Sorin Adam Matei
Analysis, research, maps, and essays from Sorin Adam Matei.
A list of principles for designing on-line communities created by Dr. Sorin A. Matei and his students registered in various versions of the Online Interaction Graduate Seminar at Purdue University Online / virtual community design principles Design guidelines are not guarantees. Many are necessary for…
To what degree can the human exchanges we observe online be called “sociability”? In other words, do these exchanges amount to any meaningful type of social organization? Are they more than the mere froth of collective emotion discharging its energy with a…
The hacktivist group Anonymous, which was recently in the news for its strong-armed support of Wikileaks, is in the middle of a mini civil war. A group of secessionist members has revealed the online identities and other details (Ip addresses) of some…
Next fall I will teach the Online Interaction Seminar at Purdue University. The class is listed as 47566 – COM 63200 – 001 and it will meet on Tuesday – Thursday from 1:30 pm to 2:45 pm PM. This is a fun…
“I want to be an individual, like anybody else” seems to be the new American vocation. With an uncanny ability to detect trends that most commentators ignore David Brooks spots in his artful Modesty Manifesto editorial the rise of expressive individualism. Considering his Bobos in Paradise, the book that…
This is a learning module for the class Contemporary Social / Mass Media Theory taught at Purdue University bySorin Adam Matei Of the couple dozen theories that aim to explain how mass media impact society, how many of them are still valid today, when…
This is a learning module for the class Contemporary Social / Mass Media Theory taught at Purdue University by Sorin Adam Matei Social Capital Theory proposes that effective social action and the wellbeing of social groups, from the smallest voluntary organization to entire societies, is…
This is a learning module for the class Contemporary Social / Mass Media Theory taught at Purdue University by Sorin Adam Matei Identity theories and social media What cultural and intellectual forces account for the social and intellectual ethos that fuels the social media revolution?…
Albert Bandura, right Image by psicologiautal via Flickr This is a learning module for the class Contemporary Social / Mass Media Theory taught at Purdue University by Sorin Adam Matei Social cognitive theory main tenets Albert Bandura’s (b. 1925) career spans more than 6 decades,…
In a recent article by Mashable.com, writer Jamie O’Dell discusses ways in which social media has the ability to help others. O’Dell highlights 9 specific websites that contribute to good causes, some of which are free for users to participate in. Some examples of…
Abstract A theoretically-grounded learning feedback tool suite, the Visible Effort (VE) Mediawiki extension, is proposed for optimizing online group learning activities by measuring the amount of equality and the emergence of social structure in groups that participate in Computer-Mediated Collaboration (CMC). Building…
Image via Wikipedia Three Very interesting papers by an interesting team at University of Washington that has done great work in analyzing Wikipedia’s policies. Formalization and Community Investment in Wikipedia’s Regulating Texts: The Role of Essays We presented this poster at the…
A great tool resource repository for data visualization from our colleagues at Indiana University… This page provides pointers to commonly used data analysis and visualization algorithms. An ‘IVC Software Framework’ was implemented to facilitate the easy integration of diverse software packages and…
Wikipedia has become an increasingly organized bureacracy, with rules and norms that are more complex and performance according to studies presented in the last year by Robert Kraut and his students (Taking up the mop, Identifying Future Wikipedian Administrators and Don’t look…
Map of Omaha Beach German fortifications (blue dropets) laid over the American operational map for June 6, 1944 (misaligned due to Google Maps limitations). Clicking the button “Google Earth” will show the 3d Model of the German fortifications and will correctly align…
(The following is a series of reviews on web 2.0, web design, and social media books. It will be a 9 part series. Each review is structured to provide a brief summary of the books along with some application to current course…
How can we conceptualize the relationship between technological and social change at the local level? More specifically, what conceptual tools have we got at our disposal to study the emergence of new Internet-related forms of local sociality? This article is a summary…
