The Network Nation: Human Communication via Computer - Revised Edition [Hardcover]

Starr Roxanne Hiltz (Author), Murray Turoff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 5, 1993

A visionary book when it was first published in the late 1970s, The Network Nation has become the defining document and standard reference for the field of computer mediated communication (CMC). This revised edition adds a substantial new chapter on "superconnectivity" (invented and defined in the unabridged edition of the Online Dictionary of the English Language, 2067) that reviews the developments of the last fifteen years and updates the authors' speculations about the future.

Hiltz and Turoff highlight major current organizational, educational, and public applications of CMC, integrate their theoretical understanding of the impact of CMC technology, address ethical and legal issues, and describe a scenario in 2084. They have also added a selected bibliography on the key literature.

Starr Roxanne Hiltz and Murray Turoff each hold the position of Professor of Computer and Information Sciences at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. They are also members of the faculty of the Graduate School of Business at Rutgers University, Newark.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Network Nation ... contained a fascinating vision. In it home computers are as common as the telephone. They link person to person, shrinking, as the authors put it, `time and distance barriers among people, and between people and information, to near zero.' In its simplest form, the Network Nation is a place where thoughts are exchanged easily and democratically and intellect affords one more personal power than a pleasing appearance does. Minorities and women compete on equal terms with white males, and the elderly and handicapped are released from the confines of their infirmities to skim the electronic terrain as swiftly as anyone else."
- Teresa Carpenter, Village Voice

About the Author

Starr Roxanne Hiltz is Professor of Computer and Information Sciences at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and a member of the faculty of the Graduate School of Business at Rutgers University, Newark.

Murray Turoff is Professor of Computer and Information Sciences at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and a member of the faculty of the Graduate School of Business at Rutgers University, Newark.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 557 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press; Revised edition (April 5, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262082195
• ISBN-13: 978-0262082198
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,829,913 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Getting it right - an accurate look into the Net's future, December 10, 1998

By 

"jbspira" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Network Nation - Revised Edition: Human Communication via Computer (Paperback)

While reading The Network Nation, I had to constantly refer to the publication date on the inside cover, 1978. Indeed, I was reading the revised edition dating back to 1993, but that didn't lessen my amazement. TNN was visionary when it was first published, but it is without question the defining document and perhaps standard reference work for the field of Computer Mediated Communication, or CMC. The authors highly major institutional and private applications of CMC and touch upon the impact of CMC, while addressing the legal and ethical issues intrinsic to the genre. They also provide a review of literature covering the field.

In Hiltz' and Turoff's future, the computer has become as common as the telephone, both at home and at work. Systems remove time and distance, hinting towards what is now referred to as the death of distance. These systems create a relaxed environment where thoughts are exchanged freely and easily, and relationships are formed, both online and off.

Hiltz and Turoff describe, among other things, the first virtual online community, which consisted of what we now call chat (synchronous communication), discussion boards (asynchronous), and customized news. Of course, this was created by the Office of Emergency Preparedness in the Executive Office of the President as they utilized technology to create what we would now call at virtual team in 1970. (For the records, the eventual system was called EMISARI, as it evolved from a Delphi conferencing system.)

We liked The Network Nation so much we named it a VB:Book-of-the-Week in our weekly publication VB:TechWatch, which covers the virtual community and knowledge management market spaces.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding book, February 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Network Nation - Revised Edition: Human Communication via Computer (Paperback)

I too kept looking at the date, and still find it hard to believe it was written in the '70's. Todays conferencing systems still aspire to the functionalities that are described in this book.

Len Kawell attributed this book to being one of his key influences when he wrote Notes-11 at Digital, the precursor to the VAX Notes conferencing system. He left and became one of the founders of Iris Associates, the company that brought us Lotus Notes (also starring Tim Halvorsen and Ray Ozzie).

This book indeed is a part of history. After being told it had gone out of print, i've been trying to find a copy for 7 years. Thank god that the reprint became available! It was certainly worth waiting for.