Cybersociety 2.0: Revisiting Computer-Mediated Community and Technology, Vol. 2

Like its predecessor, the best-selling Cyber Society, published in 1994, Cybersociety 2.0 is rooted in criticism and analysis of computer-mediated technologies to assist readers in becoming critically aware of the hype and hopes pinned on computer-mediated communication and of the cultures that are emerging among Internet users. Both books are products of a particular moment in time, and serve as snapshots of the concerns and issues that surround the burgeoning new technologies of communication.

After a brief introduction to the history of computer-mediated communication, each essay in this volume highlights specific cyber societies and how computer-mediated communication affects the notion of self and its relation to community. Contributors probe issues of community, standards of conduct, communication, means of fixing identity, knowledge, information, and the exercise of power in social relations.

Cybersociety 2.0, the new edition of Steven G. Jones's Cybersociety, is also rooted in criticism and analysis of computer-mediated technologies to assist readers in becoming critically aware of the hype and hopes pinned on computer-mediated communication and the cultures that are emerging among Internet users. Both books are products of a particular moment in time and serve as snapshots of the concerns and issues that surround the burgeoning new technologies of communication. After a brief introduction to the history of computer-mediated communication, each chapter in this volume specifically highlights specific cyber "societies" and how computer-mediated communication effects the notion of self and its relationship to the community. Contributors probe issues of community, standards of conduct, communication, the means of fixing identity, knowledge, information, and the exercise of power in social relations. They also question how traditional sociological inquiry can adapt itself to most effectively study computer-mediated social formations.

Both timely and thought-provoking, Cybersociety 2.0 belongs on the bookshelf of students and scholars in fields of communication, popular culture, American studies, and mass communication.

Booknews

Assists readers in becoming aware of the hype and hopes pinned on computer-mediated communication technologies and of the cultures that are emerging among Internet users. Highlights specific cyber societies and how computer-mediated communication affects the notion of self and its relation to community, and examines issues of community, conduct, fixing identity, and the exercise of power in social relations. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Steve Jones is professor and head of the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is author/editor of numerous books, including Doing Internet Research, The Encyclopedia of New Media, CyberSociety, and Virtual Culture. He is co-founder and president of the Association of Internet Researchers and co-editor of New Media & Society, an international journal of research on new media, technology, and culture. He also edits New Media Cultures, a series of books on culture and technology for Sage Publications, and Digital Formations, a series of books on new media for Peter Lang Publishers.