The ability of individuals to form groups around common interests on a computer network in a quick, inexpensive manner far exceeds any other way of doing this, with respect to both speed and cost. In studies of the effectiveness of networking it has been shown that people find productivity gains result from being able to communicate with people they discovered on the network and not from communicating with the people they already knew. There is no limit to the type of group that might utilize networking capabilities.
Predictor: Hiltz, Starr Roxanne
Prediction, in context:In a 1992 paper they presented at a workshop titled “Rights and Responsibilities of Participants in Networked Communities” for the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of the National Research Council, researchers Starr Roxanne Hiltz and Murray Turoff say: ”In networking the content of a communication can be the address. The presence of the ability to process information as an integral part of the communication loop means that the sender does not have to know who the recipients are in order to send a communication to those who are interested in reading it. For example, one may send a communication to a topic (as illustrated in a bulletin board or computer conference devoted to the topic) and anyone interested in that subject may choose to view the communication. No matter how small the group sharing a common interest, within the context of a regional, national, or international network, it becomes possible for that small group to find one another and to communicate regularly. This can be done on an extremely inexpensive basis. The ability of individuals to form groups around common interests on a computer network in a quick, inexpensive manner far exceeds any other way of doing this, with respect to both speed and cost. In studies of the effectiveness of networking it has been shown that people find productivity gains result from being able to communicate with people they discovered on the network and not from communicating with the people they already knew. There is no limit to the type of group that might utilize networking capabilities.”
Biography:Starr Roxanne Hiltz, the co-author of a seminal book about the electronic frontier, “The Network Nation: Human Communication Via Computer” (MIT Press), was a professor of computer and information science at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the author of many Internet research studies. In 1994, Hiltz received the “Pioneer Award” from the Electronic Frontier Foundation for her “significant and influential contributions to computer-based communications and to the empowerment of individuals using computers.” She was among the first to note that computer conferencing could form the basis of new kinds of communities. (Research Scientist/Illuminator.)
Date of prediction: November 1, 1992
Topic of prediction: Community/Culture
Subtopic: Virtual Communities
Name of publication: Rights and Responsibilities of Participants in Networked Communities Computer science and Telecommunications Board National Research Council (NRC)
Title, headline, chapter name: A Normative View of Networking Applications
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://web.njit.edu/~turoff/Papers/dcgov.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney