Message-ID: <33810CCC.7D87@yale.edu>
Date: Mon, 19 May 1997 22:30:37 -0400
From: DJR <daniel.ryan@yale.edu>
Reply-To: daniel.ryan@yale.edu
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To: socgrad@csf.colorado.edu
Subject: Followup: virtual communities -- a skeptical note
References: <3.0.1.32.19970519174214.007019cc@osf1.gmu.edu>
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Thanks to Jeanne for her thoughtful response, especially the concrete
examples.  I agree with almost all the points she raises with regard to
particular utilities of new electronic media, especially her point about
considering forms of inequality other than economic.  My purpose was not
simply to be a skeptic, but to suggest a rule of thumb for thinking
about this stuff so as not to be taken in by our own enthusiasm.

For the record, I'm a big fan of the stuff and my current work involves,
among other things, using technology as a tool in community
development.  I stand by my "skeptical point," though:  be sure we can
identify and understand real problems and see how the technology is
actually the appropriate tool.  Jeanne has done pretty much that with
several of her examples.

My original point was that I believe caution is often in order.  Many
technologies have arrived with the potential to "overcome inequalities"
(and the folks who stand to make millions off of them are often the ones
most enthusiastically pointing this out) -- e.g., moveable type
printing, automobile, television, birth control pill, plumbing -- and
many of these have made a tremendous difference.  The distinction I'm
(still) trying to think through, though, is between looking at how the
technology can be used as a TOOL to solve real problems and counter
inequalities, rather than as a mere treatment for symptoms of
inequality.     

An example: many people want to wire City Hall and put terminals "in the
neighborhoods" so that citizens will have a more direct voice with which
to speak to the mayor.  This suggests that the "energy barrier" for
using telephone or writing a note is higher than sending email.  Maybe
so, may not, but the real communication problem here is not speaking to
the mayor, it is speaking to fellow citizens so that you can know that
you all have something similar to speak to the mayor about.  Setting up
a mechanism for doing that that really lowers the "cost" of listening to
one another's fellow citizens WOULD be using the technology to address a
real problem and it has radical potential.  Guess which one City Hall,
public utilities and local corporations are touting.

-- 
Dan Ryan
Yale University
Insitution for Social and Policy Studies
P.O. Box 208209
New Haven, CT  06520-8209

daniel.ryan@yale.edu
New Haven On Line http://statlab.stat.yale.edu/nhol