Frequently asked questions
- Does it matter if I do not know the types of tasks that my clients will be performing with a communication service?
- Is it possible to have a communication service that is general purpose?
This may not be a significant problem as research seems to reveal only a limited number of situations where the outcome of a communication task is sensitive to the communication service. The main issue may be the extent to which the intended users have a need for social presence from the communication service.
There seems to be a high likelihood that a communication service can be general purpose. This is because experiments seem to reveal only a limited number of communication situations where the outcome of communication is sensitive to the communication service. The extent to which communication services have different effects on human communication seems to mainly depend on the situation’s need for social presence. However, it is clear that the way people behave while communicating - the way people take turns, interrupt each other, etc. - is greatly influenced by the communication service.
Even if effects are only on the communication process and not always on the communication outcome, this is potentially very important because an effect on the process of communication may in turn effect users’ feelings of satisfaction. Users’ feelings of satisfaction may influence decisions to re-use or purchase a particular system.