A45. Rice,
R. E. & Danowski, J. (1993). Is it really just like a fancy
answering
machine? Comparing semantic networks of different types of voice mail
users.
Journal of Business Communication, 30(4), 369-397.
We propose a conceptual as well as practical distinction, possible
in voice mail systems, between the traditional telephone genre of voice
answering and a new genre of telephone communication of voice messaging.
This distinction should be reflected in comments provided by
respondents
who report that they use voice mail more for messaging than for
answering,
and by those who send more voice messages than do others. Semantic
network
analysis identified different clusters of concepts found in responses
to
open-ended questions on a survey completed by these kinds of user. For
example, all users had common word clusters concerning the ability to
overcome
temporal constraints and leave messages through voice mail. However,
responses
of "senders" and "messagers" included word clusters such as "group
distribution"
and greater concern with issues such as critical mass and problems of
traditional
telephone usage (such as busy signals), while responses of low senders
and answerers included clusters indicating concern about the impersonal
nature of voice mail. We discuss implications both for this method of
analysis
as well as for implementation and management of voice mail systems.
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