Page 229 - CULTURE IN THE COMMUNICATION AGE

STEVE JONES AND STEPHANIE KUCKER

absence of F2F interaction. Studies in this area have witnessed the development
of status cues, rules of order, and interpersonal bonds in text-based applications,
which were previously regarded as socially deficient (Wellman 1997). While
comparisons have been drawn between these online developments and ‘real
life’ interactions, scholarly attempts to address the relationship between life
online and life offline have fallen by the wayside (Jones, 1995; Kiesler 1997).
Even in those online studies that do consider what happens when members of
an online community meet ‘in real life’, the primary focus remains on how
these ‘virtual communities of interest’ develop and remain online in ‘cyber-
space’ (Blanchard and Horan 1998; Rheingold 1993). As Blanchard and Horan
(1998) point out, there are also ‘physically based virtual communities’ which
result when proximal communities add electronic resources.
Virnoche and Marx define community networks as a particular type of
computer-mediated community when they note that ‘Community networks
are systems that electronically connect individuals who also share common
geographic space’ (1997: 85). The focus is on geographic connection as
ongoing, as opposed to intermittent, and augmented with shared virtual space.
Recent inquiries have started to ask: what happens when physically proximal
communities go online? While this relationship has been considered in the
early organizational literature, most of that research was focused on how the
introduction of CMC can contribute to changes in workplace satisfaction, with
the primary concern resting with CMC-enhanced outcomes. Recent inquiries
exhibit more concern for the social implications of networked communities,
and address how the addition of new communication technology can alter
social interactions and social structure. While there is debate surrounding
whether the effects of CMC technology will be positive or negative for a given
community of users, there is the strong indication that the implementation of
CMC technology does contribute to the process by which social relationships
exist.

Community, connection, space, and culture
In his masterful examination of culture, narrative, and space, David Nye noted
that ‘the computer did not always have a screen full of text and images’ (1997:
161). He discerned three phases in the development of cyberspace:

The first lasting from the end of World War II until the end of the
1970s. Computers were integrated into large institutions, notably
banks, airlines – white-collar organizations of all kinds. Second, at the
end of the 1970s computers began to emerge into everyday life and
consumption, as computer chips were installed in many products. The
decentralization of the personal computer lasted until the early 1990s,
when the rapid spread of the Internet marked the start of a third phase.
(Nye 1997: 161)

218