Deadline is approaching for submissions to HICSS for January 2013. Here's the call for Social Networking and Community. See also CFP for Minitrack: Learning Analytics & Networked Learning to follow. CFP: Social Networking And Community Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS) 46 January 7-10, 2013, Maui, HI PAPERS DUE: June 15, 2012 via the HICSS conference system http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/hicss_46/apahome46.htm ORGANIZERS Caroline Haythornthwaite, University of British Columbia (Primary Contact): c.haythorn@ubc.ca Karine Nahon, University of Washington, karineb@uw.edu This HICSS minitrack has been ongoing since 2003 under various titles (http://ekarine.org/news/hicsscommunities/). Papers address the interrelationship between the Internet and social media and communities (online and offline) in the context of business, personal life, and/or learning. This minitrack aims to capture research on issues and practices around our new interlinkages via social media in support of online communities of practice, inquiry and interest for business, political, social, learning, and gaming initiatives and outcomes. In 2011, the minitrack was the biggest at the conference, with 6 sessions over a day and a half. In 2012, the minitrack was 4 sessions over one day, with the most stringent acceptance rate in the track. In 2009, 2010 and 2012, the Best Paper selected for the Minitrack was also selected as the Best Paper for the Track. We call for papers that address issues of online communities of practice, inquiry and interest created in the interest of political, educational, business, social and/or gaming pursuits, and with attention to how online community building and management contribute to success in the digital economy and society. While the focus is primarily online communities, papers are also welcomed that address the interplay between online and offline means of interaction. We call for empirical and theoretical papers that add to our understanding of the social, political, and economic landscape of communities and social networks at work, school, home, and play. Examples of the possible interdisciplinary topics of interest in these contexts include, but are not limited to the following: Social, political and/or economic impact of social media Communities as sociological phenomenon in the digital economy Community development and community informatics Design, development, and user studies of social media Online communities of practice, inquiry or interest Business models of Second Life E-learning: structures, implementations, and practices Serious leisure communities online Organizational behavior of communities Social network studies and analyses of online communities Mobile applications, services and use for and by online communities Case studies and topologies of online communities Case studies and analyses of the rise and fall of social network sites and online communities Theoretical models of virtual worlds Advertising in online communities and social networks Models for managing behavior in online communities Behavior in online gaming communities Models and cases of synergies and/or conflicts between real and virtual worlds Diffusion and adoption of social networking applications and practices Development of social networking applications and practices Critical perspectives on social media and local and/or virtual community Disruptive strategies of virtual worlds ABOUT HICSS CONFERENCES http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/hicss_46/apahome46.htm HICSS conferences are devoted to the most relevant advances in the information, computer, and system sciences, and encompass developments in both theory and practice. Accepted papers may be theoretical, conceptual, tutorial or descriptive in nature. Those selected for presentation will be included in the Conference Proceedings published by the IEEE Computer Society and maintained in the IEEE Digital Library. How to Submit a Paper: Follow Author Instructions posted on the conference web site: http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/hicss_46/apahome46.htm HICSS papers must contain original material. They may not have been previously published, nor currently submitted elsewhere. All submissions undergo a double-blind peer review process. Abstracts are optional, but recommended. You may contact the Minitrack Chair(s) for guidance or verification of content. Submit a paper to only one Minitrack. If a paper is submitted to more than one minitrack, then either paper may be rejected by either minitrack without consultation with author or other chairs. If you are not sure of the appropriate Minitrack, submit an abstract to the Track Chair(s) for determination, and/or seek informal opinion(s) of Minitrack Chair(s) before submitting. Do not author or co-author more than 5 papers. This means that an individual may be listed as author or co-author on no more than 5 submitted papers. Track Chairs must approve any names added after submission or acceptance on August 15. IMPORTANT DEADLINES FOR AUTHORS FOR HICSS 46 June 15, 2012 -- SUBMIT FULL MANUSCRIPTS FOR REVIEW as instructed. The review is double-blind; therefore, this initial submission must be without author names. Aug 15, 2012 -- Review System emails Acceptance Notices to authors. It is very important that at least one author of each accepted paper attend the conference. Therefore, all travel guarantees – including visa or your organization’s fiscal funding procedures – should begin immediately. Make sure your server accepts the review system address https://precisionconference.com/~hicss. Sept 15, 2012 -- SUBMIT FINAL PAPER. Add author names to your paper, and submit your Final Paper for Publication to the site provided in your Acceptance Notice. (This URL is not public knowledge.) Oct 1, 2012 -- Early Registration fee deadline. At least one author of each paper should register by this date in order secure publication in the Proceedings. Fees will increase on Oct 2 and Dec 2. Oct 15, 2012 -- Papers without at least one paid-in-full registered author may be deleted from the Proceedings and not scheduled for presentation; authors will be so notified by the Conference Office.