Chapter 2: CMC,

Diffusion, and Social

Theories
By Jessica Pascale, Sarah Tejada,Ryan
Gorman, and Ryan Mora
Internet History

Birthed from a DoD Project - ARPANET

The goal was to have instant communication between
computers on opposite coastlines
Done via Packet Switching

By the 80s, 90s, the internet was a consumer service

America Online, dial-up, chat rooms
Services used by Early Adopters
Internet History
Modern Internet History

Today the internet has changed vastly

User Profiles, a precursor to our social media profiles,
popularized
Sharing more information than e-mail addresses
Personalization and networking via Livejournal, Myspace,
and other sites
Identity

Its is what we use to present ourselves

online
You can use words, photographs, sounds,
videos, emoticons, avatars, etc to
present yourself
When we communicate online we suggest an
identity to social network site users
Examples of sites with different Identities

Facebook
Twitter
Youtube
Linkedin
Myspace
Social Network Site Definitions

Social network site: a web-based service

allowing individuals to..
Construct a public or semi-public
profile
Articulate a list of other users with
whom they share a connection
View their list of connections and
those made by others within the
system
 Example
Social Media
Functions and
Sites
Additional SNS Characteristics
Profile user pages, which may include
demographic and personality descriptions
Relationships displayed as friends, followers,
fans, contacts or other labels
Public connection displays, which are a form
of influence management
Types of self-presentation that serve as
identity markers
Varying degrees of privacy through site and
user settings
Interaction
Since 1990s the Government and
Cyberspace users have tension
because of The Telecom Reform Act of
1996
Contained The Communications
Decency Act
Many Cyberspace Users, especially
within online communities see
internet as fundamentally
different
John P. Barlow helped define
attitude of online users
Interaction

John P. Barlow created A Declaration of Cyberspace

Independence as a response to the Telecommunication Reform
of 1996
Insisted that he Internet was a special community with
no boundaries
Barlow is the founder of Electronic Frontier Foundation
(EFF) and the Freedom of the Press Foundation
Community

Online communities form through shared online identities and

realistic social relationships between people.

-Lipschultz

Virtual environments are created and shared in social

media sites.
Here people network, connect, and develop interpersonal
relationships.
Relationships over the internet have grown as
transparency among users increases.
Community

Through shared meaning and

understanding communities form
Online communities can be based off
of anything such as hobbies,
activities, interests, fears
Transparency is the constant key
Diffusion of New Ideas

Diffusion is the spread of new

ideas,practices, processes, and
products
Diffusion is uneven in the United
States
The adoption of a new idea follows a
5 major stages-awareness, interest,
evaluation,trial, adoption
The Diffusion Model

Innovators-the earliest people experimenting with the

change 2.5%
Early adopters-those swayed by the innovators to jump on
board of what is obviously a new trend 13.5%
Early Majority-the first wave of mass appeal 34%
Late Majority-the last wave of mass appeal 34%
Laggards-the remaining people who are either slow to come
to the change, or resist it entirely 16%
Uses and Gratifications
CMC used to..
Obtain information, relax,
entertain, excite, and escape
stresses

With social media versus traditional

media we can create meaningful online
communities, relationships, and
social movements
Online Culture and Power

Some use Social Media to maintain existing power, others use

it to try gain a new power

Communication tools socially reproduce status quo rather than

real change

Ongoing fear that virtual spaces confuse reality representing

myth and ritual as truth
Online Culture and Power

Some online communities that maintain status quo rather than

promote actual change are Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Online communities sometimes blur line between web and actual

reality

Real change vs. the Illusion of Change

Can Social Media Drive Social Change ?
CMC and Social Media Concerns

CMC recreating interest communities online

CMC interaction possibly not as rich as

face-to-face

Preference for online social interaction

Psychosocial depression, loneliness, and

problematic Internet use

People with problems online environments versus

negative effects caused by CMC usage

CMC and Social Media:
Memes

Promoting cultural content items such

as jokes, rumors, videos, or websites
Passes along from person to person,
gradually scales into a shared
phenomenon
Reproduce by various means of
imitation
Interesting because of their
diffusion through competition and
selection
CMC and Social
Media Uses
Paradox in social media
Tendency to trigger
silence on controversial
issues
Users however may feel
more liberated to
express opinions online
Online forums can be
anonymous
How has CMC influenced the way we form
relationships? How may it blur the lines between
reality and fantasy?

Chapter 2 opens up with the story of Manti Teo, a

victim of catfishing that sparked a national outrage
over his cover-up
Internet has made us more transparent also makes
developing true trust more difficult
The invention of services and apps, Tinder, and
dating websites have changed the way we communicate
and date
Social media websites have made relationships more
complex, e.g. its complicated and facebook
official
How would a visualization of your social networks depict
communication patterns and relationships? How could this be
used to influence future online behavior?

CMC helps us understand online communication, to

visualize it would likely create a cyclical pattern
More personal and transparent a user profile, the
more positive and productive the relationships will
be
More anonymous a space is the more likely it is to
result in negative experiences, such as a flame
war
Find a positive balance between transparency and
security for a positive online environment
Describe your favorite internet meme, why is it
your favorite and how does it transfer cultural
understandings?
This meme uses a widely known
character personality to
illicit a form of sarcasm.
Given the context of the
photo, previous knowledge of
the film, and the character
being portrayed, it transfers
the understanding that
whatever is being portrayed is
majorly unimportant, or
deserving of satirical praise,
from the reader.
References

Lipschultz, J. H. (2017). Social media communication: concepts, practices, data, law and ethics. New York, NY:

Routledge.