Untyped communication

I'm easily distracted by a variety of topics, but let me tell you about two things that distract me more than girls, shiny metal objects, and eating:

1.Nonverbal communication (including but not limited to body language)

2.Internet culture

Of course, the more I think about these two seemingly opposing aspects of our society, I can't help but try and combine them in some way.  As a result of studying people's body language, facial expressions, tone of voice, and reactions to things I say, I find myself occasionaly frustrated by the internet.  Not since the telephone has something so impersonal been placed between two communicators; that is to say, a computer.
Still, I think if you examine how people present themselves online, it will become apparent that there are some clues about the type of person they are.  Aside from prose (all important in forum posts and blog entries) and where they are actually posting, there is other information being conveyed, such as:

• Time/Date stamps
• Font type and size
• Use of images and other formatting
• Clutter vs minimalism (ie facebook apps)

Of course, any successful internetter knows that brevity is the cornerstone of any post and they have long since found something else to read.