April 2004 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Online dating with a difference
by Kylie Veale 19 Apr '04

19 Apr '04

Those of you interested in the online dating phenomenon might be interested in a new concept - using pets as an introduction to potential suitors. Datemypet.com " Another dating site? No. A meeting site for pet people? Yes. The idea for DateMyPet.com started during a walk with my dog in our local park (thats him in the picture below). As usual, folks will approach us and comment on how cute he is. Typically this will lead to a conversation. These conversations range from simple causal talk to details about their lifes. Total strangers and we'll be chatting like old friends. Thats the power of our pets. They provide a common link, an understanding of who we are. The folks I meet on these walks range from long time happily married couples to singles. Though their lifes are very different, they all share a love for animals. Either as a pet owner or a 'want-to-be'. Speaking to the singles, it surprised me how many of their dates and relationships ended because the other partner was not compatible with their love for their pets. These range from 'she hated my dog's drooling' to 'he is allegic to my cat' and the classic 'he thinks I'm crazy because I treat them like babies'. When the decision came to choose the partner or the pet - it was a no brainer for the majority. The pet won. So here we are, "if you want to date me, you have to date my pet". Thats the drive behind this website. If you knew first hand that a person was a pet lover, it would make things a lot easier. That is a strong link that can be built upon. DateMyPet.com is not just another dating site. I want it to be a community for pet owners. Looking for love or friendship. So try it, tell us what you think. What can be improved? What we can add? What do you want? If you are not a pet owner, you are welcomed too. But just remember, "...date my pet"." Kylie ------------------------------------------- Kylie J. Veale | Brisbane, Australia GradDipInvEnv, MInetStds(Design) Provisional PhD candidate email: kylie(a)veale.com.au www: http://www.veale.com.au/kylie icq: 27938257 msn: kyliej(a)hotmail.com yahoo: kylie_veale

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Media Monitoring Online
by Steven Clift 19 Apr '04

19 Apr '04

Is anyone "here" involved with media monitoring online? I am looking for any best practices to mention/reference in my research on the Internet and Election Standards. (FYI - NDI has a great resource on media monitoring in general: http://www.ndi.org/globalp/elections/programselc/manuals.asp ) However, other than my visit with the National Election Commission in Korea (they monitored 4,000 web sites for election law violations - mostly finding "false statements" in forums), I am not aware of examples of monitoring and reporting of weekly online trends related to online media coverage. The general idea with media monitoring is to point out what is happening in an "objective" manner such that it might promote more balanced coverage all in the name of free and fair elections. I would guess that a number of you are using tools to archive candidate web sites in the U.S. election. Please tell me about the state of the art and any thought you have about reporting results weekly. Please reply to: clift(a)publicus.net Sincerely, Steven Clift Steven Clift - http://publicus.net - Reply to: clift(a)publicus.net Join DoWire: http://dowire.org

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Couch Award Deadline Extended
by Mark D. Johns 19 Apr '04

19 Apr '04

CALL FOR AWARD APPLICATIONS Carl J. Couch Internet Research Award Sponsored by the Carl Couch Center for Social and Internet Research http://www.cccsir.org/ The Carl Couch Center issues an annual call for student-authored papers to be considered for Carl J. Couch Internet Research Award. The Couch Center welcomes both theoretical and empirical papers that (1) apply symbolic interactionist approaches to Internet studies, (2) demonstrate interactive relationships between social interaction and communication technologies as advocated by Couch, and/or (3) develop symbolic interactionist concepts in new directions. Papers will be evaluated based on the quality of (1) mastery of Symbolic Interactionist approaches and concepts and Couch's theses, (2) originality, (3) organization, (4) presentation, and (5) advancement of knowledge. Evaluation will be administered by a Review Committee of four: Dr. Mark D. Johns, Luther College Dr. Katherine M. Clegg Smith, Johns Hopkins University Dr. Lori Kendall, SUNY-Purchase Dr. Mary Chayko, College of Saint Elizabeth Competition is open to graduate or undergraduate students of all disciplines. Works that are published or accepted for publication are not eligible for award consideration. The top three papers will receive Couch Awards to be presented at the 2004 International Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers at University of Sussex, England. The top paper will be awarded a certificate and a cash prize of $300, runner up will receive a certificate and a cash prize of $200, and a third paper will receive a certificate and a cash prize of $100. All three authors will be invited to present their work at a session of the A.o.I.R. conference, September 19-22, 2004. Those interested should send a copy of their paper, with a 100-word abstract, electronically to Mark Johns at johnsmar(a)luther.edu Application deadline has been extended to May 15, 2004. Notification of award will be sent by June 15. Those with questions or comments about Couch Award application, please contact: Mark D. Johns Dept. of Communication/Linguistics Luther College Decorah, IA 52101 Tel: (563) 387-1347 E-mail: johnsmar(a)luther.edu

