The advent of global communication via
the Internet has brought many changes to the extent to which information
can be shared, and it has also changed our sense of community. We are no
longer bound by geographical constraints but are linked by communal
interests. Electronic communication provides us with many ways with
which to share these various interests, and dreamwork has been one area
that has proven to be very suitable for this emerging medium.
I would like to share my personal experiences in conducting online
dream groups. I was a student at Saybrook Graduate School in
San Francisco, in a program leading to a Ph.D. in Psychology. My
interest has been focused on studying the viability of conducting
"Group Dreamwork Utilizing Computer Mediated Communication."
The dreamwork was based on the "If it were my dream" approach.
Initially, a face-to-face group's sharing was recorded at a Saybrook
conference, where a breakfast group met for dreamwork. Posting an
inquiry to the alt.dreams news group, I recruited members who were
willing to join in a pilot study. I sent them the dreamer's dream and
asked them to pretend it were their own and share thoughts and feelings.
I tallied the group members' responses to the dreamer and the
dreamer's comments back to the group, subjecting them to a chi-square
analysis. The results confirmed that the communication of the e-mail
computer mediated group produced more meaningful comments useful to the
dreamer than did the face-to-face group.
None
of the computer group were experienced dreamworkers. To me, this was
especially significant, because in many cases, both groups used similar
language, but the volume of responses for the computer group was much
larger. The results have to be viewed with caution, because I think one
major advantage of the electronic communication is time. A face-to-face
group is always limited by time, but communication by e-mail allows
members a much longer period to reflect before responding.
Assured that dreamwork was possible by e-mail, I designed ways of
working with dreams online, and studied electronic group dreamwork using
bulletin boards, e-mail, public forums, and chat rooms, both public and
private.
Categories Of Electronic Dreamwork
There are four broad categories for electronic group dreamwork:
Postings
After the protocol for online group dreamwork was developed, all
postings followed the general pattern of a call for the formation of a
dream group, a call for a dream to be shared, and the establishment of
an agreed-upon schedule for the various segments of the dreamwork:
posting the dream, questions and answers needed to clarify dream
content, group members' sharing their "if it were my dream"
comments, the dreamer's feedback (voluntary) to the group, and
additional discussion if the dreamer wished to have it.
Bulletin Board Format: Delayed Public
The
first groups that were formed were in response to postings on commercial
services such as GEnie, Delphi, Prodigy, the WELL, and Compuserve. The
majority of the dreamwork, however, was conducted on America Online, and
particularly on Seniornet, a subset of AOL.
A major advantage of bulletin boards is that they can provide an
educational function. One can set up sub-classifications for different
interests, the topics usually remain visible for a some period of time,
and those new to group dreamwork can read sequential postings and get an
idea of how the process works. Lurkers can learn about the protocol.
Disadvantages of a bulletin board are that there is no privacy, and
one has little control over what is posted. Periodic reminders were
necessary about NOT using "I think your dream means"
attitudes. In addition, the postings are subject to the software whims
of the host. On several occasions the AOL software swept away postings
on the bulletin board, and special efforts were required to reestablish
the topics.
All the dreamwork followed an "If it were my dream"
approach, and it always took a little more work to guide newcomers
through the steps. The initial groups took a few sessions to become
comfortable with the process. The task of a moderator was similar in
both groups, except that it was always a delicate task to get new
participants to be aware of the importance of using the "If it were
my dream" approach.
It was necessary to provide anonymity and to establish timetables.
Organizational effort was required. The groups needed about 12 days for
the whole process, generally allowing 2 - 3 days for most segments.
Although all the dreamers were comfortable with the provided anonymity,
occasionally sensitive issues required special handling. At such times,
I acted as a go-between for the dreamer and re-posting his or her
remarks under a pseudonym.
Anonymity did not matter for most members, but was of concern to
members who frequently posted to other AOL topic areas. Apparently their
personal situations were occasionally known to members in the other
topic areas (where they posted under their regular logon names), and
they therefore preferred anonymity for the dreamwork. AOL's members
could choose up to 5 screen names, and if a name was "unprofiled,"
there was no published information associated with it.
Within the groups, however, group members shared their real or
"regular logon" names by private e-mail communication. Group
members were therefore known to each other. Dreamer feedback information
was also often shared by e-mail.
E-Mail Format: Delayed Private
It was a natural transition to move from bulletin boards to e-mail. Most
members preferred providing feedback by e-mail, so groups were run using
e-mail only. With e-mail, participation was expanded to more than just
AOL's membership. It was at this stage that many ASD members joined the
process.
