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Technology, Writing and the Internet Advanced Expository Writing
ENGL 249S-02 * Fall 2003 |
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Community and Identity
- Tara Abatemarco sends this site from Opinion-Exchange.com: "Members of the Opinion Exchange are encouraged to debate, discuss, and vote on topics. It even entices people by awarding cash and prizes to the most
opinionated people on various discussion boards. Topics are varied and include, business, entertainment, sports, religion, and politics."
- Becky Allen provides this site from InternetTrash.com: "Looking for a place to be yourself? Try the Internet Trash Community. Internet Trash is a humorous site with a sarcastic tone. The community allows individuals to publish web sites, join forums, host chats, and post various articles. Not to be taken seriously, but good for a laugh."
Marshall Annis suggests this article from GerryMcGovern.com: "This article by Gerry McGovern asks the question 'Are online communities working?' It was once believed that they would revolutionize the way people socialized and how companies could make money. While membership is starting to rise, these web based communities are still mostly unprofitable."
Deepak Arora sends this site from the U.S. Dept of Justice: "The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) describes identity theft/fraud clearly, and then explains what they are doing about it. To promote community safety, the DOJ explains what can be done to avoid becoming a victim of it, and what should be done if it is too late. For further safety, they host a variety of links where one can find out more about identity theft and fraud."
Paul Chuong's link is Vircom Virtual Communities: "Vircom Virtual Communities is dedicated to studying the basis of virtual communities, such as how it has evolved, what it means, how it has changed society, and how it will impact future social interaction. Their homepage contains links which direct one to articles concerning the issues previously stated. Some articles, however, are still a work in progress, and are not accessible."
John Fleming's article is from Web4Groups: "Roland Alton-Scheidl, Samba Diallo, [and] Gernot Tscherteu, in their article 'Social Functions in Virtual Communities,' discuss what a virtual community is, the roles people play, and the social functions within. They talk about the close relationship between online
and real-life communities. Through the years, roles and rules in real-life have taken shape online."
Chris Gilmore, Blake Loscalzo and Michelle Spangle all suggest this site from Storm A. King: Chris says about Chapter 5, "Storm A. King and Danielle Moreggi, the authors of 'Internet Therapy and Self Help Groups: The Pros and Cons,' provide a decriptive account of the nature and effectiveness of online therapy groups as well as some negative aspects of this practice. They believe that these communities are effective for several reasons including that participants are at much more ease than face to face encounters, because age, race, gender, and appearance are not issues, as with normal conversations. However, because these communities are virtual and lack the opinion of professionals, serious problems and conditions are best left to be discussed with doctors." Michelle says, "Storm A. King in 'The Impersonal Nature of Interpersonal Cyberspace Relationships' suggests that cyberspace relationships are cold, impersonal, and illusionary. He says that true emotional connections are the result of a complete and detailed knowledge of others. Behind every typed message,'there is a life, filled with houses and cars and wives and kids and jobs, of which (people are) completely unaware.'" Blake adds, "The Psychology of Virtual Communities, by Storm A. King is a site dedicated to on-line support groups and therapeutic technology. It includes research and refrences on virtual communities and how they are helpful
for people suffering from trauma, disease, or addiction amongst articles involving the ethics of this kind of healing for people."
Stefanie Kealey's link is from Wired.com: "Steve Silberman of Wired News (wired.com), conducted an interview with executive director of the WELL, Gail Williams, to obtain her opinion about the recent study that claims online community users suffer from loneliness and
declines in social interaction. The WELL is a cluster of electronic villages on
the Net, inhabited by people from from all over the world. In the interview, Williams argues positively for online communities and counters some of the implications of the study."
Kristy Klein's article is from EPDigest.com: "Entitled "Why Web Communities,' by Brian Alt, discusses the ability to bring people together to talk about similar interests such as similar lifestyles, shared activities, etc. Brian also discusses the benefits of such a shared network, and why they are so attractive. An example of this, is the shared knowledge that is available in an on line community."
Julie Lauenger suggests Patchworx.org: "his link is for children with either illness or disabilty to meet other kids who are going through or have gone through similar issues. The webpage provides games, a bulletin boared, a questions page, a news page, and so much more. The goal of this online community, called PatchWorx, is to provide support and/or coping mechanisms for the children and thier families."
- Paul Lavoie sends this site from WoWWomen.com: "Women Online World is an example of a great community webpage for women. This site has anything one may need for interacting with other women. WOW has women's chats, message boards, e-cards, and interactive zones. It is extremely feminist by nature, so it is not recommended for men!" Webmaster's note: Unless you're an enlightened man!!
- Jeffrey Lees's link is an article from December.com: "In an article from February 1997, CMC magazine focuses on online communities. There are several links to different articles that discuss what an online community is and if they are real communities. The user can find extensive information relating to virtual communities and what the citizens of them are like."
- April Mahoney sends this article from BusinessWeek.com: "In his article, 'Is the Net Redefining Our Identity?' Paul C. Judge discusses the significance of Sherry Turkle's work, and provides his
own input regarding her theories on internet identity. Judge's article, published in Business Week, begins by offering a real-life scenario in which Turkle has found an individual imitating herself online. The author suggests that Turkle may indeed be too optimistic concerning
new technologies and their effect on human identity."
- Kevin Manoni suggests this site from Consumer.gov: "This is a government site that is concerned with educating the population on identity theft. The site tells how your identity can be stolen, how to protect yourself against identity theft, and what to do if your identity is stolen. This is a very reliable site with important information."
Sophie Moravej sends the RichardSimmons.com website: "Richard Simmons is one of the most influential, famous, and prominent promoters of healthy weight loss. His website includes "tools" for weight loss, bulletin boards, chat rooms, recipes, and a "personals" section where you can find a weight loss program partner. The chat room provides motivation and support twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week."
Taki Naito's link is from FirstMonday.dk: "In 'Sleepless in Belgrade: A Virtual Community during War,' Smiljana Antonijevic describes her research on the role of a virtual community during and after the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. This article mentions the significant changes the community gone through during the War, which includes increasing participants, more users spent time online, and the reasons for communicating changed dramatically. During this period of crisis, strong relationships were developed within the community, feelings were greatly expressed and important sources of information was also gathered."
Katie O'Keeffe provides this site from InternetWeek.com: "In Richard Karpinski's 'Five things you should know about Internet Identity,' posted on InternetWeek.Com gives a detailed analysis of how to manage online identities as well as the differences between internet identities and real life situations."
Jan Voolstra's link is from Pantheist-Index.net: "Pantheism is defined in Merriam-Webster's online dictionary as, '1 : a doctrine that equates God with the forces and laws of the universe
2 : the worship of all gods of different creeds, cults, or peoples indifferently; also : toleration of worship of all gods (as at certain periods of the Roman empire).' The Pantheist Index provides many different types of directories for Pantheists as well as 43 sites under the
Internet Community link. So if you believe that God rules the universe, and you want to share or compare your views, check out the Internet Communities links."
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This page was created as technical support for Kathrine Aydelott's ENGL 249S Course, Fall 2003. Created Aug 22, 2003. Last updated Sept. 26, 2003.