We all have had experiences we labeled as successful – perhaps even joyful – workplace or educational collaborations, where joint effort was free-flowing and results obtained were far greater than those any individual could have produced alone. The goal of facilitating such interaction with computer networks raises a number of difficult questions. How do we establish adequate platforms for selfdevelopment and self-expression, while providing vehicles for support of productive and efficient collaboration? How do we counterbalance powerful managerial and technological strategies with safeguards for the rights of individuals in their associations? This book takes a first step toward answering these questions.

In Chapter 1, I introduce and develop the notions of the “virtual individual” and “virtual group,” and explore how these entities play critical roles in human expression and interpersonal relationships. In this chapter, I also provide background and analysis on the research and application areas of network-based systems, with emphasis on groupware or “computer-supported cooperative work” (CSCW) approaches and linkages of groupware to the Internet and other large-scale networks. Although groupware and other network-based applications are of relatively recent vintage, they have roots that reach far back into the histories of computing, as well as the social and managerial sciences. I consider these applications in light of their many dimensions, in part by developing the notions of “genre” and “narrative” in relation to the growing varieties of computer artifacts and forms of computer-mediated expression.