There are two methods for a moderator to process e-mail
communications. Individual group members can send posts directly to the
moderator, who then assembles them and makes one collected post to all
group members. A lot of work is required to act as the clearing house
for e-mail postings, but the advantage is that a moderator can make
suggestions to newcomers concerning revisions to phrasing before their
final posting is made. This method is very supportive of new members. The
usual method is for each member to send multiple copies to all other
group members
E-Mail offers privacy. Anonymity was never a problem with e-mail. And
obviously, anyone with an e-mail address can participate in a group.
Dream Wheels: Delayed Private
Dream
Wheels are suitable for group dreamwork and utilize a Majordomo or
Listserv type program where any posting to the listserv address is seen
by all members. Usually a request to join a group is sent to a moderator
who subscribes the member. Currently Richard Wilkerson's website at
dreamgate.com hosts Dream Wheels.
Jeremy Taylor's Dream Show
America Online contracted with Jeremy Taylor to host a Dream Show. His
Dream Show area contained open bulletin boards, topics of general
information and a link to the hour-long live dream show, which, for the
majority of the show's life (over a year and 3/4), was held in an
auditorium, but it was later shifted to chat rooms. The real time
dreamwork was entirely different. Jeremy, as the host, was always very
busy.
Auditoriums: Real Time Public
As members joined the auditorium, they were placed in multiple
electronic rows of approximately 10 members per row, and they could chat
amongst themselves, that is, individual row postings were seen by all
members in that particular row. Occasionally rows could discuss dreams
submitted to the row by one of the row members.
Postings from the stage were seen by all members of all rows. Any
member of the audience could communicate with the host by sending a
question or comment to that host. The host had to decide which questions
or comments were to be made visible to all the audience, and those were
relayed for all to see.
The number of auditorium visitors varied substantially depending upon
whether AOL had proper signposts directing members to the location.
Initially, daily participation varied between 100 to 120, but when the
signposts were missing, membership would drop. The location of the
auditorium was changed and later the format was moved to a chat room.
Chat Room: Real Time Public
A chat room is different than an auditorium. Any posting by any
member is seen by all, and the communication in a chat room depends upon
the agreed upon protocol of that room. A formal protocol provides an
orderly environment but requires that permission be obtained before
posting a question or comment.
Formal protocol, however, would have undoubtedly restrained the
spontaneity of questions and comments, so a "semi-formal"
protocol was chosen. At first, participants were so busy greeting each
other that it was difficult to get down to work. Once the members became
familiar with the protocol, it was easier, but it still took a lot of
work for both the host and co-hosts to maintain order.
The second chat room was a very difficult location to work with,
because it was scheduled for a specific hour between two other topics.
One therefore had to contend with left-over members from the first show,
and early arrivals for the second show. In spite of the administrative
difficulties, excellent dream sharing still took place.
Chat Room: Real Time Private
A wonderful example of successful continuing online group dreamwork
sprang from Jeremy Taylor's Dream Show. Immediately after the show was
terminated, 16 participants decided to continue dreamwork and created a
private room on AOL where real-time meetings were held once a week. That
group is still in existence now, although the numbers have dropped, core
members still meet twice a week, on Wednesday mornings for one hour and
Sunday evenings for two hours. As one might expect, they are all
remarkably good dreamworkers.
Websites
There are also many dream related websites available for inspection
and/or participation using a browser such as Netscape's Navigator or
Microsoft's Explorer. There is a wide variety in the quality of
postgings on different websites. Links to many of these sites can be
found at Richard Wilkerson's <www.Dreamgate.com>.
THE FUTURE: ISP COMMUNITIES
I
believe that the emerging ISP communities such as Yahoo's Clubs,
Geocities' Neighborhoods, or Sixdegrees Channels will be able to provide
excellent operating locations for group dreamwork. Accessible to anyone
with a browser, communities can be set up to provide either delayed
public areas for posting general information, or private delayed BB
areas or real-time meeting areas, similar to AOL's private chat rooms.
One can conduct or join in remarkable dreamwork online. It takes
work, but I'd encourage all to support, participate in, or create areas
for responsible dreamwork.
John W. Herbert, Ph. D.
As part of the data gathering phase of his doctoral dissertation on
Group Dreamwork Utilizing Computer Mediated Communication, he started
early experimental groups on Delphi, the Well, Compuserve, Seniornet and
AOL. These groups became the model for other dreamwork projects online.
He also co-hosted the Jeremy Taylor Dream Show on AOL and has continued
to extensively research and lecture on the uses of dreamwork online. http://users.aol.com/john0417/HuSci/Greet.html
E-mail: jherbert@micron.net
or jherbert@alum.mit.edu