Submitted by Brian Britt on December 1, 2008 to the On-line Interaction and Facilitation Seminar, Fall 2008, Purdue University, Dr. Sorin A. Matei via the I Think Blog Abstract A good online community cannot be built from a haphazardly chosen, prepackaged template,…
Submitted by Adrienne Hall on December 1, 2008 to the On-line Interaction and Facilitation Seminar, Fall 2008, Purdue University, Dr. Sorin A. Matei via the I Think Blog (http://www.matei.org/ithink) Abstract The purpose of this paper is to discuss some of the design…
Submitted by Christina Kalinowski on November 23rd, 2008 to the On-line Interaction and Facilitation Seminar, Fall 2008, Purdue University, Dr. Sorin A. Matei via the I Think Blog Designing and maintaining a functional and fruitful online community can be a difficult endeavor. …
Submitted by Christina Kalinowski on October 22nd, 2008 to the On-line Interaction and Facilitation Seminar, Fall 2008, Purdue University, Dr. Sorin A. Matei via the I Think Blog Abstract Individualism is highly valued in American culture, and its growing importance to American…
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…
Submitted by Brian Britt on October 22nd, 2008 to the On-line Interaction and Facilitation Seminar, Fall 2008, Purdue University, Dr. Sorin A. Matei via the I Think Blog (http://www.matei.org/ithink) Abstract The internet has grown into one of the largest media of the…
Springwise: HarperCollins hopes crowds will spot next bestseller Founded by HarperCollins, Authonomy is a new community that invites unpublished and self-published authors to post at least 10,000 words of a fiction or non-fiction manuscript for visitors to read online. Visitors can review…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Submitted by Colleen E. Brown on October 15, 2006 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) The growth of computer mediated communication (CMC) has sparked much debate across…
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…
How can we conceptualise the relationship between technological and social change at the local level? More specifically, what conceptual tools have we got at our disposal to study the emergence of new Internet-related forms of local sociality?
Second Life takes a toll on the campus administrator community. In an unmistakeable sign of linear project its members believe that the future will be 3D. Second Life, a increasigly unwielidy environment, victim of its own success, cannot be the solution to…
Last Christmas when I returned home to Little Rock to celebrate the holidays I had the opportunity to meet Robert Steinbuch, a central figure in a minor Washington sex scandal that may have far reaching implications for how individuals can conduct themselves…
Nancy White, Rheingold’s succesor at the helm of Well’s Virtual Community conference keeps a blog. Worth taking a look at…Full Circle Online Interaction Blog
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…
Powazek (2002) stated three key issues in his book Design for Community that should be initially considered when building a community; audience, content, and community. Likewise, Wenger, McDermott, and Snyder (2002) in their book entitled Cultivating Communities of Practice spoke of a…
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 Elgg? (It’s being used at MIT.) Described by its founders as a ‘learning landscape’, Elgg provides each user with their own weblog, file repository (with podcasting capabilities), an online profile and an RSS reader. Additionally, all of a user’s content…
Is the Internet, as we’ve seen it described in our readings, and perhaps also as we’ve experienced it, a liminal state itself? Namely is the Internet a component or vehicle by which the process of liminality is being accomplished. As Turner (1995)…
In his postlogue/added chapter to his book, Rheingold asks whether the use of the “phrase virtual community is a perversion of the notion of community?” (2001, p.325). He then goes on to talk about Clifford Stoll as an example of someone who…
When it comes to the “dilemma of modernityâ€, namely, the tension between individual expression and community spirit (Matei, 2001) all the authors have an opinion on how serious it is and whether it can be resolved. Rheingold in a lengthy postlogue remains…
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…
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…
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 “exoticâ€. What follows are…
Drawing on the earlier notion of electronic propinquity as postulated by Korzenny (1978), the role of several factors like communication skills, bandwidth, information complexity, mutual directionality, to name a few, all play a part in determining the amount of propinquity achieved in…