"It's far too early to tell what the tools of social psychology and sociology will help us make of the raw material of group interaction that proliferates in cyberspace. This is an area where adroit use of the Net by scholars could have a profound effect on the nature of the Net. One of the great problems with the atmosphere of free expression now tolerated on the Net is the fragility of communities and their susceptibility to disruption. The only alternative to imposing potentially dangerous restrictions on freedom of expression is to develop norms, folklore, ways of acceptable behavior that are widely modeled, taught, and valued, that can give the citizens of cyberspace clear ideas of what they can and cannot do with the medium, how they can gain leverage, and where they must beware of pitfalls inherent in the medium, if we intend to use it for community-building. But all arguments about virtual community values take place in the absence of any base of even roughly quantified systematic observation.
Right now, all we have on the Net is folklore, like the Netiquette that old-timers try to teach the flood of new arrivals, and debates about freedom of expression versus nurturance of community. About two dozen social scientists, working for several years, might produce conclusions that would help inform these debates and furnish a basis of validated observation for all the theories flying around. A science of Net behavior is not going to reshape the way people behave online, but knowledge of the dynamics of how people do behave is an important social feedback loop to install if the Net is to be self-governing at any scale."
~The Virtual Community, Howard Rheingold
In this seminar following the lecture on virtual communities we'd like you to consider some questions.
Some things you might want to keep in mind when thinking about these questions are how they relate to things such as globalisation, subjective and objective interests, authority, the public sphere (Habermas), social capital, “real life”.
You also might want to think about the different types of virtual community that might be constituted using different media forms (e.g. mobile phones, MUDs, Second Life, Web forums, social network sites, newspapers).
Questions
1. Is what happens in virtual worlds important? Perhaps keeping in mind the examples from the lecture of A Rape in Cyberspace and the protest against Le Pen in Second Life can you think of any reasons why we should or shouldn’t take virtual worlds seriously?
2. What is the difference between a social network and a virtual community? What are the differences between different social networking sites (E.g. Facebook, Myspace, asmallworld)?
3. Is there increased diversity in virtual communities (as compared to your experience of real life communities)?
4. Do you think virtual communities enhance democracy?
5. Do you think the notion of a virtual community is a useful one?
23 comments:
question 2.
the difference between a social network and a virtual community is that in a virtual community people get totally involved in the whole thing and so much so they actually spend their real money on things in a virtual world. like second life. also you can pretend to be whoever you want, and meet other people who are being fake too. so its not even like a real world.
where as social networks like facebook, you cant help but be yourself. also you cant quite get as addicted in the face way. sure you wanna check it all the time.. but its not the same.
... or something.
Do you think virtual communities enhance democracy?
I think that virtual communities such as facebook and myspace can enhance democracy, because the user can get involved in popular debates, that perhaps they wouldn't give much thought to otherwise. For example Facebook has a 'groups' application and users can create or join a group to discuss different topics. People use facebook to generate awareness, as well as to circulate petitions. Also Virtual Communities can be used to show support for example 'Find Madeline' on facebook. Also virtual communities have an 'events' application, where invites can be sent out, This is useful for those who are interested in protests, and are arranging a 'sit in.'
Do you think the notion of a virtual community is a useful one?
in some respects yes, like people that cant get friends in real life.. they can go on things like second life and be a totally different person, and make new friends that dont know how ugly/annoying/fat they are so they just think they have a nice personality. rather shallow in a way but thats life.
Question 1,
Virtual communities serve as useful social extensions of real-life, but the danger of a virtual 'life' becoming as involving, time consuming and important to the user as their real life is very real.
The example of 'A Rape In Cyberspace' can be used to highlight just how emotionally involved an individual can become in the online world. The way that the users called for retribution on the perpetrator provides the element of objective interest that Gordon Graham says is necessary for a 'real' community, but are the social implications as important as they would be in the real world?
I believe that the 'Rape In Cyberspace' case uses the word rape for dramatic impact, but in fact does little but undermine the suffering of genuine rape victims.
What happens online is important and is becoming more important by the day, but I think we run the danger of forgetting that human beings are creatures of flesh and blood, not of silicone and polygons.
Question 2
I think that one of the differences between social networks and virtual communities is that with social networking like Facebook and Myspace it is easier to accept that you can walk away from the computer and back into reality. With virtual communities i think that it is more difficult for users to walk away once they have experienced the equivalent life that they have created so easily. They can adopt an alternative personality and be someone completely different to who they are in reality. They can live a perfect life without encountering real life problems or making mistakes, couldn't they just delete their account and start again if they don't like what they have done with their character? My experience of Facebook and Myspace is that you can separate that from your day to day life, it is addictive but for me theres only so many comments you can leave and photos you can upload before you get bored. Social networks seem to be treated as more of an imprint of your real life, it is possible to be someone your not on there but it doesn't seem like you get very far with that. Personally i don't add anyone on Facebook that i don't know whether they're people i currently know or people i have known in the past that i have the opportunity to catch up with. Compared to virtual communities where you have the complete freedom to be exactly who you want to be even if its the complete opposite to who you really are.
In terms of the differences between social networks, in my own experience i would say that Facebook seems more controlled and reliable compared to Myspace. I haven't experience half as much spam on Facebook as i do on Myspace. I think a lot of the main difference between the networking sites is in the way that you use it. Some use Myspace as a popularity contest to get as many friends as they can and others will use it to promote businesses and music, the ways you can use it differ massively.
Question 5
In some respects Virtual communities are not 'useful' as it encourages people to be something or something that they are not, it very easy for pedophiles to befriend people, and lure them into a false sense of security. Also Virtual communities encourage younger people to become detached from real life, and this leads to poor social skills. Young teenagers seem to be far too concerned with their 'cyber reputation' rather than a real one. With every young person today using myspace, virtual communities and social networks have become nothing more than a popularity contest!!
