Girish Mahajan (Editor)

One bit message

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A one-bit message is a type of communication that has no personalized or specified content, and as such transmits only a single binary bit of information. It signals an intent and a thought, but does not specify what it is. Marc Andreessen describes "one-bit communication" as having no content other than that it exists.

Contents

Examples of one-bit messages in the real world include the sound of car horns, police sirens, and “open” signs. Telephone calls which are deliberately terminated before being answered are also an example of one-bit communication.

In probability

One-bit messages can be used to communicate the outcome of situations with two potential outcomes, such as a coin toss.

Online messaging

In the online world one bit messages solve a set of communication initiative problems:

  • Fear of initiation: “How should I kick off the conversation? It’s a daunting task.”
  • Fear of rejection: “What if the other person replies “sorry, I'm in the middle of something”?”
  • Fear of inconveniencing someone: “A messenger shows that the other person is available, but maybe he is actually busy.”
  • Fear of being ignored: “What if I message her, and she doesn’t respond or goes offline immediately?”
  • Topic overload: “So many topics to talk about, which one should I start with?”
  • Lack of topic: “I simply want to say to my friend that I thought of her, without anything specific to say.”
  • Fear of a conversation of unpredictable length: “I have time for a short chat, but how do I cut off if the conversation develops?”
  • Unwillingness to type: “I’m on my mobile, and don’t want to type”
  • Fear of follow-up: “What if the person I message will want to meet? I don’t want to meet him.”

    • There are several platforms that enable sending one bit messages including Yo and the Facebook poke.

    References

    One-bit message Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA