A New Account of Personalization and Effective Communication

TL;DR

This paper examines the decline in shared symbolic experiences over the past two centuries through the analysis of personal names, highlighting the growing importance of personalization and personal relationships in effective communication within information economies.

Contribution

It introduces a new perspective on personalization and communication by analyzing historical naming patterns and their implications for modern information economies.

Findings

Names indicate a decline in shared symbolic experiences over two centuries.

Personalization has increased in importance in communication.

Action and personal relationships are central to effective communication.

Abstract

To contribute to understanding of information economies of daily life, this paper explores over the past millennium given names of a large number of persons. Analysts have long both condemned and praised mass media as a source of common culture, national unity, or shared symbolic experiences. Names, however, indicate a large decline in shared symbolic experience over the past two centuries, a decline that the growth of mass media does not appear to have affected significantly. Study of names also shows that action and personal relationships, along with time horizon, are central aspects of effective communication across a large population. The observed preference for personalization over the past two centuries and the importance of action and personal relationships to effective communication are aspects of information economies that are likely to have continuing significance for industry developments, economic statistics, and public policy.