- Library Binding: 336 pages
- Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (17 Dec 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0415191394
- ISBN-13: 978-0415191395
- Product Dimensions: 24.8 x 18 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,124,994 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
Communities in Cyberspace
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More About the Author
Product Description
Rebecca G ADams, Contemporary Sociology, November 1999
'If this volume were a restaurant or a hotel, it would deserve "five stars".'
Product Description
This wide-ranging introductory text looks at the virtual community of cyberspace and analyses its relationship to real communities lived out in today's societies. Issues such as race, gender, power, economics and ethics in cyberspace are grouped under four main sections and discussed by leading experts:
* identity
* social order and control
* community structure and dynamics
* collective action.
This topical new book displays how the idea of community is being challenged and rewritten by the increasing power and range of cyberspace. As new societies and relationships are formed in this virtual landscape, we now have to consider the potential consequences this may have on our own community and societies.
Clearly and concisely written with a wide range of international examples, this edited volume is an essential introduction to the sociology of the internet. It will appeal to students and professionals, and to those concerned about the changing relationships between information technology and a society which is fast becoming divided between those on-line and those not.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Since 1993, computer networks have grabbed enormous public attention. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Since 1993, computer networks have grabbed enormous public attention. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As a postgrad undertaking a social science analysis of issues relating to the Internet, I have found this to be the best overall summary of the subject. It covers a broad range of topics, and does not get bogged down in utopian nonsense. It is also very well written, which is not something I can say about most books I have read about the Internet.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
A good resource for writers and academics
21 Jan 2001
Format:Paperback
This book covers four main areas in regards to online communities: identity, social order and control, community structure and dynamics, and collective action.
Like many other texts on community, this book tends to focus on older technologies, i.e. Usenet, and MUDs/MOOs. That said, it contains a lot of good analysis done in these areas, and can provide good background for writing about online community. Note that the articles tend to be from the perspective of sociology. The strongest articles, in my opinion, were chapter 2, "Identity and deception in the virtual community," chapter 7, "Virtual communities as communities: Net surfers don't ride alone," and chapter 10, "The promise and peril of social action in cyberspace."
If you are interested in building a community or just in the ideas of online communities, this is probably not the best book for you -- it's pretty academic. Check out Jenny Preece's _Online Communities: Designing Usability, Supporting Sociability_ as an alternative.
7 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Really good one for researchers
12 July 2001
Format:Paperback
Very good articles above important aspects of virtual communities like identity, gender, sociability and other stuff written by people that really knows about the subject, famous researchers. If you are a researcher, you'll love it.
11 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Lost in (cyber)space?
17 Mar 2000
Format:Paperback
I was introduced to this book because my enlightened sociology prof used it as a text for our discussions of sociology and cyberspace.
Some intellectually stimulating articles, like Jodi O'Brien's discussion of gender. It was very stimulating . . . However, the book was far too focused on issues relating to North America and the West generally. What about the rest of the world?
Some sections were extremely dull. This is exciting stuff, why must people pervert it into intellectual cheeseburgers?
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