Virtual Communities

2011 ◽  
pp. 1033-1039
Author(s):  
George Kontolemakis ◽  
Panagiotis Kanellis ◽  
Drakoulis Martakos
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Semantic Space ◽  
Electronic Media ◽  
Computer Networking ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Common Values ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Improved Technology ◽  
Virtual Relationships

In recent years, computer mediated communication has been the enabling factor for connecting people to one another and establishing “virtual relationships” (Igbaria, 1999; Johnston, Raizada, & Cronin, 1996). Virtual communities evolved as users of the early networks utilized them mainly for informal rather than business-related communication. These communities were not planned development in the sphere of computer networking. As this form of interaction increased, the users began to demand better and improved technology and functionality which would assist them in their interactions. “Virtual Communities describe the union between individuals or organizations who share common values and interests using electronic media to communicate within a shared semantic space on a regular basis” (Schubert, 1999).

Virtual Communities

2009 ◽  
pp. 1512-1519
Author(s):  
George Kontolemakis
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Semantic Space ◽  
Computer Networking ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Electronic Networks ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Improved Technology ◽  
Over Time

In recent years, computer-mediated communication has been the enabling factor for connecting people to one another and establishing “virtual relationships” (Igbaria, 1999; Johnston, Raizada, & Cronin, 1996). Virtual communities evolved as users of the early networks utilized them mainly for informal rather than business-related communication. These communities were not planned development in the sphere of computer networking. As this form of interaction increased, the users began to demand better and improved technology and functionality which would assist them in their interactions. “Virtual Communities describe the union between individuals or organizations who share common values and interests using electronic media to communicate within a shared semantic space on a regular basis” (Schubert, 1999). This was one of the first definitions of Virtual Communities. Nowadays, in considering companies that are building or trying to build virtual communities, it seems that the up-to-date definition of Virtual Communities is that these “involve establishing connections on electronic networks among people with common needs so that they can engage in shared discussions that persist and accumulate over time leading to complex webs of personal relationships and an increasing sense of identification with the overall community” (Hagel, 2007).

scholarly journals Cyber Criminology and the Quest for Social Order in Nigerian Cyberspace

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip N. Ndubueze
Keyword(s):  
Social Order ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Routine Activity Theory ◽  
First Century ◽  
Routine Activity ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Future Direction ◽  
New Research

Digital and Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) technologies have altered traditional forms of social relationships across modern societies and have raised critical concerns about social order in the cyberspace. The amorphous and borderless nature of virtual communities have allowed various deviants, criminals and terrorists elements to permeate them. The resultant criminogenic atmosphere has created a new research agenda for the discipline of criminology. This paper examines the emergence of cyber criminology as a twenty-first century field of criminology and argues that its growth is a fall-out of concerns about the increasing rate of crime and disorder in the cyberspace. Cyber criminology seeks to offer explanation to the causation of deviance, crime and terrorism in the cyberspace. The paper which is anchored on Jaishankar’s Space Transition Theory and Cohen and Felson’s Routine Activity Theory highlights the challenges, prospects and future direction of the evolving field of cyber criminology and its relevance to the quest for order in the Nigerian cyberspace.

Virtual Hate Communities in the 21st Century

2011 ◽  
pp. 34-53
Author(s):  
Glenn T. Tsunokai ◽  
Allison R. McGrath
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Interactive Media ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Using Data ◽  
And Function

Technological innovations in computer-mediated communication have helped hate groups to transform themselves into virtual communities. Likeminded individuals are now able to unite from all parts of the globe to promote hatred against visible minorities and other out-groups. Through their online interactions, a sense of place is often created. In this chapter, we explore the content and function of online hate communities. Since bigotry tends to be the cornerstone of virtual hate communities, we highlight the legal debate surrounding the regulation of Internet hate speech; in particular, we address the question: Does the First Amendment protect virtual community members who use the Internet to advocate hate? Next, using data collected from the largest hate website, Stormfront.org, we also investigate how Stormfront members utilize interactive media features to foster a sense of community. Finally, we direct our attention to the future of online hate communities by outlining the issues that need to be further investigated.

Internet Geographies

2019 ◽  
pp. 58-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Graham ◽  
Sanna Ojanperä ◽  
Martin Dittus
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Technical Change ◽  
Logical Consequence ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Electronic Media ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
The World

From the earliest stages of computer-mediated communication, technical change was predicted to undermine the significance of geography and lead to the “death of distance.” This seemed a logical consequence of electronic media enabling people to communicate from anywhere, to anyone, and anytime. However, empirical research, such as that illustrated in this chapter, has challenged this view. The authors argue that the Internet augments everyday places. As such, much like material geographies, the Internet can be spatially mapped. In doing so, the authors uncover significant geographic inequalities that shape how we use, move through, and interact with the world.

Networking Identities

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 32-42
Author(s):  
Lhoussain Simour
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
New Space ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Virtual Interactions

Electronic connections allow the individual to be at various global sites while sitting in front of his or her computer. By being electronically connected, one’s participation in virtual worlds raises important questions about the nature of our communities and problematizes our identities. This paper examines how experiences in virtual interactions affect people’s real lives and what impact computer mediated communication has on the formation of a virtual community and its relation to individuals’ identities. Virtual communities stimulate experiences that redefine the basic concepts and contexts that have characterized the essence of human societies. They offer new contexts for rethinking the concept of identity and provide a new space for exploring the extent to which participation in computer mediated interaction modifies the subject in terms of identity, leading to a reconstruction and a reconstitution of self.

