Mirror worlds or the day software puts the universe in a shoebox: how will it happen and what it will mean
City of bits: space, place, and the infobahn
City of bits: space, place, and the infobahn
Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier
Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier
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In this paper I outline the characteristics of built environments that are believed to be effective in supporting social activity in physical space. I then discuss the degree to which these features can be translated into digital space. I argue that, although we can learn much from studying place-based communities, simply replicating the appearance of participants, architectural backdrops, and urban forms online is an ineffective strategy. Screen-based social sites should be designed with the specifics of the medium in mind. If we wish to build effective online communities, we also need to gain a better understanding of the complex nature of interpersonal and group communication, and of the social, cultural, political, and physical context in which it takes place.