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Cybersociety: Computer - Mediated Communication and Community. Edited by Steven G. Jones. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1995. 241 pp.
Data Trash: The Theory of the Virtual Class. By Arthur Kroker & Michael A. Weinstein. Montreal: New World Perspectives, 1994. 165 pp.
They just keep on coming. What once was a mild flurry of books on the nature of virtual communities and cyberspace has now become almost a whirlwind. These books run the gamut of sensibilities, from the potentialities of on - line communities (Herz, 1995; Rheingold, 1993) to the perils of virtual life (Slouka, 1995; Stoll, 1995; Talbott, 1995). Some adopt a more theoretical and nuanced look at the intricacies of virtual systems and the socio - psychological implications thereof (Stone, 1995; Turkle, 1995) or at the confluence of virtual systems design with the urban environment (Mitchell, 1995). Most of these books, however, are written for a cross - over audience: the academic and the general reader.
A recent book from this oeuvre, yet catering to the undergraduate - to - graduate school audience, which will undoubtedly stake a claim as one of the more definitive collections, is Steve Jones's edited compilation entitled Cybersociety. This collection brings together eight articles from an international cast of academics, who discuss aspects of community and computer - mediated communication (CMC) in various virtual systems, including Usenet, MUDs (text - based virtual reality systems called multiuser dimensions), IRC (Internet Relay Chat), software, and computer games such as Nintendo.
Jones dubs the new and emergent social formations brought about by CMC "cybersociety." This is akin to Linda Harasim's (1993) definition of "networlds" as encompassing a social dimension, which she subdivides into three distinct yet often overlapping networlds: social networlds, networkplaces, and educational networlds. Social networlds consist of forums for informal conversation, such as newsgroups available on Usenet; conferences available through private systems, such as WELL, Prodigy, AOL, and CompuServe; as well as Internet services including IRC and MUDS. Networkplaces -- inhabited by corporate, industrial, academic, and entrepreneurial workers -- are networlds designed to facilitate and promote work - related activities at the office itself, or through telecommuting. Educational networlds include colleges and universities, K - 12 schools, distance education projects, and community - based projects. Harasim further distinguishes networlds...