Guillaume Latzko-Toth

Metaphors of Synchrony: Emergence and Differentiation of Online Chat Devices.

Through a detailed account of the history of online chat devices, this article shows the emergence, over time, of two distinct interactional formats underlying these social media. They may be captured by two generic metaphors of synchrony: conference (a gathering in a virtual place where unfocused interactions and group sociability occur) and copresence (where practices are centered on the sustainment of contact between individuals who know each other). Internet Relay Chat (IRC) appears as the archetype of the conference format. This notion of chat involves the existence of a relatively persistent shared space—conjured up by various specific metaphors: room, channel, and so on—inside which users get together and through which they are able to find other users, with whom they may weave electronic social ties that may possibly lead to offline relationships. The other format is associated with instant messaging (IM) devices, on the model of “ICQ” software. Although there seems to be a decline in interest for devices based on the former format, those based on the latter benefit from a growing popularity, possibly indicating deeper sociological implications.

Out from the PLATO cave: uncovering the pre-Internet history of social computing

ABSTRACT PLATO was a pioneering educational computer platform developed at the Computer-based Education Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the 1960s and 1970s. It quickly evolved into a communication system used for educational purposes, and also for social interaction (message boards, real-time messaging), collaboration and online gaming. The PLATO system was one of several precursors to todays Internet, but it has been little studied. It illustrates the value of the study of Internet histories and pre-histories (insofar as PLATO and other computer-mediated communication infrastructures like it predated Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), particularly as those histories entail rhetorical discursive elements regarding technical resources, social values and ethical norms that continue to shape the development of Internet technologies.