Empathic Computing: a new journal for a new field of computing

People have a natural desire to connect with one another. Brazilian educator and philosopher Paulo Freire famously said that "... only through communication can human life hold meaning"[1]. This need for connection has led to the development of a wide array of communication technologies. Cave paintings date back at least 50,000 years, and since that time, people have developed writing, carrier pigeons for messaging, the telegraph, radio, television, mobile phones, and the internet with social media. Today, we have access to many different tools that support multi-channel communication and messaging. It can be easier to talk to someone on the other side of the world than to the person who lives next door.