The Internet: An Ethnographic ApproachThis pathbreaking book is the first to provide a rigorous and comprehensive examination of Internet culture and consumption. A rich ethnography of Internet use, the book offers a sustained account not just of being online, but of the social, political and cultural contexts which account for the contemporary Internet experience. From cybercafes to businesses, from middle class houses to squatters settlements, from the political economy of Internet provision to the development of ecommerce, the authors have gathered a wealth of material based on fieldwork in Trinidad. Looking at the full range of Internet media -- including websites, email and chat -- the book brings out unforeseen consequences and contradictions in areas as varied as personal relations, commerce, nationalism, sex and religion. This is the first book-length treatment of the impact of the Internet on a particular region. By focusing on one place, it demonstrates the potential for a comprehensive approach to new media. It points to the future direction of Internet research, proposing a detailed agenda for comparative ethnographic study of the cultural significance and effects of the Internet in modern society. Clearly written for the non-specialist reader, it offers a detailed account of the complex integration between on-line and off-line worlds. An innovative tie-in with the book's own website provides copious illustrations amounting to over 2,000 web-pages that bring the material right to your computer. |
Contents
Trinidad and the Internet An Overview | 27 |
Relationships | 55 |
Being Trini and Representing Trinidad | 85 |
Copyright | |
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advertising already areas CALIFORNIA/SANTA CRUZ UNIVERSITY Caribbean Carnival cent Chaguanas Chapter chat room Church clients commercial communication competition context CRUZ The University cybercafé cyberspace deregulation Diaspora discussed dynamics ecommerce economy encounters ethnicity ethnographic example expansive realization facilities feel forms freedom friends gender global Hindu households huge ideal identity integration interaction Internet media involved kind Library The University lime living London look material culture Miller Miss Universe monopoly normative offline particular Plate points of presence political Port of Spain potential relation relationships religious seen sense skills social specific steelband surfers surfing talk telecomms things TIDCO tion Trini Trinidad and Tobago Trinidadian TSTT TSTT's University Library UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA/SANTA users virtual webdesign