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Couch Award Deadline Extended
by Mark D. Johns 18 Apr '04

18 Apr '04

CALL FOR AWARD APPLICATIONS Carl J. Couch Internet Research Award Sponsored by the Carl Couch Center for Social and Internet Research http://www.cccsir.org/ The Carl Couch Center issues an annual call for student-authored papers to be considered for Carl J. Couch Internet Research Award. The Couch Center welcomes both theoretical and empirical papers that (1) apply symbolic interactionist approaches to Internet studies, (2) demonstrate interactive relationships between social interaction and communication technologies as advocated by Couch, and/or (3) develop symbolic interactionist concepts in new directions. Papers will be evaluated based on the quality of (1) mastery of Symbolic Interactionist approaches and concepts and Couch's theses, (2) originality, (3) organization, (4) presentation, and (5) advancement of knowledge. Evaluation will be administered by a Review Committee of four: Dr. Mark D. Johns, Luther College Dr. Katherine M. Clegg Smith, Johns Hopkins University Dr. Lori Kendall, SUNY-Purchase Dr. Mary Chayko, College of Saint Elizabeth Competition is open to graduate or undergraduate students of all disciplines. Works that are published or accepted for publication are not eligible for award consideration. The top three papers will receive Couch Awards to be presented at the 2004 International Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers at University of Sussex, England. The top paper will be awarded a certificate and a cash prize of $300, runner up will receive a certificate and a cash prize of $200, and a third paper will receive a certificate and a cash prize of $100. All three authors will be invited to present their work at a session of the A.o.I.R. conference, September 19-22, 2004. Those interested should send a copy of their paper, with a 100-word abstract, electronically to Mark Johns at johnsmar(a)luther.edu Application deadline has been extended to May 15, 2004. Notification of award will be sent by June 15. Those with questions or comments about Couch Award application, please contact: Mark D. Johns Dept. of Communication/Linguistics Luther College Decorah, IA 52101 Tel: (563) 387-1347 E-mail: johnsmar(a)luther.edu

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RE: [Air-l] Thoughts wanted on online grief-community...
by ren＠aldermangroup.com 18 Apr '04

18 Apr '04

There is a long history of memorialisaion in Virtual Worlds. Many VWs are game spaces where player-character and non- player character death is a central part of the game. But given the size and longevity of these communities it is enviable that players die also. This raises the debate about whether a real life death should be memorialised in a fictive space, something that the VW community is divided about. Probably the most discussed case is that of Karyn in the VW LegendMUD. Here someone created the character of a player Karyn; that played a character in the VW – became an important person in the community, made strong friendships with people around the world etc. The person then ‘killed’ Karyn, not simply by stopping playing the game but creating an announcement supposedly from Karyn’s parents, linking the death to a supposed actual car crash etc. The initial reaction (when Karyn was supposed to be an actual person) is most eloquently summed up in Raph Koster’s piece About a Tree: www.legendmud.org/raph/gaming/essay1.html A few years later the documentary filmmaker started to investigate the incident and revealed that it was a hoax: www.salon.com/tech/feature/2003/04/14/who_killed_miss_norway/ index_np.html Which sparked a long second round of discussion on the mail list MUD-DEV: http://www.kanga.nu/archives/MUD-Dev-L/2003Q2/msg00085.php The two levels of argument are: - if Karyn was a real person, is it right to create a memorial in a Virtual Space, especially one that is fictive. - If Karyn was not a real person, is it right.. Many people argue yes to both on the grounds the community suffered a loss and as this was a genuine feeling in the community then it is fitting to create a memorial. While this is a complex case as it deals with issues such as the identity of people and spaces, I think that it highlights a lot of factors that come into play when we look at memorials in virtual spaces such as VWs or Web sites. Also of course as VWs grow in popularity and complexity the type of memorial that can be created gets ever more sophisticated. There are of course many examples of VWs where people have died IRL and there have been elaborate funeral celebrations etc. Ren www.renreynolds.com terranova.blogs.com PS not sure of the quality of this piece, but there are quite a few links: http://www2.fmg.uva.nl/sociosite/websoc/death.html PPS I wrote a very short thing on TerraNova about VWs / Games as sacred spaces: http://terranova.blogs.com/terra_nova/2004/03/sacred_spaces.h tml -----Original Message----- Wrom: LBDXRQBGJSNBOHMKHJYFMYXOEAIJJPHSCRTNHGSWZIDREXCAXZOWCO Behalf Of Tasha Buch Sent: 18 April 2004 13:50 To: air-l(a)aoir.org Subject: [Air-l] Thoughts wanted on online grief-community... Importance: High Dear subscribers on AIR-1: I am working on my thesis project which concerns a case study in a Danish virtual grief-community called Mindet.dk [English: The Memorial]. This community is a possibility for bereaved to meet other people who have lost a beloved one. The website contains functions as an official guestbook, memorials, lighting candles and private fora. In our contemporary society death and grief is experienced as taboo, when these themes becomes private, personal experience. At the same time, when it comes to death in the media there is almost no limit for exploring this private subject. I undertake a theoretical exploration of the ideas of community, death and griefing in our society, together with an empirical study of community on Mindet.dk in order to find out if the Internet can be a new space to fulfill a missing function in our society. I would very much like to hear from anyone who has experience or interesting thoughts about what social aspects (positive, negative aswell as paradoxical) the Internet can contribute to such a private theme as death and grief. Best, Tasha Buch ------------------------------------ ------------------------------------ Tasha Buch Graduate Student Design, Media and Communication Program IT-University of Copenhagen, Denmark Email: tabu(a)itu.dk -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ Air-l mailing list Air-l(a)aoir.org http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l

