"Singing in the rain": The weather of asynchronous communication

Weather is, by its nature, continuous, with shifts in energy and continually morphing into something new. Sometimes it arrives fast, furious, and fierce; at other times it offers familiar warmth and welcome shelter. There is always motion, yet there is familiarity and safety in its cycles - the breeze that helps carry summer into autumn, or the crisp embrace of a cold winter's morning, where the sun reaches gently through misty covers to touch the world below.

There is weather too in the interactions and connections we have in the social world. Virtual asynchronous communication can offer a climate that is predictable and mutually understood. Familiar weather patterns muster, form and are almost summoned by the people who hold the space together. As relationships deepen this becomes collaboration, not just of content, but in atmosphere.

The Flurry

Flurries can be many things: words, pictures, videos, voice notes or emojis. These are short, high energy, quick-fire exchanges. Sometimes they overlap - the joy of seeing another or others typing at the same time and in unison!  At other times they may layer and add further texture to what has already been shared. This can be in the form of reactions fluttering into being next to posts the moment they arrive. Words, gifs and short notes can also tumble. one after another. as separate and distinct parts in the interaction, carrying their own weight and contribution to what is being shared. Flurries epitomise energy. An exchange of 'flow', shared in the 'now'. Flurries equally hold that energy, plain to feel and to see, ready to come back to and absorb, when time and processing allow. 

    

The Sunburst

An expression of intense joy, a glimmer, an amazing piece of news, shared with love, perhaps followed with a 'flurry'  of emojis or 'whoops' in a voice note. How easily and seamlessly asynchronous communication weathers can combine; the synergy of shared moments that energise and express emotion, whilst reassuring and reaffirming connection. Sunbursts can give warmth that lasts; a glow that ripples beyond the chat and into the 'irl' experiences of those who are part of the interaction.

The storm

Just like the release of energy that comes with a burst of lightning, where energy dissipates safely to the ground, stormy asynchronous weather can offer safe release to the tensions and strains of everyday life. The virtual environment offers the space for discharge in the most authentic way available, at any given moment. All modalities are equal. This allows energy to flow freely when it needs to, rather than being held back by etiquette and the constraints of expectation. 

Where necessary, weather alerts, in the form of trigger warnings (TW), can be given, offering chance for others to find what is needed - time, energy or simply a space to sit - to be ready to face what comes next. The response to the storm can equally be measured and thought through, offering further layers of protection for all. These reciprocal  acts of care, offered in times of highest need, deepen the felt safety of the space. Stormy weather therefore gathers together, as much as it provides a way to let go.

The Downpour

Downpours are longer, more immersive and deeply focused exchanges, where you can get properly 'drenched' by the topic at hand. These can be made up of shorter individual parts, where the focus remains steady for all throughout, and depth is created by the time that is given to explore nuance. Individuals may also spend longer on any given turn. This is where the voice-note comes into its own. Here participants can delve deeply into detailed explanations, exploring tangents and new ideas without interruption, process in the moment and through movement, all in the knowledge that their message will land safely. 

Four Seasons in One Day

Weather within the asynchronous space can vary considerably, perhaps all in a very short physical space or period of time. Staying with the journey, offering companionship to experience whatever may come, is part of the strength of asynchronous chat spaces. Energy levels will naturally be different for those who contribute. This mix of capacity helps keep the asynchronous conversational space flexible, yet responsive. If one member brings high energy, others may offer cooler ideas and thoughts, bringing protection from burning out. 

The space between individual messages can also act as a natural space for thinking, processing and planning. When participants come back to offer something further, this may be a different 'weather', yet it will always be shaped by what has gone before. There is no 'best' or 'expectation', the weather of these virtual spaces provides and helps to form the connection, creating a space for everyone to feel their voice is valuable and valued.

The weather that lies beyond

The virtual weather can change too, frequently in response to events in the real world.

Each participant brings their own weather with them, whilst asynchronous spaces are also places where weather can be co-created; softened if helpful, immersed in and owned when necessary. 

Each day naturally brings a different forecast, and yet there is often much that feels familiar and comforting in these virtual interactions. Energy levels can remain even and flowing even on the toughest days; internal worlds balanced through movement; experiences shared whatever the weather. 

Singing in the Rain (Freed & Brown, May 27, 1929)

I'm laughin' at clouds

So dark up above

The sun's in my heart

And I'm ready for love

Let the stormy clouds chase

Everyone from the place

Come on with the rain

I've a smile on my face

I walk down the lane

With a happy refrain

Just singin', singin' in the rain