Community Informatics Summer School July 18, 2011 / Day 7 How do communities represent themselves in cyberspace?

Howard Rheingold The Virtual Community 1. The vision at the beginning before the dot com revolution 2. Thinking out of the box - innovation Manuel Castells Grassrooting the space of flows 1.Space of flows: four aspects 2.Space of flows for grassroots: five aspects

The virtual Community Social aggregations that emerge from the Net when enough people carry on those public discussion long enough, with sufficient human feeling, to form webs of personal relationships in cyberspace New language: computer-mediated communication, the Net, Cyberspace, third spaces, everyday life in cybespace

Space of flows = material arrangements that allow for simultaneity of social practices without territorial contiguity. This includes the following: 1. technological (cyber) infrastructure 2. nodes and hubs in a network 3. habitats for social actors that operate networks 4. electronic spaces (servers)

Space of flows for the grassroots Autonomous expressions of social meaning Purposive, horizontal communication Networks of solidarity and cooperation Social movements Interaction between institutions and people What else can you think of?

Facing the economic crisis Information is needed to face the housing crisis – the market can be unfair Information and skill are need to find a job in the new economy Information is needed to form organizations that can help small business Students canhelp the community by developing digital tools like a video The video made by students at UIUC

Discussion in research teams 15 minutes

Case study sites and teams 1.China Agricultural University Library: Jianghua, Liying, Qingsong, Haiyan 2.An-Zhen Street Community Library in Chaoyang District: Biyang, Wenjie, Tingting, Yanan 3.National Library: Ran, Jiao, Jie, Zhengyu 4.Da-Xing District Library: Hongli, Xuejing, Weixin, Zhenduo 5.National Science Library: Jinfang, Siying, Jing, Xia 6.Chang-Chun Xinyuan PKU doctoral students dorm: Haixia, Jin, Zhenzhen, Xu 7.Peking University Library : Lili, Qiuting, Li, Kang 8.Starbucks Coffee at Xidan: Ping, Yingfang, Sufang, Yuanrui 9.Dang-ze Cybercafe at PKU South Gate: Xiaohua, Rihua, Fei, Long

Digital rebirth of cultural institutions Traditional institutions maintain continuity but can be open to innovation ICT is essential for everyone, all ages and the entire community Leadership is key to win the support of the community Students can help build community technology centers while learning A video made by students at UIUC

Discussion in research teams 15 minutes

10 minute break

Evaluation of research teams: 1. Learning from each other (report from Community Library Team 2. Striving for academic excellence 3. Maintaining social responsibility

Case study sites and teams 1.China Agricultural University Library: Jianghua, Liying, Qingsong, Haiyan 2.An-Zhen Street Community Library in Chaoyang District: Biyang, Wenjie, Tingting, Yanan 3.National Library: Ran, Jiao, Jie, Zhengyu 4.Da-Xing District Library: Hongli, Xuejing, Weixin, Zhenduo 5.National Science Library: Jinfang, Siying, Jing, Xia 6.Chang-Chun Xinyuan PKU doctoral students dorm: Haixia, Jin, Zhenzhen, Xu 7.Peking University Library : Lili, Qiuting, Li, Kang 8.Starbucks Coffee at Xidan: Ping, Yingfang, Sufang, Yuanrui 9.Dang-ze Cybercafe at PKU South Gate: Xiaohua, Rihua, Fei, Long