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Thoughts wanted on online grief-community...
by Tasha Buch 18 Apr '04

18 Apr '04

Dear subscribers on AIR-1: I am working on my thesis project which concerns a case study in a Danish virtual grief-community called Mindet.dk [English: The Memorial]. This community is a possibility for bereaved to meet other people who have lost a beloved one. The website contains functions as an official guestbook, memorials, lighting candles and private fora. In our contemporary society death and grief is experienced as taboo, when these themes becomes private, personal experience. At the same time, when it comes to death in the media there is almost no limit for exploring this private subject. I undertake a theoretical exploration of the ideas of community, death and griefing in our society, together with an empirical study of community on Mindet.dk in order to find out if the Internet can be a new space to fulfill a missing function in our society. I would very much like to hear from anyone who has experience or interesting thoughts about what social aspects (positive, negative aswell as paradoxical) the Internet can contribute to such a private theme as death and grief. Best, Tasha Buch ------------------------------------ ------------------------------------ Tasha Buch Graduate Student Design, Media and Communication Program IT-University of Copenhagen, Denmark Email: tabu(a)itu.dk -------------------------------------- --------------------------------------

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Thoughts wanted on virtual grief-community
by Tasha Buch 18 Apr '04

18 Apr '04

Dear list-subscribers on AOIR: I am working on my thesis project which concerns a case study in a Danish virtual grief-community called Mindet.dk [English: The Memorial]. This community is a possibillity for bereaved to meet other people who have lost a beloved one. The website contains functions as a official guestbook, memorials, light a candle and private foras. In our contemporary society death and grief is such a taboo. I undertake a theoretical exploration of the ideas of community, death and griefing in our society, together with an empirical study of community on Mindet.dk in order to find out if the Internet can be a new space to fulfill a missing function in our society. I would very much like to hear from anyone who has experience or interesting thoughts about what social aspects (negative aswell as positive) the Internet can contribute to such a private theme as death and grief. Best, Tasha Buch Graduate Student IT-University of Copenhagen, Denmark Design, Media an Communication Program

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rfor Danielle Wiese RE: Air-l digest, Vol 1 #1037 - 2 msgs
by Davis, Boyd 18 Apr '04

