Typed Speech Shows Better Communication Via Facebook

Some researchers actually believe Facebook may be taking a more interesting approach to show and create advertisements.

"Whereas oral communication tends to be instantaneous (one person says something and then another responds almost immediately), written conversations tend to have longer gaps (consumers respond to e-mails, texts, or Facebook messages hours or days later) Rather than saying whatever comes to mind, consumers can take the time to think about what to say or edit their communication until it is polished," write authors Jonah Berger and Raghuram Iyengar (both Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania), via a press release.

As new technology has and continues to dramatically change the face of social media and essentially, the way we communicate, researchers discuss the possibility of advertisements in which consumers can interact with them through writing, talking or touching.

For instance, in one of the studies, consumers were asked to communicate through writing rather than oral communication and talk about more interesting products and brands. The authors then analyzed data from tens of thousands of conversations and found that more interesting products and brands were discussed more than mundane products or things that might have been discussed online.

As researchers believe written communications gives consumers more time to think and prepare what they're going to say, the results show that consumers mention more interesting products such as Google Glass rather than Colgate toothpaste compared to when oral communication is used.

"Consumers have a natural tendency to talk about things that make them look good. But selecting the right thing to say requires time. In oral communication, consumers talk about whatever is top-of-mind (the weather), but written communication gives them the opportunity to select more interesting things to say," the authors conclude, via the release.

What do you think?

More information regarding the study can be found in the Journal of Consumer Research.