Virtual society?: Technology, cyberbole, reality

Almost all aspects of social, cultural, economic and political life stand to be affected by the new electronic technologies. Virtual Society? is one vision of the consequential impact of these technologies. But to what extent and in what ways are the Internet and other electronic technologies really changing our lives? To what extent are we moving to a 'virtual society'? This collection provides a comprehensive set of detailed empirical studies of the genesis and use of these new technologies, ranging widely across application areas: from cyber-caf--eacute--;s to new media; email and organizat.

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1. Five rules of virtuality / Steve Woolgar -- 2. They came, they surfed, they went back to the beach : conceptualizing use and non-use of the Internet / Sally Wyatt, Graham Thomas and Tiziana Terranova -- 3. Visualization needs vision : the pre-paradigmatic character of virual reality / G.M. Peter Swann and Tim P. Watts -- 4. How socia is Internet communication? A reappraisal of bandwidth of anonymity effects / Susan E. Watt, Martin Lea, and Russell Spears -- 5. New public places for Internet access : networks for practice-based learning and social inclusion / Sonia Liff, Fred Steward, and Peter Watts -- 6. Allegories of creative destruction : technology and organization in narrative of the e-economy / David Knights [and others] -- 7. Confronting electronic survelliance : desiring and resisting new technologies / Brian A. McGrail -- 8. Getting real about surveillance and privacy at work / David Mason [and others] -- 9. Virtual society and the cultural practice of study / Charles Crook and Paul Light -- 10. The reality of virtual social support / Sarah Nettleton [and others] -- 11. Realy and virtual connectivity : new media in London / Andreas Wittel, Celia Lury, and Scott Lash --…