Out of bounds: The Changing Nature of Community

"More and more, the information technologies make it possible to have communities not of place, but of people, wherever they happen to be." Harlan Cleveland, president of the World Academy of Art and Science, and former ambassador to NATO.

The above quote was taken from a talk given at the World Future Society's eighth General Assembly held in Washington D.C. in July of 1996. The conference, titled "FutureVision: Ideas, Insights, and Strategies", brought together "experts" in the new technology fields to address the issues, opportunities, and challenges created by the information technology revolution.

One of the impacts of the technological revolution is an increasing trend toward "globalization". As technology improves modes of communication users are able to transfer information more rapidly and with greater ease. This increased ability to transfer information has begun to dissolve the physical communication boundaries by which people have traditionally been restricted.

This paper intends to explore this increased interconnectivity and the phenomenon of the virtual community.

DIRECTORY
	CMC and Technology
	Bulletin Board Systems
	Social Network Analysis
	Sub-cultures and Cross-cultural Communication
	Looking Ahead
	References

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