Virtual EthnographyCutting though the exaggerated and fanciful beliefs about the new possibilities of "net life", Hine produces a distinctive understanding of the significance of the Internet and addresses such questions as: what challenges do the new technologies of communication pose for research methods? Does the Internet force us to rethink traditional categories of "culture" and "society?" In this compelling and thoughtful book, Hine shows that the Internet is both a site for cultural formations and a cultural artifact which is shaped by people's understandings and expectations. |
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accounts activities alt.true-crime analysis appropriate audience authenticity performance authors Baym boundaries bounded social campaign challenge Chapter claims communication connections construction context coverage cultural artefact cyberspace dejanews designers developers discourse discourse analysis electronic engagement ethno ethnographic ethnographic approach experience explore field focus focusing graphy identity performance identity play Internet as culture Internet service providers interpretive flexibility Louise Woodward Louise's lurkers mass media meaningful medium messages newsgroup postings object observations offline online settings organization orientation participants particular poster potential practices problems produced questions readers reflexivity relationships relevant search engine seen sense social relations social spaces space of flows statements strategies suggests support sites television temporal collage threads topic trial understanding updated Usenet virtual community virtual ethnography visitors web designers web pages Woolgar World Wide Web
Popular passages
Page 1 - Cheat the Prophet." The players listen very carefully and respectfully to all that the clever men have to say about what is to happen in the next generation. The players then wait until all the clever men are dead, and bury them nicely. They then go and do something else. That is all. For a race of simple tastes, however, it is great fun.
Page 1 - The Human Race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children's games from the beginning, and will probably do it till the end, which is a nuisance for the few people who grow up. And one of the games to which it is most attached is called, 'Keep tomorrow dark', and which is also named (by the rustics in Shropshire I have no doubt) 'Cheat the Prophet'.