The Danger of Synchronicity in Social Media

Examples of this are face-to-face discussions, events, and instant messaging (as it is generally used). Synchronous communication usually involves more work. That is, not only do you have to think about the message and the medium, you have to think about your co-participant. And, since the communication happens (or doesn't), immediately, you need to worry about whether the message is being received properly. Hence, we have very robust and complex means of assessing whether we are being understood (body language, questions, etc.). Generally, this means that synchronous communication has a lot of overhead.

In contrast, asynchronous communication is more flexible and less work. Communication can take place even when both parties are not present to the medium at the same time. Certainly the communication takes longer, but it is still effective. Examples of this kind of communication are email, printed collateral, printed letters, and so on. And since your co-participant isn't present, you don't need to worry (right now, anyway) if they understand. So, it's quicker and easier to enact, but there is a much greater risk of miscommunication since you can't check errors immediately.

Traditionally (if such a term can apply to social media), social media embraces asynchronous communication. Specifically, it allows parties to communicate even when they are not online at the same time.

It does this because of the convenience and flexibility afforded by this style of communication. The lack of overhead of asynchronous communication ensures a social media tool's ease of use. You don't need to think about the overhead of synchronous communication—thinking about the other person, waiting for them to respond, thinking about your response, and so on. Think of Facebook's "wall". Nothing is more asynchronous than "writing on someone's wall" when you are online and then waiting for them to read that message later when they are online.

The Rise of Synchronicity in Social Media

Recently, however, there has been an increase in the synchronicity of social media. Twitter and Facebook now seem to demand, and receive, constant attention. Status updates get replies in real-time. Tweets are answered in seconds. The developers of these social media outlets seem to push this idea by chronologically placing most recent posts at the top of a user's home page.

All of this indicates that these media have become synchronous: the parties are in communication at the same time. And, in so doing, these media are losing their efficiency. As they lose their efficiency, they become more like work. That is, they demand more and more time and attention from participants. And as this happens, we can expect the use of social media in the workplace to come under increased scrutiny, especially in this economy.

Social Media Should Be More Social

Social media, should be just that—social. It should be more relaxed and thus more asynchronous. If social media becomes more and more synchronous, we might find a new appreciation for email.