1. Chapter 2:
CMC, Diffusion and Social
Theories
By: Roger Burgos, Michelle Villegas,
Yaseen Ali, Ebony Oliver, Qaudir
Johnson
2. IDENTITY
CMC (Computer Mediated Communications) is
connected to the historical development of the
Internet as a revolutionary infrastructure that
quickly spawned numerous useful communication
tools.
CMC began as message bulletin board systems (BBS)
and email, and quickly grew through development
of the World Wide Web (WWW) in the 1990’s.
4. IDENTITY
Barnes states that
“Internet
interactivity occurs
as interpersonal
interactivity,
informational
interactivity, and
human computer
interaction (HCI).”
The social process
of human-
Internet
interaction is
found within
social media
communication.
5. INTERNET HISTORY
1960’s military project called the Advanced
Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET)
by the U.S.D.D. had a goal of connecting east
and west coasts of the U.S. with instantaneous
computer communication.
ARPANET demonstrated that data could be
divided into labeled packets, sent and then re-
assembled, and this packet switching model was
also adopted as an efficient way to move
messages on the Internet.
6. INTERNET HISTORY
Some of the first online communities, such as
Classmates.com, LiveJournal, MySpace,
LinkedIn, developed the concept of user profiles
that contained personal information going
beyond sharing email addresses.
By the time Facebook, Twitter and other social
networking sites had become popular, social
networking was a mainstream form of online
communication.
7. SOCIAL NETWORK SITE DEFINITIONS
Is a web-based services that allow individuals to construct public or semi-
profile within a bounded system, articulate a list of other users with whom they
share a connection and view and traverse their list of connections and those
made by others within the system.
8. SOCIAL NETWORK SITE DEFINITIONS
Avoids the word “networking.”
Ex: LinkedIn reconnects business contacts
by offering current work status and other
information.
9. Social Media Site Definitions
Some social media communication sites, such
as Twitter, make it easier for a user to
maintain an anonymous profile.
At the same time, a user may broadcast
produced messages through blogs, video
blogs (vlogs), podcasts and other means.
10. Interaction
The desire to use the online network to connect with others and
broaden social networks is at the heart of the social media
communication shift.
John Perry Barlow’s A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace.
Governments shouldn’t have “sovereignty” over “cyberspace” and its users.
Barlow’s Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) was founded in the
1990’s and actively fights government regulation and intrusions.
i.e. National Security Agency (NSA) collection of online and telephone data.
11. Community
Online community emerges from the development of individual social identities
and realistic relationships between people.
Social media communication platforms create symbolic environments in which
metaphors (i.e. Facebook “Wall”) construct shared meaning and understanding.
Stronger Relationships= Sharing>Disclosure
12. Diffusion of New Ideas
US is slow to the change in technology, but developing countries like India and
China are booming.
13. Diffusion of New Ideas
Innovators (2.5%) earliest people
experimenting with change
Early Adopters (13.5%) jump on board of a
new trend
Early Majority (34%) first wave
Late majority (34%) last wave
Laggards (16%) remaining slow to change
14. Uses & Gratification
Social media can offer an almost unlimited range of uses that may or may
not satisfy the expectations of the user.
While social media is a new found hope to break down traditional forms of
communication. Theory suggests that this is not the case with the use of
traditional mass media.
The open and easy communication that is social media makes solidarity
more difficult because of different social backgrounds and impersonality
which means absence of human character.
15. Uses & Gratification
People on social media use it to fill them in on the world around them
relaxation and entertainment sometimes to escape the world that they live
in
Researchers have linked social media use to avoid loneliness and a
development to new habits.
A 2011 Edelman U.S. survey confirmed that 70% of people from the ages of
18-29 view social media as a form of entertainment
16. Uses & Gratification
Computer mediated communication “CMC” has explored the impact that
media technology has on creating interaction, online communities and
sense of identity.
Personal & family pages allow people to share information all over the world.
Social media communication is an evolutionary way for people of different
social and cultural backgrounds to connect and meet new people.
17. Online Culture and Power
Social media communication happens with a
cultural context of values, rituals, and even
“chaos” (Carey, 1992, pg.34)
Social media extends the shifting emphasis toward
the importance of communication through being
shared, modified, and preserved.
Media technology uses narrative storytelling
techniques in communities
18. Discussion Questions: Strategies and Tactics
1. How has CMC influenced the way we form relationships? How may it blur
the lines between reality and fantasy?
2. How would a visualization of your social networks depict communication
patterns and relationships? How could this influence future online
behavior?
3. Describe your favorite Internet meme: Why do you like it? How does it
transfer cultural understandings from one person to another?
