[e-mail] : an ethnography of community and commerce on the Internet

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:The Internet and its Cyberspaces were developed in the 1960s to create a means totransfer information without the risk of interception and annihilation. Today, 40 yearslater, the Internet has grown in both size and application. The most used applicationsare still conversation and sharing of information. This thesis is an ethnographicaccount of my experiences in a Cyberspace of the Internet- a virtual community withthe name Amazon City.com. Virtual communities are spaces on the Internet wherepeople come together to discuss their daily lives, issues and anything that'sappropriate for the particular community. It is seen as a response to the demise of thirdplaces in off-line life, globalisation, etc.The communities that form in these areas develop cultural assumptions. Thesecultural assumptions are revealed to a new member through time and interaction in theconferencing area. The assumptions that I experienced range from knowledge neededto be an excepted and successful member of the community, to language use andidentity of the members. The conclusion was reached that members view theirparticipation and membership in these communities as just as fulfilling and real astheir activities in off-line communities.Further aspects that make a site a growing and economically feasible business strategyfor its owner(s) were my next focus. Internet commerce is growing at an astonishingrate. Internet business does not only imply the selling of products on-line. Computermediatedcommunication devices have been implemented on commercial sites after itwas found in the early 1990s that people are looking for something more than justanother shopping area. Other ways that this type of dot com site uses to generaterevenue and whether the members on the site are perceived as citizens or ultimately asconsumers were also studied. It was found that members see themselves as citizensbut site loyalty will push them to act as consumers when need be. The commercialaspects of these sites are a part of and necessary for the existence of the dot com site,and the community that fosters there.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University