The Virtual Community

From the Publisher: The technology news is filled with money as corporate moguls from Hollywood, the cable business, the computer industry, and the telephone companies scramble to exploit America's much ballyhooed Electronic Superhighway. Suddenly, the interlinked network for computerized communication that grew up quietly on its own is gushing Infotainment possibilities. Interactive is the buzz word today, alongside convergence, cyberspace, and digital future. In The Virtual Community, Howard Rheingold returns the focus of our attention to people, working back from this commercialized present to the very beginnings of computer-mediated communication, giving us the lay of the land before it was discovered by government and the corporate giants. What he reveals to us is a true electronic frontier of fiercely independent enthusiasts who have created closely knit communities and a rich culture on-line, exchanging everything from scientific data to sexual fantasies, child-rearing tips, and free-ranging political opinions. As Rheingold makes clear, this one of several possible futures already exists in very appealing form on-line. The question he poses is: Will these original homesteaders on the electronic frontier now be driven out by the railroad and cattle barons of the communications industry? Even more important, through censorship and commercialization, will we all lose the greatest resource ever for community-building and the free expression of ideas, even before most of us know of its existence? Howard Rheingold is the ultimate insider on networked communication, a key participant in the Bay Area WELL on-line community. Venturing out from his own neighborhood on the WELL, he gives us a tour of on-line culture in Japan, England, France, and on small and large bulletin boards and networks throughout the United States. He shows us the depth of human interaction made possible, ironically enough, by this seemingly faceless technology, as well as the power of true electroni

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