Innovations and Reproductions in Cultures and Societies
(IRICS) Vienna, 9. – 11. December 2005
Virtuelle Gemeinschaften | Virtual Communities
Section Chair/Suggestions, Abstracts to:
Gerald Ganglbauer (Sydney) [gerald@gangan.com]
Abstract:
Virtual or – as we also call them – digital communities have only been made possible through the most sustainable innovation of the last century: the Internet. Almost on a daily basis new groups are formed, ranging from digital neighbourhood (where members may or may not meet in real life) to global groups of people sharing interests. Various technologies, from older style UseNet or BBS (Bulletin Boards), to contemporary eGroups and BLOGS (weblogs) enable, almost cost free and worldwide, the reproduction of any kind of comments in real-time.
These days any thinkable legal structure of a group of people – just as well as keen individuals – are hereby given an easy to handle yet very powerful tool to communicate content, ranging from science, arts, politics and society, up to and including the most bizarre collector’s spleens. Expats, ethnic organizations, writers’ groups, net artists, environmental groups, nature lovers … Google, MSN and Yahoo! List endless groups covering any possible subject.
Individuals, on the other hand, enjoy the freedom of being able to create their very own mix of diverse group memberships, thus filtering available contents (collective knowledge base). According to one’s own interests and competence, one’s own contributions are submitted to selected distribution channels, thereby actively contributing to the process of shaping our present and future.
This section calls for papers about real life samples of Digital Communities, which must be accessible by the general public.
Deutsche Fassung | German version:
http://www.inst.at/irics/sektionen_g-m/ganglbauer.htm
Conference infos:
http://www.inst.at/irics/index_english.htm
Regards
Gerald Ganglbauer
http://www.ganglbauer.info