Virtual Social Networks

Virtuality has been undergoing rapid and fundamental changes. As technology changes, so too have its applications and our uses of and experiences with them have changed as well. The emergence of new technologies such as Web 2.0 technologies offers individuals opportunities for new ways of interacting, playing, working, and learning, and companies new ways for promoting and advertising their products and services and interacting with their customers in general. The new possibilities are exciting, but there are uncertainties and anxieties too which affect individuals and organizations as well as societies in general. It is within this context, one of simultaneous excitement and anxiety, that we discuss virtual social networks in this edited collection.

Technological innovation is a very normal and anticipated part of social and organizational life and a critical ingredient in safeguarding societal and organizational progression. Certain types of ‘sustained’ innovation go relatively undetected; they are gradual and incremental in nature, as small extensions or developments are made to an existing product or service, building on and reinforcing existing technologies. These small changes strengthen the value of technology either by making the product easier to use or by reducing the cost. For instance, if an innovation has reached the maturity stage of the product life cycle, then perhaps its functionality will be developed to provide a ‘bolt-on’, with the core of the innovation remaining essentially the same. A classic example of a sustained innovation is the mobile phone, where functionality is increased by adding on extra capabilities, such as video, Internet access, GPS tracking systems, music, and email. In contrast, a radical innovation has a more profound effect on existing industries, business practices, and society as it often renders existing products, industries, or practices obsolete. Radical innovations destroy the value of an existing technology by providing an alternative that is markedly different and to which existing technologies cannot be adapted to. In recent years, the most radical technological innovation that we have seen is undoubtedly the Internet.

Online virtual worlds have been present for more than ten years and the recent substantial media attention on Second Life can be considered an indication that virtual worlds are no longer the domain of a selective group of fanatical online gamers. For example, the number of registered residents in Second Life increased from two million at the beginning of 2007 to more than 12 million in February 2008, at times even reaching a growth of 1 million new registrations a month.¹ Big companies such as Reebok, IBM, Philips, Randstad, and ABN AMRO organize press meetings to announce their presence in virtual worlds. Even governments, municipalities, and NGOs have entered Second Life with an eagerness comparable to the ‘don’t miss the boat’ feeling experienced during the early days of the Internet.

The Internet not only provides health information through ‘Web pages’ such as BUPA and Cancerbackup, but also offers person-person support through social networks, message boards, chat rooms, and virtual worlds. The wealth of Internet person-person support methods may benefit patients, but may be confusing. For example, some online methods offer more anonymity, some are synchronous (i.e. communication in real time), while yet others are asynchronous. Some rely on professional input, while others offer only peer-peer communication. Preference for a particular support method may vary by patient characteristics such as condition (e.g. people with depression may prefer anonymity, pregnant women may be less concerned about it), age (e.g. older people may prefer asynchronous methods that give more time to think), or stage of disease (e.g. people just diagnosed may seek professional support but longer term may prefer peer support).

The increasing uptake of broadband Internet connections not only involves a growing number of Internet users; increasing numbers of computer gamers are also using the Internet for online gaming. In addition to the continual increase in Internet use, the impact of the ‘breakthrough hit’ (Ducheneaut et al., 2006) of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), World of Warcraft (WoW), which made online gaming a mass phenomenon, can be considered a major factor in this development of online gaming. In spring 2008, WoW was reported to have ten million paying subscribers.

Chain-mail bikinis, boob sliders, and Barbie-like physiques. Female avatars in MMO games would seem to be the equivalent of pinup Playboy bunnies, constructed solely for male players’ pleasure. Yet women players choose female avatars almost exclusively, and regularly talk of their joy in creating powerful, creative, dangerous characters. Those joys are not temporary either: other researchers have found that among heavy MMO players, women tend to play more hours than men do, and they are less likely than men to plan to quit playing (Williams, Consalvo, Caplan, and Yee, 2008). But do women enjoy such representations, or merely tolerate them as a flawed part of their gameplay experience? Perhaps different groups of women feel differently, with factors such as play style, player type, MMO experience, and demographic differences such as age or sexuality playing a role. And what of the gear that games provide for avatars, in all its multiple representations? Is it simply a stat-enhancing tool, or something more? These are some of the questions that drove us to explore more deeply how and why women choose their avatars and the ways in which they can now customize them, including avatar creation options, in-game barber shops, and increasingly through gear.

The emphasis of this chapter is on social interaction, with a particular focus on one sector of society, namely seniors. Around the world there is an emphasis on helping people to age well, to enjoy old age and be productive in retirement. One way that this can be aided is by helping seniors make new connections with their peers, helping them to contribute in meaningful ways to society, and giving them a feeling of belonging and purpose. The social capital depicted by the strength of informal social networks in regional communities has been described as the glue that holds aged care communities together (Sappey, Bone, and Duncan, 2007). Virtual social networks can be a significant tool in making use of such social capital. This is a case study about one such network, called GreyPath.com.au.

An everyday event taking place in an unusual environment can throw a sharp light on things usually taken for granted while at the same time showing the difference a shift in location can make. When the new environment is cyberspace, it can illuminate the relationship between the real and the virtual as well as the broader social relations within which such an event is anchored.

Social Networking Sites (SNSs) are one of the most publicly discussed innovations of the Internet and particularly of ‘Web 2.0’. While community-building and social networking are certainly not new, the speed, scope and reach facilitated by these sites have heralded unprecedented innovation in the ways in which networked individuals approach their social networking. SNSs continue to grow, yet the balance between the technological features of such sites which support social networking and those which facilitate online advertising remains precarious, and frequently makes national and international news.