Samenvatting
In the ISBO Virtual Individual Networks (VIN) SMIT is responsible in Task 1.3. for an in-depth user research about the interactions in online and offline sociabilities.
Humans, as being social beings, have always participated in groups or networks. Nowadays this is not changed, on the contrary it seems that we are participating in even more groups than ever. We, as individuals, are members of several kinds of networks. Authors, like Manual Castells, even speaks of the network society, where networks are more dominant than ever (Castells, 1997).
There is another major change in this era and that is the increasing prominence of the online sphere. Networks are now also formed around digital networks with the internet as its backbone. In this light we see that online communities are entering the world of people. So the network of people is dispersing.
However there is the assumption that people who live in the network society are interacting from a personal level. Wellman had the opinion that the person was becoming the portal in this new society. We are interacting to a person instead to a community. So we start this research from the view of the person is the portal to actually put this notion in question. During the research we ask ourself what the meaning of the community is and interaction takes place. We ask ourself if we can say if the community is the portal?
This is our broader theoretical question with the purpose to understand communities better and to provide some guidelines for developing interaction tools for communities.
First we investigate the way persons are connected with their network. We try to capture the online and offline network of people to discover the way people interact within this network. We want to look which place communities receive in this broader social network of people. To have an idea of the network of people we have more contextual information to analyse the experience of some specific communities.
This information can serve as a basis for our concrete question: Are their communication tools that are designed for the needs of communities? Can we say that communities are portals to the network of people? Herefore we need to know the dynamics of a community. In this research we look into three communities and try to grasp the dimensions that shape the community in order to enhance the interaction. Our goal is to look deeper into certain communities and figure out which dimensions are shaping a community. How is the user interacting in these communities and what is the role of technologies? How are new communication technologies domesticated in different usergroups or community settings?
How are technologies applied or not applied to maintain the contacts and sense of community in the community settings?
Humans, as being social beings, have always participated in groups or networks. Nowadays this is not changed, on the contrary it seems that we are participating in even more groups than ever. We, as individuals, are members of several kinds of networks. Authors, like Manual Castells, even speaks of the network society, where networks are more dominant than ever (Castells, 1997).
There is another major change in this era and that is the increasing prominence of the online sphere. Networks are now also formed around digital networks with the internet as its backbone. In this light we see that online communities are entering the world of people. So the network of people is dispersing.
However there is the assumption that people who live in the network society are interacting from a personal level. Wellman had the opinion that the person was becoming the portal in this new society. We are interacting to a person instead to a community. So we start this research from the view of the person is the portal to actually put this notion in question. During the research we ask ourself what the meaning of the community is and interaction takes place. We ask ourself if we can say if the community is the portal?
This is our broader theoretical question with the purpose to understand communities better and to provide some guidelines for developing interaction tools for communities.
First we investigate the way persons are connected with their network. We try to capture the online and offline network of people to discover the way people interact within this network. We want to look which place communities receive in this broader social network of people. To have an idea of the network of people we have more contextual information to analyse the experience of some specific communities.
This information can serve as a basis for our concrete question: Are their communication tools that are designed for the needs of communities? Can we say that communities are portals to the network of people? Herefore we need to know the dynamics of a community. In this research we look into three communities and try to grasp the dimensions that shape the community in order to enhance the interaction. Our goal is to look deeper into certain communities and figure out which dimensions are shaping a community. How is the user interacting in these communities and what is the role of technologies? How are new communication technologies domesticated in different usergroups or community settings?
How are technologies applied or not applied to maintain the contacts and sense of community in the community settings?
| Originele taal-2 | English |
|---|---|
| Uitgeverij | Unknown |
| Status | Published - 2008 |
Publicatie series
| Naam | VIN - WP1.2. Fostering networks in the hybridisation era |
|---|