CITASA Mini-Conference MC3.0

Web 2.0 and Beyond: The Sociological Significance of Virtual Worlds Supplanting Cyberspace

Time and Date: 5:00-8:30pm EDT or 2:00 - 5:30 pm PDT/SLT on August 12, 2007
Location Details: The GNWC Virtual Centre for Digital Media in Second Life University Project (150, 84, 23)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/University%20Project/150/84/23

For the third year in a row the Communication and Information Technology Section (CITASA) of the American Sociological Association (ASA) will hold a Mini-Conference as part of the ASA's annual meeting. This year's ASA meeting will be held in New York City, while the primary venue for CITASA's MC3.0 will be held in Second Life. (www.secondlife.com). Second Life is a 3d virtual world with nearly 8 million residents, who's lifelike avatars participate in a wide range of economic, social, educational and recreational activities. The virtual location for MC3.0 will be the Virtual Centre for Digital Media created by the Masters of Digital Media Program at Great Northern Way Campus (Vancouver, BC). The physical location of the conference will be wherever the participants find themselves-in New York and elsewhere-at the time.

MC3.0 will focus on three broad areas:

• Social Networking Sites (Facebook, Flickr, YouTube etc)
• Videogames & Gaming (World Of Warcraft, Console games etc)
• Virtual Worlds (Second Life, Active Worlds etc)

Key Questions that will be addressed 1) What is the sociological significance of the Web2.0 (and beyond) mediated form of social interaction? 2) How can these forms of online interaction serve as bases for sociological research? 3) Specifically, what is the pedagogical value of the virtual world experience?
See the CITASA website after July 13, 2007 for more information or join the CITASA group on Facebook. Individuals interested in presenting or serving as discussants should contact one of the MC organizers listed below. CITASA sponsored Second Life orientation sessions will be available prior to the event for those new to the virtual world.

CITASA MC3.0 organizers

Tracy Kennedy - tkennedy@netwomen.ca
Anabel Quan-Haase - aquan@uwo.ca
Joanna Robinson - joanna@gnwc.ca
Jim Witte - jwitte@clemson.edu

Presenters

CITASA MC 3.0 Guest List