18 Apr '04

Cites re email x snail mail: Naomi Baron--book & articles, see webpage http://www.american.edu/lfs/tesol/baronhome.htm; David Crystal--Language and the internet; Simeon Yates--series of articles, see his webpage www.shu.ac.uk/schools/cs/commstud/yates.html -----Original Message----- From: air-l-request(a)aoir.org [mailto:air-l-request@aoir.org] Sent: Saturday, April 17, 2004 12:01 PM To: air-l(a)aoir.org Subject: Air-l digest, Vol 1 #1037 - 2 msgs Send Air-l mailing list submissions to air-l(a)aoir.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to air-l-request(a)aoir.org You can reach the person managing the list at air-l-admin(a)aoir.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Air-l digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Seeking cites regarding e-mail (DANIELLE WIESE) 2. RE: Seeking cites regarding e-mail (Ulla Bunz) --__--__-- Message: 1 From: "DANIELLE WIESE" <drwiese1(a)msn.com> To: air-l(a)aoir.org Date: Fri, 16 Apr 2004 09:28:16 -0700 Subject: [Air-l] Seeking cites regarding e-mail Reply-To: air-l(a)aoir.org Hello all-- I'm looking for an article/book etc. where someone makes the comparison between e-mail and snail-mail. (The argument has been made many times that we interpret e-mail like regular mail-- the address, the personal form of address etc...) I can't seem to remember where I read this. Thanks in advance. Danielle _________________________________________________________________ Lose those love handles! MSN Fitness shows you two moves to slim your waist. http://fitness.msn.com/articles/feeds/article.aspx?dept=exercise&article=et_ pv_030104_lovehandles --__--__-- Message: 2 From: "Ulla Bunz" <bunz(a)scils.rutgers.edu> To: <air-l(a)aoir.org> Subject: RE: [Air-l] Seeking cites regarding e-mail Date: Fri, 16 Apr 2004 13:49:22 -0400 Reply-To: air-l(a)aoir.org Try: Yates, J., & Orlikowski, W.J. (1992). Genres of organizational communication: A structurational approach to studying communication and media. Academy of Management Review, 17(2), 299-326. Whether it has exactly what you're looking for or not, it certainly gives you a good foundational argument through "genre." Ulla ---------------------------------------------------- Ulla Bunz Assistant Professor Department of Communication Rutgers University 4 Huntington Street New Brunswick, NJ 08901 Email: bunz(a)scils.rutgers.edu ---------------------------------------------------- -----Original Message----- From: air-l-admin(a)aoir.org [mailto:air-l-admin@aoir.org] On Behalf Of DANIELLE WIESE Sent: Friday, April 16, 2004 12:28 PM To: air-l(a)aoir.org Subject: [Air-l] Seeking cites regarding e-mail Hello all-- I'm looking for an article/book etc. where someone makes the comparison between e-mail and snail-mail. (The argument has been made many times that we interpret e-mail like regular mail-- the address, the personal form of address etc...) I can't seem to remember where I read this. Thanks in advance. Danielle _________________________________________________________________ Lose those love handles! MSN Fitness shows you two moves to slim your waist. http://fitness.msn.com/articles/feeds/article.aspx?dept=exercise&article =et_pv_030104_lovehandles _______________________________________________ Air-l mailing list Air-l(a)aoir.org http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l --__--__-- _______________________________________________ Air-l mailing list Air-l(a)aoir.org http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l End of Air-l Digest

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Fwd: Call for Summer 2004 Grant Proposals, NET Institute
by Dan L Burk 18 Apr '04

18 Apr '04

Of interest. DLB ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ On 17 Apr 2004, Nicholas Economides wrote: > Dear Colleague, > > I am writing to announce a call for proposals for summer 2004 grants by the > NET Institute, http://www.NETinst.org . For a second year, the NET > Institute will fund a number of scientific research projects in the areas > of network industries, including telecommunications, wired and wireless > networks, "virtual networks," electronic commerce, and the Internet. > Proposed research may be either theoretical or empirical, and may also > analyze issues of public policy. The deadline for proposal submissions is > May 25, 2004. Details on the requirements are at > http://www.netinst.org/call_for_proposals_2004.htm . Please distribute > this information to researchers who may be interested to get funding for > their research in these subjects. > > The Networks, Electronic Commerce and Telecommunications Institute (NET > Institute) is a non-profit institution devoted to research on network > industries, telecommunications, the Internet, "virtual networks" comprised > of computers that share the same technical standard or operating system, > electronic commerce, and on network issues in general. The NET Institute > functions as a world-wide focal point for research and open exchange and > dissemination of ideas in these areas. > > Best regards, > Prof. Nicholas Economides > Executive Director, NET Institute > http://www.NETinst.org/, <mailto:submissions@NETinst.org>, (917) 776-8777, > and > Professor of Economics, Stern School of Business, New York University > Visiting, Stanford University > http://www.stern.nyu.edu/networks/ *************************************** Dan L. Burk Oppenheimer, Wolff & Donnelly Professor University of Minnesota Law School 229 19th Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55455 USA ***************************************

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Seeking cites regarding e-mail
by DANIELLE WIESE 16 Apr '04

16 Apr '04

Hello all-- I'm looking for an article/book etc. where someone makes the comparison between e-mail and snail-mail. (The argument has been made many times that we interpret e-mail like regular mail-- the address, the personal form of address etc...) I can't seem to remember where I read this. Thanks in advance. Danielle _________________________________________________________________ Lose those love handles! MSN Fitness shows you two moves to slim your waist. http://fitness.msn.com/articles/feeds/article.aspx?dept=exercise&article=et…

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