There's been a lot written and researched on this already. But the issue keeps coming on. (I really wish scholarship were more cumulative.) In addition to the items posted in the previous AoIR list, may I suggest Nathan Jurgenson's theoretical essays on "digital dualism", such as http://thesocietypages.org/cyborgology/2011/09/13/digital-dualism-and-the-fa... The Rainie-Wellman _Networked_ book, especially Part II http://www.amazon.com/Networked-New-Social-Operating-System/dp/0262017199/re... which itself picks up on writing I've done for 15 years, such as "An Electronic Group is Virtually a Social Network" "Physical Place and Cyber Place: The Rise of Personalized Networking" ""Personal Relationships: On and Off the Internet" (with Jeff Boase) "Social Connectivity in America" with Hua (Helen) Wang all get-able on my website http://homes.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman/publications/index.html Enjoy, Barry Wellman _______________________________________________________________________ S.D. Clark Professor of Sociology, FRSC NetLab Director Department of Sociology 725 Spadina Avenue, Room 388 University of Toronto Toronto Canada M5S 2J4 twitter:@barrywellman http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman fax:+1-416-978-3963 NETWORKED:The New Social Operating System. Lee Rainie & Barry Wellman MIT Press http://amzn.to/zXZg39 Print $19; Kindle $16 Old/newCybertimes http://bit.ly/c8N9V8 It's still rock & roll to me ________________________________________________________________________