Tune In, Log On: Soaps, Fandom, and Online Community / Edition 1

by Nancy K. Baym

Overview

Tune In, Log Out is an ethnographic study of an Internet soap opera fan group. Bridging the fields of computer-mediated communication and audience studies, the book shows how verbal and non verbal communicative practices create collaborative interpretations and criticism, group humor, interpersonal relationships, group norms and individual identity. While much has been written about problems and inequities women have encountered online, Nancy K Baym's analysis of a female-dominated group in which female communication styles prevail demonstrates that women can build successful online communities while still welcoming male participation. In addition, a longitudinal look at the development of fan group allows an examination of the endurance of the group's social structure in the face of the Internet's tremendous growth. Lively and engaging, Tune In, Log Out provides an entertaining introduction to issues of online and audience community.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761916482
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	10/22/1999
Series:	New Media Cultures , #3
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Nancy Baym is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Kansas. She has written many widely-cited articles about online fan community and social aspects of online interaction and is the author of the book Tune In, Log On: Soaps, Fandom, and Online Community (Sage Press, Inc.). She is a co-founder and Past-President of the Association of Internet Researchers. She is an award-winning teacher whose courses address the use of new communication technologies in creating identities, relationships and communities, interpersonal communication, and qualitative research methods. She serves on the editorial boards of the premiere journals in the field, including New Media & Society, The Journal of Communication, The Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, and The Information Society. Her blog about fan activity on the internet can be found at http://www.onlinefandom.com

Table of Contents

Introduction
Introduction
Three Tales of One Community
The Soap Opera and Its Audience
TV for the Less Intelligent?
Interpreting and Comparing Perspectives in the Audience Community
It's Only a Soap
Criticism, Creativity and Solidarity
'I Think of Them as Friends'
Interpersonal Relationships in the On-Line Community
The Development of Individual Identity
Futureflash
Five Years Later
Conclusion
Tune In Tomorrow

Editorial Reviews

Baym (communications, U. of Kansas) offers an ethnographic study of an Internet soap opera fan group. She explores how verbal and nonverbal communication practices create collaborative interpretations and criticism, group humor, interpersonal relationships, group norms, and individual identity. She also shows how the group, dominated by women, has established female styles of communication, thus demonstrating that women can build successful online communities while welcoming male participants. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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