2.) What is the difference between a social network and a virtual community? What are the differences between different social networking sites (E.g. facebook, Myspace, asmallworld)?
Social networking differs to Virtual communities as the social network is focused around a social structure, whereby individual are linked through different aspects such as friends, values, etc.
Online social networks operate through social network services (such as facebook), which is used by people "who share interests and activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others"
The virtual community (such as secondlife) rather than being focused around real life, they offer their users an alternative to reality.
3.) Is there increased diversity in virtual communities (as compared to your experience of real communities)?
Although anyone can join a virtual community, there are thought to still be issues with diversity.
It is argued that, if you are not of a certain demographic, you will not be treated the same as the majority of users.
5. I think the notion of a virtual community is a useful one in that it allows individuals to socialise with others in ways they may not do in real life. Users may find it hard to interact in real life situations and therefore find the virtual community a much easier place to interact, make friends or express themselves.
2. Although social networking sites and virtual communities are similar in some aspects in that they both encourage online interaction, there are a few differences.
A social network is a website such as 'facebook' or 'myspace' where the sole purpose of interaction is to communicate through the internet, as opposed to face to face, usually with close friends or associates.
However a virtual community is a community that invites and contains a wider variety and number of people who share similar values and beliefs.
2) What is the difference between a social network and a virtual community? What are the differences between different social networking sites?
A social network is a service for communities to share or explore others interests and activities. Well known social network services include Myspace and Facebook.
A virtual community is a group of people that interact with each other via communication media rather then face to face.
3) Is there increased diversity in virtual communities (as compared to your experience of real life communities)?
4) Do you think virtual communities enhance democracy?
5) Do you think the notion of a virtual community is a useful one?
INCOMPLETE
Diffrences between social networks and virtual communities.
Many people spend most of their hours each day ion social networks such as , Facebook & Myspace.
Social Networks can sometimes have a big impact on people's 'real lives' and how they live them. Facebook invites can sometime determine what party a londoner goes to on a saturday night chinawhite ? or Embassy?
People usually use social networks such as facebook to communicate with friends or collegues they already know.
Virtual communities are groups of people that mainly interact via interactive media such as email rather than the conventional face to face debate or conversation.In Virtual communities such as Small World users can use avatars to create a reprensentation of 'you' or much more likely , who you want to be . It is a ongoing interaction , so even once the user has logged of the avartar will contnue its 'life' until the user next logs in.
I think both Virtual communities and Social networks play a big part in modern society, and they will continue to have a immense impact on different parts of life such as how much work is done & social attributes.
5
Is the notion of a virtual community a useful one? Yes i believe so as it allows a type of escapism for many people from their everyday lives. It also allows them to become a separate person than who they really are, allowing them to hide behind a different persona. It also allows them to make friends with fellow virtual community users
5. I do believe the notion of a virtual community is a useful one. There are a number of reasons for this.
Firstly, users are interacting with one another through the medium of a computer screen, initially they do not meet face to face. This gives shy people the opportunity to be themselves and meet new people within situations that in reality, they would not be comfortable in.
Secondly, It gives us access to people we may never have otherwise been given the opportunity to meet.
The barriers of Time, Space and Place (Habermas) are broken down meaning anyone fom any country can chat to each other in real time from the comfort of their own homes. They do not have to travel to the place of residence to see their new found friend. A friend they may not have if it wasn't for the virtual world.
Finally, it offers a new form of escapism from our 'real' lives, a new form of recreation for lots of people who after a stressful day want to get away from it all. The only difference, its a virtual world rather than another form of media or social interaction that they are using as a relaxation tool.
What Virtual Communities mean to me:
I have used Myspace in the past but I am enjoying Facebook much more.
I find it easier to find people I know and a great way of keeping in touch with those I had previously lost contact with.
I have termed Facebook, This is yoour life as, you begin to find people you know from different periods in your life who through one red book (sorry) Facebook account converge to say hi.
The activities on Facebook are much more fun and interactive too.
Question 3
I think that even though the internet is widely available to all who have a computer, diversity is still not represented as ideally as some may hope through virtul communities. Firstly access to the internet 24/7 is a given for people of the western culture, so people of other cultures who may have little or no access at all are not represented in these virtual communities. Thus slimming down the possibility of diversity. Currently as these virtual communities are getting more and more popular the youth of the population in western cultures are targetted with the idea of the virtual community more so than say my nan. So right now i would say that not all age groups are actively using virtual communities, stereotypically i would say it is young western cultured people who make up the majority of the usage of such communities. Although if you scrutise that stereotype you could claim that there is diversity in the way they use community. I think that in the future virtual communities have the opportunity to be even more successful and more diverse as it expands into almost a complete replica of real life. Maybe one day when the third world have their time with the internet then they can fill the gaps and give a true sense of diversity.
Question 2
The difference between social networking sites and virtual communities, Virtual Communities are groups of people who use technology to communicate instead of being face to face. A virtual community gives you a chance to life a different life to your reality. Networking sites are different because you are not creating a different life you are just socializing with old and new friends.
Question 5
I think the notion of a virtual community is an alright one because there is no harm in it and it can look on as a form of escapism. It gives people what they want form life, however it can blur the lines of reality and if people become more interested in their virtual reality than their real one that’s when the problems start.
Emma Bunsie
Question 2
The difference between social networking sites and virtual communities, Virtual Communities are groups of people who use technology to communicate instead of being face to face. A virtual community gives you a chance to life a different life to your reality. Networking sites are different because you are not creating a different life you are just socializing with old and new friends
Emma Bunsie
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