Electronic Tribes: The Virtual Worlds of Geeks, Gamers, Shamans, and Scammers [Paperback]

Tyrone L. Adams (Editor), Stephen A. Smith (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0292717741 | ISBN-13: 978-0292717749

Whether people want to play games and download music, engage in social networking and professional collaboration, or view pornography and incite terror, the Internet provides myriad opportunities for people who share common interests to find each other. The contributors to this book argue that these self-selected online groups are best understood as tribes, with many of the same ramifications, both positive and negative, that tribalism has in the non-cyber world. In Electronic Tribes, the authors of sixteen competitively selected essays provide an up-to-the-minute look at the social uses and occasional abuses of online communication in the new media era. They explore many current Internet subcultures, including MySpace.com, craftster.org, massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) such as World of Warcraft, music downloading, white supremacist and other counterculture groups, and Nigerian e-mail scams. Their research raises compelling questions and some remarkable answers about the real-life social consequences of participating in electronic tribes. Collectively, the contributors to this book capture a profound shift in the way people connect, as communities formed by geographical proximity are giving way to communities--both online and offline--formed around ideas.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The major contribution of this book is that the idea of 'tribe' is fully and robustly explicated in ways that challenge existing wisdom, particularly the idea that Internet users are best understood as communities... The richness of diverse research resources is evident in every chapter. I particularly commend the editors on the international perspective and the inclusion of such a surprising array of subcultures." H. L. Goodall Jr., Director, Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, Arizona State University

Review

The major contribution of this book is that the idea of 'tribe' is fully and robustly explicated in ways that challenge existing wisdom, particularly the idea that Internet users are best understood as communities. . . . The richness of diverse research resources is evident in every chapter. I particularly commend the editors on the international perspective and the inclusion of such a surprising array of subcultures. (H. L. Goodall Jr., Director, Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, Arizona State University )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 331 pages
• Publisher: University of Texas Press (July 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0292717741
• ISBN-13: 978-0292717749
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,052,002 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing read, October 30, 2009

By 

Blythe (California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Electronic Tribes: The Virtual Worlds of Geeks, Gamers, Shamans, and Scammers (Paperback)

I bought this book because I work in the computer game industry and have a long-term interest in virtual worlds and societies. Unfortunately, this book turns out to be a fairly random collection of essays and papers about virtual communities that are of very mixed quality and are not tied together in any coherent way. Some appear to be extremely technical sociological discussions using arcane academic terminology and referencing prior studies that I was quite unfamiliar with. Others are useless descriptions of online communities that anybody at all familiar with online communities would find completely obvious. I'm left rather baffled by what the editor of this book was thinking when selecting the essays. Although there were one or two vaguely interesting ones, they mostly fell into either highly technical professional writing not appropriate for a general audience, or "how I learned to use myspace" type categories, neither of which were what I expected from the title and description of the book. Not recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A satisfying blend of sociology and computer tech savvy, November 15, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Electronic Tribes: The Virtual Worlds of Geeks, Gamers, Shamans, and Scammers (Paperback)

College-level collections strong in communication or media studies, as well as computer libraries and cultural anthropology holdings, will find ELECTRONIC TRIBES a satisfying blend of sociology and computer tech savvy. It provides sixteen essays examining the social uses and abuses of online communication forms, including analysis of MySpace, multiplayer role playing games, and other groups. An invaluable survey for high school and college holdings alike.

Diane C. Donovan

California Bookwatch