Networking Identities

2013 ◽  
pp. 235-246
Author(s):  
Lhoussain Simour
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
New Space ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Virtual Interactions

Electronic connections allow the individual to be at various global sites while sitting in front of his or her computer. By being electronically connected, one’s participation in virtual worlds raises important questions about the nature of our communities and problematizes our identities. This paper examines how experiences in virtual interactions affect people’s real lives and what impact computer mediated communication has on the formation of a virtual community and its relation to individuals’ identities. Virtual communities stimulate experiences that redefine the basic concepts and contexts that have characterized the essence of human societies. They offer new contexts for rethinking the concept of identity and provide a new space for exploring the extent to which participation in computer mediated interaction modifies the subject in terms of identity, leading to a reconstruction and a reconstitution of self.

scholarly journals Scenarios for Unison Text Unfolding in Russian Blogosphere

2021 ◽  
pp. 79-94
Author(s):  
I. V. Kovtunenko ◽  
S. V. Bylkova ◽  
I. A. Kudryashov ◽  
E. A. Korman
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Discourse Markers ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Conceptual Structures ◽  
Language Discourse ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Current Interaction ◽  
Points Of View

The article is devoted to the analysis of scenarios as conceptual structures of a specific type that underlie the pragmatic connectivity of stimulating and reactive messages as part of a blog text in Russian and projecting unison in the current interaction. It has been proven that these scenarios are an essential parameter of the linguistic competence of representatives of virtual communities and are used by the initiator of communication and its respondents to reach agreement and find a common semantic denominator for initially conflicting points of view. The authors dwell on the fact that the implementation of scenarios in computer-mediated communication is predetermined both by the formal capabilities of the lexico-grammatical system of the Russian language (discourse markers) and by linguocultural conventions that the interlocutors adhere to at one stage or another of the joint deployment of the blog text. In this study, the architectonics of scenarios for the connectivity of stimuli and reactions in the composition of the blog text is interpreted as a consequence of the implementation of relay structures. It is emphasized that the initiator of cohesion is the respondent (including the blogger in the function of the respondent) in the course of constructing a responsive message. It is shown that the pragmatic structure of these scenarios includes a foothold in incentive communication and a bond that docks with this foothold in reactive communication.

scholarly journals Information acquisition and exchange withing cryptozoological virtual communities

2009 ◽  
Vol 29 (92) ◽  
pp. 62-63
Author(s):  
David Dmytriw
Keyword(s):  
Information Acquisition ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Internet Relay Chat ◽  
Message Boards ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Exchange Information ◽  
Specific Discipline

Thanks to Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) offered by the internet, people are now able to seek out others with similar interests, views or occupations and communicate with them online. We can read each other's views or data, regardless of our geographical location. We can communicate 'live' (such as in internet relay chat) or without having to be simultaneously present (via newsgroups, email discussion lists or message boards). In recent years, established groups of individuals ranging from a handful to hundreds or even thousands have been engaged in regular CMC with each other. This phenomenon has come to be known as 'virtual communities'. I have been researching the nature of virtual communities and how their members acquire and exchange information. The communities in my study are all related to one specific discipline: cryptozoology - the investigation of mythical animals such as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster.

scholarly journals Unison as a projection of frame architectonics of connectivity in the Russian language blog discourse

2021 ◽  
pp. 160-171
Author(s):  
Viktor M. Shaklein ◽  
Inna V. Kovtunenko
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
Common Denominator ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Conceptual Structures ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Current Interaction ◽  
Points Of View

The pragmatic coherence of stimulating and reactive messages in the Russian blog discourse is based on an open list of conceptual structures of a specific type, namely frames that project unison in the current interaction. It is proved that these frames are the essential parameter of the linguistic competence of representatives of virtual communities and are used by the initiator of communication and its respondents to reach agreement and find a common denominator for the initially conflicting points of view. Their implementation in computer-mediated communication is predetermined by both the formal capabilities of the Russian lexical and grammatical systems (discursive indicators), and the linguistic and cultural conventions that the interlocutors adhere to at one or another stage of joint deployment of the blog discourse. The initiator of connectivity is the respondent (including the blogger in the respondent function) during the construction of a responsive message. The pragmatic structure of these frames includes a foothold in the stimulating message and a staple that connects to this foothold in the reactive message. The elementary structural and semantic unit of the blog text, in which the unison in the opinions of the interlocutors is realized, is the dictative and modus unity of two directly adjacent or remote from each other stimulating and reactive messages. When designing a stimulating message, the blogger chooses dictal or modal propositions that best match his initial intention to establish feedback with a potentially wide range of like-minded respondents. Perceiving the blogger’s judgments, delving into the topic offered to them for discussion, respondents recognize the propositional content of these judgments, their dictative or modus predestination, as well as the goals pursued by the initiator of the interaction.

Sense of Virtual Community

2011 ◽  
pp. 101-115
Author(s):  
Blanchard ◽  
Blanchard
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Virtual Groups ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
To Come ◽  
Or Organization

Sense of virtual community is an important component of successful virtual communities. Defined as members’ feelings of belonging, identity, and attachment with each other in computer-mediated communication, sense of virtual community distinguishes virtual communities from mere virtual groups. Sense of virtual community is believed to come from members’ exchange of social support as well as creating their own identity and learning the identity of others members. It is believed to lead to positive outcomes such as increased satisfaction and communication with the virtual community as well as to greater trust and social capital in the larger face-to-face community or organization. Future research will be able to further develop the theoretical and empirical contributions of sense of virtual community in computer-medication communication research.

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