I intended to research the behavioural efects in users of online communites. My research uncovered the resons for participation in online communites, the positive and negative uses of an online identity and the differences between virtual and traditional communities.
This text offers an interesting view on the rising phenomenon of Friendster. The web site allows users to post profiles of themselves with a great deal of personal information. Other users then browse these profiles, find people of like interests and contact them through the website’s message system.
There are first hand tales from users; a diverse group of people indicating that making virtual connections is no longer just for the painfully shy. Time Poor professionals are among the increasing number of clients using Friendster as a quick and thorough casting couch for potential friends. More interesting still is the interactions when the users meet in real life.
This text examines some of the reasons why people are joining virtual communities but needs to go further in defining the online relationships and the affect on the relationship when members meet in real life; on purpose or by coincidence.
This is an excellent academic text defining not just the new electronic phenomenon like virtual communities but also the traditional workings of social interaction. It notes that social networks - of any form - are created for different purposes (professional connections, dating, face-to-face meeting facilitation, and friend networking) and have different focuses depending on interests.
A brief history is provided of how these EIES (Electronic Information Exchange Systems) came about from their early bulletin board format to the autonomous workings of today’s systems. The article also briefly discusses privacy issues but this is mainly from the standpoint of being inconvenienced by unsolicited mail. In face to face relationships, trust is generally something that is earned over time. The article does not mention the dangers of other users from within the site using the masses of information you have provided for malicious purposes. It seems that because users are separated in the physical world, they have some sort of anonymity despite the sometimes very detailed amounts of information divulged on the sites.
It does identify this behaviour as strange though, but perhaps only by traditional standards where the rules of social interaction have been well established and indoctrinated and such honesty and openness is unheard of. In creating a new medium for communication, it has been possible to create a new social etiquette.
This extract deals greatly with new technologies, particularly wireless, that have effected how we see the connections between ourselves and other people. It deals briefly with the shrinking world idea made possible through the widespread use of affordable telecommunication products stating that people do not feel as though their friends are in another city, but are constantly connected to them and consider them to be present during a conversation.
For the first time in my research, the ideas of trust and treachery have received proper attention. It could be argued that the feeling of anonymity is what makes some people so naive about the possible intentions of other users. Why would someone want to hurt me when they don’t even know me? This article brings up some points in relation to how many networks such as eBay are incorporating trust rating systems where users evaluate their peers on past interactions.
Finally, the article closes with a warning to users to be cautious in their online interactions and recognises a need for the rules and regulations that act as safeguards in these virtual worlds to be developed at a rate that matches the boom in technology; something that is currently lacking.
This article focuses on the usage of online communities as selfish therapy by users. It highlights the argument that online communities are legitimate replacements for disappearing face to face interactions. It proposes that “intimate and affective ties�? can be formed between people in online networks and that their virtual nature simply removes barriers of distance between individuals.
It then becomes more pessimistic and argues that online communities lack the sentiment of mutual obligation and are purely for the pleasure of the individual. It is based on the argument by Philip Rieff that we have entered a “therapeutic�? age in which people are only interested in that which serves “the enrichment of their own experience.�?
The article examines many of the factors used to define a community. It highlights the arguments often put forward by those who believe in the authenticity of online communities before countering each argument according to the notion that the interactions are more often than not selfish in nature.
It may appear that online communities only offer temporary relationships and instant gratification (a movie discussion forum is a good example of this) but as stated by earlier research (Wallys 2005) different types of interaction serve different purposes. This research does not take into consideration the many environmental groups that not only use these communities to distribute information but also to organise actions and public demonstrations that would certainly fall under the category of achieving communal goals.
This is a very interesting article in that it argues against many of the positive effects proposed by advocates of virtual communities.
The focus of this article is on the deviant behaviour of individuals with the use of new technologies. Fraud, hacking and the distribution of illicit material are just some of the problems associated with the new virtual world. As noted in previous research (Jennings 2003) law enforcement has not been able to keep up with the latest technologies and police do not have the manpower to follow up many crime that appear on networks. The new problem arises in that the easily prosecutable physical violence of the real world is not present online and yet extremely violent and sexual ‘texting’ goes on in the virtual setting. There are guidelines for what formulates harassment and assault but the enforcement can be difficult.
This article discusses the self regulation of web sites ad forums but quite clearly demands a higher level of punitive measures for deviants in online communities who are committing acts that would certainly not be acceptable in the physical world.
Studies could be done to examine the prevalence of online abuse and its report rate, which I suspect would be much lower than that of assault in the physical world, possibly for many of the same reasons. Another problem which arises from the freedom of virtual communities is the ability of such people to come together and discuss their deviances, providing others with both knowledge and validation.
Volume 21, Issue 3 , September 2004, Pages 241-263
This article provides a great background into why people participate in online communities. Very importantly it examines the relationship between a virtual identity and group norms. As with any social group there are is an administrative hierarchy and acceptable behaviours from its members. These are generally more flexible than those in face to face interactions and can differ between different online communities based on their own values.
The formulation of one’s identity is through a combination of personal beliefs and intrinsic factors and also the perceptions of the people around them. Virtual communities have offered people a new space in which they are unknown to create new identities; ones that they may not feel they can explore in traditional social groups.
An interesting concept is how much compromise occurs between the new identity of the user and the new social boundaries they experience in the varying virtual communities. This idea is not explored by the article. This could be due to its major flaw in that the piece is written from a marketing perspective. The basics of socialization are well covered in this article and should not be dismissed, however I would be hesitant to further extrapolate on its findings without extensive cross-referencing with other sources.
This article examines the key factor that is hotly contested in the debate about the social validity of online communities; spatiality. This report is a case study on the BBS (Bulletin Board System), ‘The Castle,’ a meeting point for Disney enthusiast who gathers on the site to discuss various Disney related topics. A BBS differs from an internet site in that you dial directly into another computer and as result lends itself more to being a local network (due to phone call costs). Knowing this fact it gave users the ability to facilitate further interaction in real life. Thus what started out as a virtual community became a physical one but still existed in its electronic form attracting new members.
This provides an opportunity to examine how a virtual community interacts with a real one. Are the interactions between members different without a computer screen between them and in turn does having physical knowledge of another strengthen the online relationship, something that has come under fire from some critics claiming that a purely electronic bond is superficial.
Very important information will go here.
My spelling is attrocious, i wondr if this thing hsa a spelll check?/
This is the first tute, familiarizing ourselves with editing these pages.
Please forgive my lack of interesting content.
Until next time...
--Aaron Ellul 12:31, 26 Jul 2005 (EST)
This is my next session, albeit 2 mins later. Keep an eye out for official lingo indicated by this text.
i just double spaced
This is very interesting, if you put in random words in the image title section, you will sometimes get an image... watch
Image:Wall.jpg
This is suposed to be a caption of the randomly generated image above... notice the small text
time for a link. Try The Toilet Online it is a very funny page.
It's specific adress is [URL: http://www.thetoiletonline.com]
