[Air-L] Second Call for Chapter Proposals - Networked Sociability and Individualism: Technology for Personal and Professional Relationships

[francesca comunello]

CALL FOR CHAPTER PROPOSALS

Proposal Submission Deadline: July 15, 2010

“Networked Sociability and Individualism: Technology for Personal and
Professional Relationships,”

A book edited by Francesca Comunello
Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy
To be published by IGI Global: http://www.igi-global.com

Introduction

The rise of individualism has been recently described in terms of
“networked individualism” or “individualized networking” (following
Wellman and Castells). Instead of being organized in groups, our lives
are articulated around multiple networks, while our forms of
sociability are getting growingly increasingly privatized. The new
patterns of sociability seem to be built on multiple me-centred
networks: each person «becomes a communication and information
switchboard, between persons, networks, and institutions» (Wellman,
2004). Far from proposing an atomized vision of individuals, these
Authors underline the growing degree of responsibility people
experience in their everyday activity of relationship management. The
concept that better describes the forms of sociability we are
experiencing is, in my opinion, Castells’ networked sociability.
Digital technology is not determining this process: it is rather
enabling each person to build and manage their own social networks,
both on- and offline.

The recent popularity of Social Network Sites (SNS) such as My Space,
Facebook, Linkedin, etc. shows that there is a growing interest in
articulating, making visible, and managing personal or professional
relationships through technology-enabled environments. The phenomenon
addressed is wider than Social Network Sites, and includes the wide
variety of ways in which people are linked to each other.

Objective of the Book

In the proposed publication we will on a variety of Social Media and
Computer-Mediated Communication environments, in order to underline
the ways in which people articulate their social relations and the
related individualized identity performances. In this book's analysis,
Social Network Sites will play a major but not exclusive role. For a
better understanding of the identity performances and of the ties’
strength, this book will not only focus on SNS, but rather consider
the wider context, includingthe variety of ways in which people are
linked to each other (a context where old and new media collide, and
where mediated and face to face social relations are growingly
integrated). Nevertheless, SNS are powerful playgrounds, both for the
user and for the researcher. a sociological point of view, one of the
main point of interest of Social Network Sites, let alone their
constantly growing popularity among internet users worldwide, is that
they represent powerful environments to observe publicly articulated
self presentation and identity performances: SNS make such processes
visible, trackable, and, therefore, easy to study. Far from
constituting an alternative or “virtual” world, social media are
embedded in everyday life: using Social Network Sites, people connect
to each other in ways they perceive seamless to face-to-face
relations. Nevertheless, the above mentioned “trackability” enables
people’s awareness (we are now more consciously engaged in our
personal network management). This book will analyze this increased
consciousness, fully exploring the technology and impact of our social
networks in the current social atmosphere.



Target Audience

 Academics: Scholars, Researchers, Students (Media Studies, Internet
Studies, Education, Sociology, Psychology, etc.)
 Educators (Primary and Secondary School)
 Policy makers
 Consulting firms, marketing and communication experts


Recommended topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
 Networked individualism and networked sociability: theoretical perspectives;
 Social Network Sites: data on adoption and use (worldwide);
 Personal profiles and identity performances in digital networked
media (including comparative and cross-platform approaches);
 New forms of sociability, on- and offline (including comparative and
cross-platform approaches);
 Social Network Sites and New Media Literacy;
 Social Media and privacy concerns;
 People's different usage patterns (varying according to sex, age,
individual attitudes, platforms, etc.);
 People's attitude towards specialized platforms; (business and
recruiting platforms, social media sharing sites, UGC environments,
etc.);
 Emerging trends.

Submission Procedure

Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before July
15, 2010, a 2-3 page chapter proposal clearly explaining the mission
and concerns of his or her proposed chapter. Authors of accepted
proposals will be notified by July 30, 2010 about the status of their
proposals and sent chapter guidelines. Full chapters are expected to
be submitted by October 30, 2010. All submitted chapters will be
reviewed on a double-blind review basis. Contributors may also be
requested to serve as reviewers for this project.

Publisher

This book is scheduled to be published by IGI Global (formerly Idea
Group Inc.), publisher of the “Information Science Reference”
(formerly Idea Group Reference), “Medical Information Science
Reference” and “IGI Publishing” imprints. For additional information
regarding the publisher, please visit www.igi-global.com . This
publication is anticipated to be released in 2011.

Important Dates

Proposal Submission Deadline: July 15, 2010

Proposal Acceptance Notifications: July 30, 2010

Full chapter Submission: October 30, 2010

Review Results to Authors: December 15, 2010

Revised Chapter Submission: January 30, 2011

Final Acceptance Notifications: February 15, 2011

Submission of Final Chapters: February 28, 2011

Final Deadline: March 30, 2011


Inquiries and submissions can be forwarded electronically (Word
document) or by mail to:

Dr. Francesca Comunello
Department of Communication and Social Sciences
University of Rome, La Sapienza
Tel. +39 06 49918374 Mobile +39 333 9567857
email: francesca.comunello at uniroma1.it