Empathy is the ability to identify with and understand another person’s situation and feelings. Our ability to empathize affects how well we communicate our thoughts and feelings with others, how well we understand others, and how comfortable people feel communicating with us. It is at the root of meaningful and deep communication (Ickes, 1997; Levenson & Reuf, 1992). There is a moderate research literature on empathy (e.g., see edited collections by Eisenberg & Strayer, 1987; Ickes, 1997), but little work addresses empathy in online communities (Preece, 1998, 1999a; Preece & Ghozati, 1998). However, anecdotes indicate that empathic experiences occur online. This is particularly interesting as empathy,like other emotions,is primarily communicated nonverbally, and many of these reports concern textual, asynchronous environments. Goleman (1995) states that “one rule of AUTHORS ’ NOTE: We thank Ron Rice and Ben Shneiderman for thoughtful comments on drafts of this chapter. 233 234 ONLINE HEALTH COMMUNITIES AND E-COMMERCE thumb used in communications research is that 90 percent or more of an emotional message is non-verbal ” (p. 97). Goleman goes on to explain that “anxiety in someone’s tone of voice, irritation in the quickness of gesture, are almost always taken in unconsciously ” and “the skills that allow us to do this well or poorly are, for the most part, learned tacitly ” (pp. 97-

Demographic groups normally do not constitute communities. However, they have the potential for becoming online communities when individuals share common interests, needs and goals for problem solving and support and when they can easily find and communicate with each other and establish relationships. People in these demographic groups may be highly resistant to interacting online despite their regular use of the Internet for information gathering and email. The causes for this resistance, suggestions for mitigating it and approaches for bringing such demographic groups into online community environments and sustaining their online interaction are presented in this paper which describes a study of a demographic group of mid-life career changers. Suggested improvements in online community sociability and usability are recommended for these demographic groups to successfully interact online. In particular, the sociability and usability requirements of these demographic groups should direct the selection and implementation of technology. 1.

In email-based discussion lists (DLs), messages resident in archives, email clients and elsewhere are persistent. One way of examining persistent messages is through the eyes of lurkers. For participants in this study, persistent conversation is an inhibitor to participation, a mechanism for engendering participation, and something to be managed. Participants viewed persistent conversation, especially when it can be retrieved through search mechanisms at a later date, as a loss of security and privacy, and an impediment to public participation. Participants followed conversations to understand the practices and language of a DL. Strategies for reading and managing email were idiosyncratic and goal driven. Some participants were concerned about maintaining access to DL information for future use. Others, more concerned about being overloaded with too much email, focused on eliminating messages. Where possible, design implications are put forward.

To address the needs of cancer patients and their caregivers, Microsoft Research and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center developed HutchWorld, an online community environment, to provide computer-mediated social and informational support. In a controlled clinical study, we deployed HutchWorld to bone marrow transplant patients and their caregivers and assessed the impact of Internet access and HutchWorld on their quality of life. We found that Internet access and the use of HutchWorld helped to buffer study participants against reductions in life satisfaction and social support following the transplant procedure. In particular, participants used the Internet to seek out support from family and friends.

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This paper describes a program of research designed to understand how knowledge-sharing and learning can be supported in virtual communities. To conduct this research, we propose the development of a series of knowledge sharing tools and procedures followed by a rigorous evaluation of the use of these tools in real virtual community environments. The paper starts with a brief examination of relevant theory in knowledge management and learning. This leads to a comprehensive set of research questions. To investigate these questions, we next propose a set of tools for supporting collaboration, knowledge sharing and learning for distributed communities. Evaluation is also a vital element of this research.

The main goal of this chapter is the analysis of cyber-attraction: the emergence of Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) in the development of interpersonal attraction. According to recent theories and studies, it would seem that not only does CMC support emotional and intensely involving communication between people, but also that it would be characterized by and offer a specific allure, a special element that makes it so fascinating. In particular, different forms of miscommunication - implicit, say not to say, and obliquity -- play an important role in this process.

this paper that the Internet is not to blame either. I shall examine the connection between the Internet, trust, and civic engagement, using a 1998 survey by the Pew Center for The People and The Press and a 2000 survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Briefly, I find no evidence for the claim that people who have stronger social support networks in the "real world" avoid the web. There is also little support for the argument that the Net is a haven for people who don't trust others. Nor is there is any evidence that people who spend time on-line are less likely to trust others. Civic Life in the New Technological Era The ultimate pay-off of civic engagement is the trust it engenders with our fellow citizens. As Putnam (1993, 90) argues: "Participation in civic organizations inculcates skills of cooperation as well as a sense of shared responsibility for collective endeavors." Technology, especially television (but perhaps also the Internet), can lead us away from socializing into our private worlds. Watching a lot of television keeps us inside our homes and away from the civic organizations and social connections that generate trust. Heavy TV viewing also leads us to believe that the real world is as "mean" and violent as the programs we see on television--so it makes us less likely to trust strangers (Gerbner et al., 1980). Television produces misanthropes--who see the world as a dark and threatening place and whose "Friends" are fictional characters whom you will never be asked to help out. The ultimate television viewer was Chauncy Gardner, the character in Jerzy Kosinski's novel, Being There. Gardner had no social ties and thought the television world was the real world. Uslaner, "Trust, Civic Engagement, and the Internet" (4) That's the old techn...

Demographic groups normally do not constitute communities. However, they have the potential for becoming online communities when individuals share common interests, needs and goals for problem solving and support and when they can easily find and communicate with each other and establish relationships. People in these demographic groups may be highly resistant to interacting online despite their regular use of the Internet for information gathering and email. The causes for this resistance, suggestions for mitigating it and approaches for bringing such demographic groups into online community environments and sustaining their online interaction are presented in this paper which describes a study of a demographic group of mid-life career changers. Suggested improvements in online community sociability and usability are recommended for these demographic groups to successfully interact online. In particular, the sociability and usability requirements of these demographic groups should direct the selection and implementation of technology. 1.

Abstract: Creating online communities of practice involves much more than creating software. Software houses online communities of practice activities but social interactions also depend on who is involved, what their goals are, their personalities and the community’s norms and policies. By paying attention to these sociability issues, community members can influence how their community develops. Norms that lead to good online etiquette, empathy and trust between community members provide stepping-stones for social capital development.