Description
Book Synopsis* The first book to explore the social meaning of the 'always on' webcam and the role it has come to play in our lives. * Using case studies from the UK and Trinidad and Tobago, the authors examine how webcams have become an integral part of people's everyday life.
Trade Review''Some of the most interesting uses of new technologies silently slip into our consciousness and become deeply integrated with our everyday lives. Miller and Sinanan help us to understand how our everyday existence is affected by online video conversations in ways that are unexpected and intriguing. Long anticipated by science fiction, video conversation looks much less like a simple update to the phone call we might have expected, and much more varied.''
Alexander Halavais, Arizona State University
'My grandmother used to shout into the phone to make sure she was heard across the country. Now, grandmothers and babies enjoy each other on webcams. This fascinating book shows how far-flung people use Skype to maintain and extend their networks. Friends become like kin; kin become like friends.''
Barry Wellman, NetLab Director and co-author, Networked
"In the accessible and engaging style that we have come to expect from Miller’s publications, Webcam explores the socio-cultural effects of the webcam from an anthropological perspective. That said, this book will appeal to scholars from much of the social sciences and beyond, for its contents and core arguments pose important questions for what it means to be human, and connect with others in an age of instant global communication."
Michael Duggan, Royal Holloway University of London
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements vi
1 Conclusion: A Theory of Attainment 1
2 Self-Consciousness 24
3 Intimacy 48
4 The Sense of Place 82
5 Maintaining Relationships 110
6 Polymedia 135
7 Visibility 162
References 192
Index 201
