Coye Cheshire & Andrew Fiore 17 January 2012 // Computer-Mediated Communication Introductions, terminology, & taxonomy

Your instructors… 6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication1

6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication2 Theoretical perspectives PsychologySocial cognition, interpersonal perception, attraction SociologyGroup dynamics, social structure, community, reputation, trust CommunicationMediation, signaling, media richness HCIInterfaces for social interaction

6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication3 The basic stuff: readings, website, etc… Office hours: 305A South Hall Wednesday 1:30 to 2:30 pm Course reader — for what’s not online At Copy Central (2560 Bancroft at Telegraph) Class mailing list (directions on course homepage) Web site — syllabus and readings (password)

Your class…  Who are you?  Your Interest in Computer- Mediated Communication? 6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication4

6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication5 what a… hi there elvis…

6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication6 Computer-mediated communication? Information and Communications Technology? Social software? CMC…DC…SS…ICT…DITMSSC ! Technology- Mediated Social Participation? Online interaction? Virtual community?

AIR-L mailing list debate about “CMC” 6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication7 Read Online:

6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication8 Computer-mediated communication

As you can see…even the title of this course is up for debate. (but now that we are in complete agreement/disagreement… back to course logistics!) 6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication9

6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication10 More logistics: Course format  Lecture + open discussion  With your class participation and weekly reading task  Several in-class activities: rapid- prototyping design projects, in- class experiments…even competitive tournaments!

6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication11 Weekly Reading Task: Reviews! The goal: to highlight specific issues, themes, contributions, and/or problems from the readings.

Weekly reviews  Two short reviews required per week.  “Short but informative.” Think of a good online review (Yelp, Amazon.com, etc.). A few paragraphs is sufficient. Be honest but be specific.  Critique, explore, examine — no need to summarize.  Due by 5pm every Tuesday. No Exceptions!  Reviews are an important part of discussion. We will wrap them into our lectures and slides.  30% of your grade — can’t pass the class without them.  Course password: ************  This week: one review, due by Friday at 5 pm 6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication12

Weekly reading task examples from the days of yore 6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication13

6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication14 Assignments and final projects  Problem and justification statement  Interim report  Final project report

Project ideas  Your ideas will be posted to a wiki (more info coming)  We will use these to help you organize into groups. 6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication15 If you have a project idea already, keep thinking about it and try to write up a few sentences about your interests.

Final projects from the land before time… long long ago…  Two Examples  Squash&Vine  user assessment, site prototype  Mediated Memory  Theory and hypotheses, experimental design 6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication16

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6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication19 Final presentations and posters Final presentations: Wed, May 2 nd !

6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication20 A brief overview of course topics in no particular order…

6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication21 Overview Social Presentation and Perception Online Communities

6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication22 Overview (continued) Visual interfaces, information visualizations and Media “Richness” Collective Action, Information “Pools” and Collaborative Editing

6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication23 Overview (continued) Reputation Trust and Trustworthiness

6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication24 Overview (continued) Privacy Intimate Relationships

6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication25 Overview (continued) Deception: Lies and the lying liars who lie! CMC and Games

Questions? 6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication26

The Early Beginnings of Computer-Mediated Communication: The Virtual Community 6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication27

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6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication29 Web 2.0, circa 1985? vs.

6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication30 Rheingold’s study: An early online community (Whole Earth ’Lectronic Link)  At this time, geography still played an important role because of BBSes (local telephone access)  Less use of pseudonyms (identity persistence)  Less initial distrust  Socioeconomic skew?

6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication31 What is an online/virtual community? Social Spaces Role-playing Professional Groups Work-related discussion groups Medical and Illness support groups Geographically related groups Tech/Software Support

6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication32 Virtual communities are social aggregations that emerge from the Net when enough people carry on those public discussions long enough, with sufficient human feeling, to form webs of personal relationships in cyberspace. Howard Rheingold, The Virtual Community

Social networks  NOT the same as “social networking” sites!  Accumulate capital (Smith) …  Social network capital  Knowledge capital  Communion  … through ties within the network. 6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication33

6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication34 Potential “to change our lives” Rheingold (1995) Political change (aggregate social level) Person-to-person interaction (interpersonal interaction level) Perception, thoughts, personalities (individual level) Macro Micro

Critiquing how CMC changes our lives  That is, does CMC technology change people? Change society?  Can we separate online communication technologies from those who create and use them? 6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication35 Image Credit: content/uploads/2010/02/12basics.L.jpg

6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication36 Activity-centered design: An ecological approach to designing smart tools (Gay and Hembrooke 2004)

6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication37 Activity-centered design: An ecological approach to designing smart tools (Gay and Hembrooke 2004)

6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication38 The Internet as “agora”?

6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication39 The Internet as Panopticon?

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Group activity: CMC technologies  With your group, make a list of the CMC technologies you use, have used, or know about.  Consider the characteristics of each technology. What differentiates them? How are they similar?  Group the technologies in a way that makes sense based on their qualities.  Do they form coherent clusters?  Can you identify consistent dimensions on which you can arrange the technologies?  What are the properties of the ones you enjoy the most? Find the most useful? 6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication41

Mailing List: 6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication42

6/7/2015Computer-Mediated Communication43 For next Wednesday… Social presentation, interpersonal perception, and deception  Goffman, E. (1956) Chapter 1 from The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: Doubleday. (In reader.)  Donath, J. (1998) Identity and Deception in the Virtual Community. In Smith, M., and P. Kollock (Eds.)Communities in Cyberspace. London: Routledge.Identity and Deception in the Virtual Community  Donath, J. (2011) Signals, cues, and meaning (draft chapter). In Signals, Truth and Design. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press (forthcoming).Signals, cues, and meaning (draft chapter)  Hancock, J.T. (2007) Chapter 19: Digital deception: Why, when and how people lie online. In Joinson, A., McKenna, K., Postmes, T., and U-D. Reips (Eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Internet Psychology. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. (In reader.) Write one review for this week and the normal two for next week.