Maria Bakardjieva

`A highly topical, interesting and lively analysis of ordinary internet use, based on both theoretically competent reflections and sound ethnographic material′ - Joost van Loon, Reader in Social Theory at Nottingham Trent University Internet Society investigates internet use and it′s implications for society through insights into the daily experiences of ordinary users. Drawing on an original study of non-professional, ′ordinary′ users at home, this book examines how people interpret, domesticate and creatively appropriate the Internet by integrating it into the projects and activities of their everyday lives. Maria Bakardjieva′s theoretical framework uniquely combines concepts from several schools of thought (social constructivism, critical theory, phenomenological sociology) to provide a conception of the user as an agent in the field of technological development and new media shaping. She: - examines the evolution of the Internet into a mass medium - interrogates what users make of this new communication medium - evaluates the social and cultural role of the Internet by looking at the immediate level of users′ engagement with it - exposes the dual life of technology as invader and captive; colonizer and colonized This book will appeal to academics and researchers in social studies of technology, communication and media studies, cultural studies, philosophy of technology and ethnography.

The Internet in Everyday Life

Internet Society

Robert Gehl

Many users of the Internet are aware of bots: automated programs that work behind the scenes to come up with search suggestions, check the weather, filter emails, or clean up Wikipedia entries. More recently, a new software robot has been making its presence felt in social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter the socialbot. However, unlike other bots, socialbots are built to appear human. While a weatherbot will tell you if it's sunny and a spambot will incessantly peddle Viagra, socialbots will ask you questions, have conversations, like your posts, retweet you, and become your friend. All the while, if they're well-programmed, you won't know that you're tweeting and friending with a robot. Who benefits from the use of software robots? Who loses? Does a bot deserve rights? Who pulls the strings of these bots? Who has the right to know what about them? What does it mean to be intelligent? What does it mean to be a friend? Socialbots and Their Friends: Digital Media and the Automation of Sociality is one of the first academic collections to critically consider the socialbot and tackle these pressing questions. "

Digital Media and the Automation of Sociality

Socialbots and Their Friends

Göran Bolin

Kjell Engelbrekt

Stina Bengtsson

This book advances the theoretical, normative and practical understanding of civil society under the conditions of digital mediatization and in relation to a set of particular historical and geopolitical circumstances.

Retooling Citizenship in New Eu Democracies

Digital Media and the Dynamics of Civil Society

David Taras

Frits Pannekoek

In the first volume of "How Canadians Communicate" the editors examined and assessed the health of Canada's cultural industries circa 2003. In this second volume, they not only undertake a new examination of Canada's current media health, but also turn their attention to analysing the impact of the startling pace of global media proliferation on our country's media institutions. The revolutionary changes underway in mass media technology, from blogs to peer-to-peer networks and the ubiquitous cell-phone, have all imposed structural modifications to global communication systems, inexorably altering the fundamental ways in which Canadians communicate. The editors have carefully chosen essays that address the central issues of today's global media environment from a uniquely Canadian perspective. Grouped under the headings 'The Debate over Policy', 'The Quest for Identity', and 'The Struggle for Control', the topics ranging from media concentration to foreign ownership and the challenge of mass communication in an increasingly multicultural community, underscoring the way in which our media has operated in the past and how it must now adapt to a new media landscape. There is little doubt that Canadian media and cultural institutions have been buffeted by the sheer magnitude of new communication technologies. But with change comes opportunity, and the ability to re-evaluate current paradigms and look for better and more effective ways of adapting to new circumstances. "How Canadians Communicate II" will illuminate the present media climate, and in doing so, suggest new and challenging paths forward that will utilise the vast array of media technology to strengthen a uniquely Canadian cultural identity.

Media, Globalization, and Identity

How Canadians Communicate II

Robert W. Gehl

Many users of the Internet are aware of bots: automated programs that work behind the scenes to come up with search suggestions, check the weather, filter emails, or clean up Wikipedia entries. More recently, a new software robot has been making its presence felt in social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter – the socialbot. However, unlike other bots, socialbots are built to appear human. While a weatherbot will tell you if it's sunny and a spambot will incessantly peddle Viagra, socialbots will ask you questions, have conversations, like your posts, retweet you, and become your friend. All the while, if they're well-programmed, you won't know that you're tweeting and friending with a robot. Who benefits from the use of software robots? Who loses? Does a bot deserve rights? Who pulls the strings of these bots? Who has the right to know what about them? What does it mean to be intelligent? What does it mean to be a friend? Socialbots and Their Friends: Digital Media and the Automation of Sociality is one of the first academic collections to critically consider the socialbot and tackle these pressing questions.

Maria Bakardjieva

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