The purpose of these remarks will be to build on Erving Goffman’s insight that the social relationships that are the foundation of human society are built on “talk.” Talk can take the form of words exchanged in conversation or letters. Talk can include gestures and silences. Sometimes we communicate by exchanging pictures. Facebook gives us the capacity to exchange, bits of wisdom, to share experiences. The capacity of modern computers to transmit images has expanded talk beyond some of the limits that undoubtedly influenced Goffman’s vision in FRAME ANALYSIS. But that book provided insight into some ways in which can create conceptual tools to look at the anatomy of talk. Goffman’s FORMS OF TALK is a start.
Even a short look at the possibilities of exchanging experiences, ideas and emotions to build relationships on Facebook, YouTube or other social media opens up new questions about what limits legal or moral and or should be placed on what people say to each other. Students of propaganda like Jacques Ellul or earlier Alfred McClung Lee recognized the power of creating attitudes in minds of the individuals composing society. We have long known that people listen and remember selectively. We have also known that what has your mind has you. So, what we shall attempt to understand in this blog is how “talk” captures the mind of people.