Community

Internet and Society 2008

So far

Technology and society - sociotechnical network

Information society and Network Society theories

How was the Internet created, how did cultures of creators count, innovation commons

Who uses the internet, social inclusion and the digital divide

What Next?

Outline

CMC – Computer Mediated Communication

Online communitiesVirtual worlds 1Identity onlineCommunitySome theoretical

ideas

• ICTs in everyday life• Local communities• Neworked individualism

• Technology of community

• Community identity• Virtual Worlds 2

Key Ideas

Computer Mediated Communication (CMC)

CommunityOnline IdentityNetwork approachesSocial CapitalVirtuality and virtual communityNetworked individualism

Communication and Society

Communication technology allows people to form and sustain social relationships, be they of co-operation or control.

Changing the manner and ease by which individuals and groups communicate alters the information flows and thus the social relations in a community.

Those changes will depend on the existing relations

Communication and Society

Communicative acts (a) unfold within concrete historical and socio-cultural contexts; (b) refer to the interaction of people who are situated within particular place in a complex configuration of relationships (eg. groups); (c) involve the exchange of information or messages the construction and interpretation of which occur within a shared context of symbolic meanings (eg. culture); and (d) create or ‘introduce’ new contexts or dimensions of discourse that help shape or alter the texture of social reality.

(Georgoudi and Rosnow, 1985),

Georgoudi and Rosnow, 1985, The Emergence of Contextualism, J. of Communication , 35, 7-88, quoted in Fulk et al. 1992, 9)

CMC: Computer mediated communication - historyPhone vs F2FEmail and BBS (Bulletin Board System)One2one -> many2many

Is CMC good for work?Reduced inhibitionsFlaming, PolarisationAnonymity

(Social) psychological theoriesHow does CMC influence interpersonal

relationships?

CMC 2The social presence model (1970s)

F2F idealSocial norms not apparent - CMC “CMC may represent a more intrinsically ‘social’ medium of communication then apparently ‘richer’ context of face to face interaction, and one that gives fuller rein to fundamentally social psychological factors” (Spears and Lea, 1992)

The cuelessness model CMC should be colder, more task oriented, less compromise -

not the caseReduced social cues

Open, uninhibited polarised, - ‘risky shift. De-individuation Depersonalisation/Attention Focus Shift Increased Equality Many faults

CMC 3SIDE model (Social Identity and DE-

individuation) Emphasis on “social identity” from informational cues

etcv. Individual identityOutcome depends on which is more importantSelf-attention - heightens relevant identity.Personal identity - polarization, taskGroup identity - consensus etc

What sort of social organisation emerges with CMC?

How much are these behaviours a function of particular technology?

IdentitySherry TurkleNew identity - no-one knows you are a dogNo ethnicity, age, gender, looks, disability etc

Avatars - graphical representationsFluid identifyMultiple identityA Place to Change ourselvesVirtual selfPeople go to explore themselves and work

though problems. Criticism: ignores reality of life

Internet: Community or Consumption

<20% of internet users ‘participatory users’80% shop onlineIs the Internet a social space?What does it mean to say ‘community online’, or

‘online communities’?Can the internet actually support a community?Discussion

What is community? What are benefits of community?

Communities, Organisations and SocietyA place where “people create for themselves shared meanings, symbols, rituals, and cognitive schema which allow them to create and maintain meaningful interactions among themselves and in relation to the world beyond their small society” (Argyris and Schon 1978)

Heterogenous and dynamicFormal and informal relations and rules‘Moral’ and practical benefitsIndividual benefits; Social benefitsTensions - no chocolate box village!Need Mechanisms for support and maintenance of

community

Community ideas

E.g.TrustReciprocityRespectLoyaltyTruthfulnessCivility

Information, money, security etc

Online community onlineBBNs and The Well - ReingoldCommunities of interest and choice, not

geography (old academic networks)Support, reinforce minority ideas - like cities,

create critical mass for a subcultureIdeal communityBut

Often poor social identityAnonymity and fluid personal identity - flaming etcActive members and lurkersEasy to leave, easy to expel. Easy to start new

community

Community Online

Creating communities from nothingTechnical and social mechanisms to create ‘community’

FAQ, netiquette, moderators, mentors, technical controlsArchives, tracking use, control of posting

How to move from early homogenous user culture to mass use?

“Psuedo-communitiesThick and thin communitiesCommunity needs responsibility

Does this happen?

Virtual Worlds and Cyberspace

MUDs, MOORole playing gamesSingle multi user machines (Nerds)

Digital Cities - DDSActivitst Artists in Amsterdam

Cyberspace - “where the bank keeps your money” W. Gibson (Neuromancer )

Virtual Reality - a parallel ‘space’ - a re-creation and reinvention of laws of nature -> and norms of society

Community worries

50s - suburbs, end of community etcSocial Capital argumentHow and why we take part in ‘society’?How is society constituted?

