First Paragraph
A couple of years ago in our writing center at Ball State University, I noticed two things happening that I began to see as related: our phone was ringing less and less, and our tutors were using instant messaging (IM) for their own personal communication more and more. Instant messaging, as most people know, is real-time text-based chat, computer user to computer user. If e-mail is a substitute for mail, then IM is a substitute for a phone conversation. Though early precursors to IM date to the 1960s, instant messaging as we now know it took off in the late 1990s. Some IM programs allow for audio or video chat, desktop sharing, and file exchange, making them rather robust, feature-rich programs. All of this made me wonder if IM might play a useful, official role in our writing center.
Citation Information
Type of Publication: Newsletter Article
Author: Jackie Grutsch McKinney
Year of Publication: 2009
Title: “Geek in the Center: Instant Messaging”
Publication: Writing Lab Newsletter, Volume 34, Issue 2
Page Range: 6-8