possible, giving the applicant the freedom to express as much of themselves as they feel necessary, because before you get to me or my staff, that’s all we will see. I also check if they followed instructions on getting hired, because if you can’t follow the basic instructions of sending in an application, nine times out of ten you won’t be able to follow anything I assign to you. If you get to the stage where you meet me… Well then, it’s all personality: you can be extremely talented but a snob, and that doesn’t work with me. My staff is…

:: She makes a quick pause and laughs a little and I can see that she’s going through the behavior of every Trend Magazine staff member in her head. She then continues… ::

N: …extremely just out there. But all of their talents compliment each other and they mesh well together. That’s what I’m looking for -- if you fit. It doesn’t hurt to have references and a good standing with the (IMVU) community either.
K: So, how is it to work with them all, both as a group and as individual persons? As you are the head chief, I guess that you know everyone to a certain degree.
N: It can be frustrating at times, to the point where I want to yank my hair out and scream. We've had our ups and downs but they never cease to surprise me. When they want to accomplish something it gets done and done well!
K: Any example of when they've surprised you that you could share?
N: The issue we are currently working on, many of them have stepped up far from what normally has been done and as you can now see if your reading this… *laughs* …it turned out beautifully!

:: I couldn’t help myself and find myself laughing out in the open for the whole café to hear. ::

K: Hahahaha, awesome answer! *cough* Well, do you have any unrevealed secrets about you that is ready to face the readers?
N: Well, if I told you, they wouldn’t be secrets, now would they?
K: ...do you have anyone special in your life?
N: I have people pursuing but my past prevents me from ever really feeling safe with anyone in that way. I did have someone who is now my best friend whom I adore.
K: So, what you are saying is that you are quite popular, but unreachable?
N: *laugh* I guess you could put it that way.

:: An awkward, though not unpleasant, silence stretches from wall to wall. I can feel how my professionalism leaves my body. ::

K: So, last question before the info box, so to speak...

:: What now comes out of me is a surprise to myself, as if I was unaware of what I was doing and didn’t have the power to change what I said myself ::

K: How about dinner for two?
N: Ahhh, which would be lovely, Kaffe! But I’m not sure how that would work. You fly here or I go there?

:: POOF! The magic is broken. I suddenly find myself sitting in my armchair, in front of the computer, with a MSN chat window open. I sigh at myself and my day dreaming. It was a beautiful dream, getting to meet Naughty face2face over a cup of coffee in a cozy café somewhere in the world… I at least had the benefit of dreaming about it, but as the spell now was broken, I better try to make something out of this interview that took place in each of the involved individuals’ respective homes, thousands of miles apart from each other… ::

- Kaffe Myers, written for the December issue of Trend