Columbia University Press Virtual Publics: Policy and Community in an Electronic Age

How does virtuality affect reality? Fourteen experts consider this question from the perspective of law, architecture, rhetoric, philosophy, and art. Nearly all of the contributors have been online since before Netscape and a graphical World Wide Web; thus they have a thorough understanding of the cultural shifts the Internet has produced and been affected by, and they have a keen appreciation for the potential of the medium. Most scholarship on cyberculture has repeatedly emphasized that our offline selves determine how we are able to use technology, that real life affects what we do online. This volume is an attempt to reverse that discussion, to demonstrate that how we live online affects our lives offline as well. A virtual public is not an unreal one. Review "Virtual Publics" advances our understanding of the Internet's impact on culture. Its contributors clearly understand and question the complicated, often opaque, relationships and interactions that new media has created. As a sharp and nuanced examination of the fuzzy border between life online and life offline, "Virtual Publics" is a singular contribution to the field of Internet studies. About the Author Beth Kolko is an associate professor in the Department of Technical Communication and director of the doctoral program at the University of Washington.