Sunday, June 28, 2026 Strategy, technology, media, and social systems

I Think

Sorin Adam Matei

Analysis, research, maps, and essays from Sorin Adam Matei.

Tag: Introduction

What is the Internet? What does the Internet do? Why is it an “inter-net” and not just a simple “net? An introduction and tutorial

This is a tutorial on a set of core concepts related to Internet communication for my courses at Purdue University. For technical details, take a look at the PowerPoint presentation The Internet is not one net. It is more versatile than that. The…

Educating with new media

Interesting take on Social Media in Education.. From Knowledgable to Knowledge-able: Learning in New Media Environments | Academic Commons My own experiments in this regard led to the creation the World Simulation, now the centerpiece of my Introduction to Cultural Anthropology course…

The building of community and self-expression in online groups

Submitted by "Adrienne Hall" on October 22, 2008 to the On-line Interaction and Facilitation Seminar, Fall 2008, Purdue University, Dr. Sorin A. Matei via the I Think Blog. Abstract This essay attempts to begin explaining how participation in online social interactions impacts…

Theodore Nelson Camped out at IBM

J. Markoff, of NYT, tells the story: Theodore Holm Nelson, the sociologist and philosopher who coined the term “hypertext” and who is something of an Internet Don Quixote, has had a tremendous influence on the computing world. However, until last night it…

Creating Online Community: Critical Issues and Practical Guidelines

Submitted by Colleen E. Brown on November 26 to the On-line Interaction and Facilitation Seminar, Fall 2007, Purdue University, Dr. Sorin A. Matei via the I Think Blog (http://www.matei.org/ithink) Introduction The need for group membership, social support, and information gathering are part…

Online Community Development: Principles, Practices, and Issues

Submitted on November 26, 2007, to the On-line Interaction and Facilitation Seminar, Fall 2007, Purdue University, Dr. Sorin A. Matei via the I Think Blog (http://www.matei.org/ithink)  Abstract: The widespread expansion of communication technology over the past century has resulted in a marked…

Growing online communities

Submitted by Pamela Morris on November 26, 2007 to the On-line Interaction and Facilitation Seminar, Fall 2007, Purdue University, Dr. Sorin A. Matei via the I Think Blog (http://www.matei.org/ithink).  “An (online) host is like a host at a party. You don’t automatically…

Welcome to I-berspace: Media Gratifications in Successful Virtual Communities

Submitted by Robert N. Yale on October 15, 2007 to the On-line Interaction and Facilitation Seminar, Fall 2007, Purdue University, Dr. Sorin A. Matei via the I Think Blog (http://www.matei.org/ithink). Abstract This essay posits that virtual communities are successful to the degree…

Glimpses of Community on the Web

Submitted by Pamela Morris on October 14, 2007 to the On-line Interaction and Facilitation Seminar, Fall 2007, Purdue University, Dr. Sorin A. Matei via the I Think Blog (http://www.matei.org/ithink). Glimpses of Community on the Web The term “community” has been appropriated to…

Front Porches and Public Spaces: Planned Communities Online

Front Porches and Public Spaces: Planned Communities Online Susan Huelsing Sarapin Comm. 632: Online Interaction Professor: Dr. Sorin Matei November 19, 2006 Introduction Where else today but in the cost-effective frontier of cyberspace can the average person construct a community?1 With widespread…

I Link, Therefore, I Am: Connection and Identity in Computer-Mediated Communication

By Susan Huelsing Sarapin Submitted on October 22, 2006 to the On-Line Interaction and Facilitation Seminar, Fall 2006, Purdue University Dr. Sorin A. Matei via the I Think Blog (http://www.matei.org/ithink) Introduction Today, people all over the world are connected, or “tethered” (Turkle,…

What IS the glue?

Brenda raises numerous questions, but “WHY?” is one that I think we were trying to answer in class today. There was a word on the tip of my tongue, and it wasn’t until I read some of Perloff’s “Introduction to Persuasion” at…

Tangible Intangibilities

Perhaps it is my return to a small town format – or perhaps my background in non-profits and volunteers – or a history of having suffered or thrived (sometimes both) at the hands of various communities, or simply wanting to be a…

Emerging technologies, spatial behavior and community belonging

New media and emerging technologies continue to change not only our communication (Gunn, 2006; Jones, 2006), but also our relationships, our work, and our communities (Contractor, 2006; Walther, 2006). At the same time, our societies and organizations – i.e. the bodies within…

SIDE Theory, Small World Networks, and Smart Mob Formation: A Beginners Guide

Submitted by: Scott Sanders to the Online Interaction Seminar, COM 632Y, Spring 2006, Dr. Sorin A. Matei, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907. Summary: Social categorization, which is at the heart of SIDE theory, may often prove to be an incredibly powerful…

Network forms of organizing: A MTML perspective

The metaphor of organization-as-networks directs attention to the dynamic nature of the process of organization as an emergent, evolving, and dynamic. At a global level, theorists have engaged with different forms of interdependencies, whether social, political or economic, as exemplified by Castells’…

Layered, Emergent and Adaptive Communication Network Systems

Lorraine Kisselburgh This week, Noshir Contractor introduces a rich array of information in discussing communication networks, new grid infrastructures, and social networking tools that can be leveraged to strengthen our communities – whether social, work, virtual, or even “exotic”. What follows are…

The social shaping of knowledge

The social shaping of knowledge through collaborative authoring tools I grew up in a household with a set of encyclopedias prominently displayed in the family room and frequently used as a resource– for our education, to consult during family discussions about issues,…

Social transformations and divisions through new technologies

The collection of readings regarding communication and new media provides looks forward (Carey, 1998; Neas, 2005; Fox, Anderson, & Rainie, 2005) as well as backwards (Cato, 1982; Marvin, 1998) in our adoption of new technologies and their effect on our lives. From…