First - Social Network approaches

Network Approaches

See society and social relations emerging from individual ties/bonds/connections.

Bottom-up analysis

Network approachesStrength of tiesPower in ties, status etcUse of tiesQuality of ties: e.g. trust.

Centrality/marginality of individualsEmbeddednessQuality of network: dense, sparse, cliques, closureBridging tiesStructural Holes

Network structure effect on contagion of ideas/innovations/information

Does not help much with norms and values

Network approaches

Close, dense, closed networksHigh trust, dependency, reputationStrong Norms, sanctionsUsed for strong moral, financial etc supportIsolating

Open networksFree Information exchangeWeak ties

Weak Ties Theory

Mark GranovetterSocial relations embedded in social

networkStrength of Weak Ties theoryStrong ties in work classWeak ties in middle classWeak ties give a access to important

economic information (jobs)

Bridging

Old: centrality in dense network source of power

New: Power comes from bridging between poorly connected networks (e.g.Burt)

Brokers of innovation and powerSource of innovation

Social CapitalColeman, Bourdieu, Putnam,( Burt)Value of social relations

How we use social tiesWhat are the emergent society features

Social capital can be accumulatedBourdieu :Personal benefits from rich networksThose without connections lose out

ColemanSocial norms as social capitalProvide supportDense interconnected networks

Social Capital 2

Putnam ‘Bowling alone’ Reduced participation in civil society

(Church, bowling clubs etc) Home-centred, electronic media Reduction in civic norms, reduced community trust etc Reduced political participation - > Week7/8 Individual relationships build to create is social capital of a

community. Bonding capital, bridging capital

Loosing Rich, thick communitySkeptical about InternetWhat might the Internet mean for Social Capital?

Individual, community

Internet in everyday life

Early fears that Internet use and virtual/online communities isolate people from ‘real communities’ - Kraut - Putnam

Early studies: Users Withdraw, become less social etc (distopian) Early adopters, short time users.

Explosion in commercial Internet Use of websites,mailing lists, ecommerce (Amazon

recommendations etc) ebay, easyjet, Tesco online Never have to leave the home

Community Online Projects

Inspiration from early BBSsPolitical concernReinvigorate communities->digital divideGive computers to everyone in a placeTrain in skills, support civic organisationsSee what happens

Nothing much at firstEngaged people more engaged

->politic/social movements

Discussion of papers

Wellman et al findingsWhat we use community for?

How is community constituted today?

Networked individualism

Actually greater participation in community

Social TechnologiesCreated by users to satisfy own

community/communication needsSuccessful configurations diffuse rapidlyWide choice of tools to support particular types of

sociality and community. But not deterministic!

Email (lists)Bulletin board (yahoo groups etc)Discussion list (polarisation) open, moderated,

closed.Chat, IM, Virtual PresenceWebpage - present self (complete control) (podcast)

Social Technologies

Web log (Blog)- controlled interactivityBlogrolls; Political, personal, technicalGenerally for small ‘audience’

Social Networking sitesWikis - collective writingOpen source development

Many ‘real’ and ‘virtual’ communities use many of these.

New communities both real and virtualFuture: We must allow communities to

appropriate and innovate technology

Virtual Community Identity?

Virtual communitiesDevelopment of community awareness/identityInvestment in maintenance of communitySocial action outside?Rich community?Online communities

NationalismReligionPedophilesTerrorism?Network society Support networks

New Virtual Worlds:Merge PC games and MOO/MUD ,graphical(MMORPG) Everquest, World of Warcraft,

tribes, explorationSecond Life Habbo Hotel- colonization, static,

building, Exploring or building? Your choice.CommercialAffective, play, creativeDesigners set the ground rules, users create the

society

Virtual Society?

Beyond community? 7 million people Virtual societies (courts, government?)

Virtual economiesLinks to ‘real world’ - economy, personal

life, murder.

Conclusions and QuestionsIntegral part of social lifeNetworked IndividualismNew communities?Social capital in online environments?Towards real virtual communitiesPuralisim or fragmentation;virtual class.

Virtual organisations - new work organisationFuture: social movements, political movementsEngaged and non-engaged

Network methodsNodes and ConnectionMap networkMetrics for relationships

‘strength of relationsPower directionUse of relationshipFlow of ideas and information

Network qualitiesDensityCentrality of nodesMarginality Integration - Bridging

Next time: MobilesReally personalTime and SpacePublic-PrivateBlog entry on what mobile means to youLook at, maybe edit wiki on “Phones and Fags”Add questions to Wiki - we will discuss in classVirtual Society articlePresentation : blog entries, wiki questionsPresentation: Ling et al…Presentation: Smart Mobs

Read also Wajcman report, any of the booksMore class discussion