[Air-l] Major Online Communities Report from Pew Internet and American Life Project

[J. Sternberg]

A belated thanks to Steven Clift for his Nov. 1st post
concerning the Pew Internet study about participation in
online groups.

> The Pew Internet and the American Life Project
> <http://www.pewinternet.org> has released one of the most important
> studies about the "two-way" Internet to date - "Online Communities:
> Networks that nurture long-distance relationships and local ties."
> Below is the press release.  Access the full report from:
>    http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=47

Though the results of the study may not be surprising to
many of us, I'm particularly gratified that the findings
seem to support conclusions I've drawn recently from my own
research.

In my doctoral dissertation, "Misbehavior in Cyber Places:
The Regulation of Online Conduct in Virtual Communities on
the Internet" (completed in September and forthcoming from
UMI), I concluded that gathering for social interaction in
online communities and participating actively in the
regulation of online conduct may help promote a new sense of
social place and civic concern affecting people's everyday
behavior and communication, both online and off. 
According to the Pew press release text:
> These [Pew's] findings represent some hopeful news that the Internet can be a tool
> for vigorous social engagement, rather than a technology that spurs
> isolation and alienation among users.

And several weeks ago at the NCA convention in Atlanta, on a
panel about "Future Visions of Internet Communication," I
suggested that one of the most significant trends of
Internet use is people going online for social interaction
rather than simply for information. According to the Pew
press release text:
> Some 84% of Internet users have contacted an online group. That means that
> more Americans have used the Internet to contact a group than have gotten
> news online, or searched for health information, or bought a product.

So for me, it was rewarding indeed to read of this report
from the Pew Project. Thanks again, Steven!

Janet Sternberg, Ph.D.
New York University
http://homepages.nyu.edu/~js15