Communication technologies bring us in contact with people we might never have the oppotunity to know otherwise. And many of these people are from different cultural backgrounds. The internet/e-mail allows us to have "pen pals" from different cultures and to carry on discussion with these people in virtual chat rooms and on discuss boards.

    However, such mediated communication across cultures does present unique challenges. Unlike face-to-face communication, mediated communication filters out important nonverbal cues. When we are talking to individuals face-to-face, we use nonverbal information to help us interpret what they are really saying——tone of voice, facial expression, gestures, and so on. The absence of these cues makes communication more difficult and can lead to misunderstandings. And these misunderstandings can be compound when communication across cultures.

    Also, language may be a factor. The people we talked to on email networks may speak languages different from our own. Which language might be acceptable on the network? We may think of an english translation which seems to be acceptable to use any language online. yes, Machine translations are one way to facilitate online intercultural communication, but the internet is dominated by english, which means its privilege in the high-tech communication world. Perhaps it's one another problem we need to consider. However, the most recent research suggests that the move is actually toward more multilingualism on the Net, surprisingly? and full of hope? Some speculate that this is because global business need to adape to local languages to sell their products, and also that learning a language is an awesome task and it is not feasible to think of the entire world learning a second language to accomodate.

   You may have found that the Internet provides access to information about other cultures and other peoples. We can now instantaneously find out almost anything about any group in the world simply by searching the internet. This should give us a better understanding of our global neighbours and some motivation of coexsist peacefully in our global village; howerver, the evidence seems to be to the contrary. About 90% conflicts have happened between ethnic or political groups within a country. Apparently, knowledge about others does not necessarily lead to better communication or heightened understanding.

    Through communication technologies like the world wide web, people also have access to know what's happening in their own and other countries. This is especially important in countries where media are government controlled. There are many internet police in these countries, who frequently find and arrest people for criticizing the government online. They block search engines sites, close internet cafes, and block emails; they can even reroute web site traffic to alternate sites maintained by routers in shanghai and beijing.

    In spite of this and other governments' attempts to limit their citizens' access to comper-mediated communication, the internet is providing information, world news, and possibilities for interpersonal communication that were not available prviously.

    关于新技术与传播的思考，最近在看一本关于跨文化传播的书，承继我上次留下的话题，从今天起，结合自己所读写下自己的一些读书心得。

    Today, with the explosion of computers and other communication technologies, we truly live in the global village envisioned by media expert Marshall McLuhan. Communication technologies links us to events from the most remote parts of the world and connects us to persons we may never meet face-to-face from around the world. Perhaps the most revolutionary advancement has been the Internet.

    As we can see, the impact of technology on our everyday communication is staggering. Think of how often you use technology to communicate in any give day: You may text-message your friends about evening plans, e-mail your family to tell them the latest news, participate in a discussion board for one of your courses, and check your cell phone web site to see how many more minutes you can use this month without getting charged. And you are not alone. The number of hours chinese spent online continues to increase, and young people are the most frequentusers of the internet.

    The advent of internet and other communication technologies has tremendous implications for intercultural communication. It's important to focous on intercultural communication and to strive to become better at this complex pattern of interaction, perhaps we can think of at least five aspects of culture and technology, maybe you can add more?