The Culture of the Internet

This chapter deals with the culture of the producers and users at the source of the Internet’s creation and configuration. It notes that culture means a set of values and beliefs informing behaviour, thus, repetitive patterns of behaviour generate customs that are enforced by institutions, as well as by informal organizations. It discusses that the Internet culture is characterized by a four-layer structure — the techno-meritocratic culture, the hacker culture, the virtual communitarian culture, and the entrepreneurial culture. It highlights the direct link between the cultural expressions and the technological development of the Internet. It explains that open source software is the key technological feature in the development of the Internet, and this openness is culturally determined.

The Internet · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Cultural Industries and Urban Development · Digital Games and Media

• Computer-Mediated Communication

  Open Access•Joyce Lamerichs, Hedwig Te Molder et al.•New Media & Society•2003

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• Internet Haze

  Open Access•Giuseppe Mantovani•Culture & Psychology•2002

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• What Is Social Informatics and Why Does It Matter

  Rob Kling•The Information Society•2007

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