Assignment#3 - effective equivocality

In lecture on last Thursday, there was one statement Professor Hancock said that struck me: 'equivocation and deception are everyday activities strategies.' In general, somebody making a remark that you are equivocal and deceptive is considered to be one of negative impressions and something that you would try to avoid. It sounded ironic that something you avoid is actually being used and we have been taking advantage of it. My two different instances of media selection showed why and how these everyday activities strategies took place.
First I want to talk about sending a message in Facebook. Last year, my friends and I were planning a surprise birthday party for my other friend. In my freshman year, it was convenient to meet people and to talk to them since we all were living in the same place. But, when we became sophomore, there were two groups of people: one in West Campus and one in Collegetown. Since most of us started taking major-related classes. It was not easy to see people unless you have the same major. So, when we were trying to come up with a plan, we decided to use messages in Facebook. Before, we used to write on the wall, but in this case, planning had to be private and deceptive. Planning was asynchronous. If someone proposed idea, others responded in group reply. We were also able to go back and check what we had said. Planning went well and the surprise party was successful. This example disproves Media Rich Theory because if our top concern were efficiency that it should be clear and easy to access for everyone, the surprise party would have not been successful. Therefore, equivocality and deception are not always negative. It's a characteristic of the situation which determines which feature is positive or negative.
Second instance of media selection is the newcomer in an online community. It is also related to impression formation. If someone is new to an online community, it takes time for this person to be actively involved in the community. During this period, one does not reveal about him too much and tries to observe how other people in this community behave. The reason why is that one does not know what type of behavior and characteristics are welcomed and liked in this particular community, yet. It is risky to be clear and as efficient as possible in revealing his personality. This situation puts restrictions, so one tends to be more equivocal and efficiency does not become his first priority in order not to make negative impressions. However, after one comprehends people's value in the community, efficiency would become one of his top concerns to communicate effectively with others. This instance shows that it depends on the type of situation one is in whether O'Sullivan's model or Media Richness Theory can be supported. At first, it supported O'Sullivan's model, since equivocality is used as a strategy in self-presentation. But, later on, after familiarity formed, people tend to use more rich media in order to be less equivocal.