Networking Identities

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.

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Virtual Hate Communities in the 21st Century

Handbook of Research on Practices and Outcomes in Virtual Worlds and Environments ◽

10.4018/978-1-60960-762-3.ch003 ◽

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.

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Sense of Virtual Community

Virtual Communities ◽

10.4018/978-1-60960-100-3.ch108 ◽

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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Sense of Virtual Community

Handbook of Research on Computer Mediated Communication ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-863-5.ch025 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 325-338 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Anita 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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Virtual Hate Communities in the 21st Century

Cyber Behavior ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-5942-1.ch067 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 1312-1331 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

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.

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Komunikasi Kelompok dalam Virtual Community

KOMUNIDA : MEDIA KOMUNIKASI DAN DAKWAH ◽

10.35905/komunida.v10i01.1220 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (01) ◽

pp. 18-38

Author(s):

Wa Ode Nurhaliza ◽

Nurul Fauziah

Keyword(s):

Virtual Communities ◽

Computer Mediated Communication ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Knowledge Capital ◽

Mediated Communication ◽

Virtual Communication ◽

Computer Mediated ◽

Business Perspective ◽

User Data ◽

Information Trust

This study aims to analyze communication in virtual communities that are reviewed from a business, health and career-linkedIn perspective. This research uses the literature review method through literature search both books and international and national journals. The results showed that the virtual community was established and developed through Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) on various platforms. Virtual communities develop because individuals have the same goal. They bind themselves to join and exchange ideas, information in a virtual community because there are common motives and goals to be achieved. There are several similarities and differences that bind individuals to join virtual communities from a business, health and career-linked perspective. Trust and security are the main keys of individuals joined in virtual communication in various fields. In addition, in the business perspective, two reasons individuals join online trade are the use of a conducive community and virtual social environment. While in the context of health, the reason the community joins is the ease of accessing health information, trust and security of user data. Finally, in the context of career-linked development, individuals tie themselves into the community because this platform has advantages in forming social network capital, knowledge capital to form friendships. Virtual communities on various platforms (business, health and careers) continue to grow and are increasingly being asked by users. Keywords: community; social media; users; virtual

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Conflict and Co-Operation in the Virtual Community: eMail and the Wars of the Yugoslav Succession

Sociological Research Online ◽

10.5153/sro.180 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 84-97 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Paul Stubbs

Keyword(s):

Case Studies ◽

Cultural Change ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Computer Mediated Communication ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Mediated Communication ◽

Computer Mediated ◽

Bulletin Boards ◽

The Relationship

This article focuses on the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) during the wars of the Yugoslav succession, through three case studies of particular eMail networks, discussion groups and bulletin boards: zamir; APC/Yugo/Antiwar; and the Soc/Culture/Croatia and Soc/Culture/Yugoslavia newsgroups. The text addresses the relationship between ‘real’ and ‘virtual’ communities and looks, in particular, at the role of eMail as a tool for social, political and cultural change. Despite the rhetoric of CMC as an inherently liberating and democratising medium, the suggestion is that power relations remain crucial in understanding all of the case studies. eMail may be most effective when part of a local discourse and practice of social change. The article concludes with a consideration of the link between different kinds of trust, or social capital, within the eMail world.

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Cyber Criminology and the Quest for Social Order in Nigerian Cyberspace

The Nigerian Journal of Sociology and Anthropology ◽

10.36108/njsa/6102/14(0130) ◽

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.

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Virtual Communities

Encyclopedia of Multimedia Technology and Networking, Second Edition ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-014-1.ch204 ◽

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).

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Theatre in Second Life® Holds the VR Mirror up to Nature

Handbook of Research on Computational Arts and Creative Informatics ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-352-4.ch021 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 376-395 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Stephen A. Schrum

Keyword(s):

Virtual Worlds ◽

Second Life ◽

Computer Mediated Communication ◽

Mediated Communication ◽

Creative People ◽

Face To Face ◽

Computer Mediated ◽

Physical Presence ◽

And Performance ◽

Definition Of

As creative people inhabit virtual worlds, they bring their ideas for art and performance with them into these brave new worlds. While at first glance, virtual performance may have the outward trappings of theatre, some believe they don’t adhere to the basic traditional definition of theatre: the interaction between an actor and an audience. Detractors suggest that physical presence is required for such an interaction to take place. However, studies have shown that computer mediated communication (CMC) can be as real as face-to-face communication, where emotional response is concerned. Armed with this information, the author can examine how performance in a virtual world such as Second Life may indeed be like “real” theatre, what the possibilities for future virtual performance are, and may require that we redefine theatre for online performance venues.

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