Creative Cuppa 5th Coffee Meetup

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Dear Everyone,

Many thanks for your coming today; we've reached our largest number of participants so far since the event started in Nov. 2008. And we want to express our special gratitude to Dr. Bu Qingxiu, from School of Law, Queen's University Belfast (QUB), for his coming and participation. Hopefully we will release the newsletter on next Monday. For the next time we will be focusing on the topic of "Virtual Reality / Digital Avatar". Thanks again for all your excellent contributions to the wonderful collaborative work today. We are looking forward to seeing you all again next month.

Best regards,

Jin Shang
31/03/2009

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Event: Creative Cuppa 5th Coffee Meetup (completed & newsletter coming out soon ... )

Theme: Virtual Community/Online Community
Time: 12:00pm - 13:00pm (31st March 2009)
Venue: 526 KEB (Ken Edwards Building), City Campus, University of Leicester
Event Coordinator: Jin Shang
Event description: by Jin Shang

'We are impelled to relate with each other for our survival. But we do not yet relate with the inclusivity, realism, self-awareness, vulnerability, commitment, openness, freedom, equality, and love of genuine community. It is clearly no longer enough to be simply social animals, babbling together at cocktail parties and brawling with each other in business and over boundaries. It is our task -- our essential, central, crucial task -- to transform ourselves from mere social creatures into community creatures. It is the only way that human evolution will be able to proceed.' (M. Scott Peck, 1998)

If 'digital identity' is considered as the identity of different individuals online, then 'virtual community' could be seen as the identity of different groups of individuals online. In fact, very few people can really 'survive' without connecting with other people in the 'real world', and so it is the same in the virtual one. A 'virtual community' usually refers to a group of people who 'use computers to communicate, form friendships that sometimes form the basis of communities'; and, the way it's been organized has indeed infiltrated and changed our real world. (Howard Rheingold, 1993)

This time we will be looking at the phenomenon of 'virtual community/online community'. You could share with others your different experiences and ideas getting involved in this special form of online grouping, and discuss any issues you feel relevant to your interests. Everyone is welcome. This is an informal and interdisciplinary event. Being with us, you should always find someone to share your thoughts with. Beverage & snacks are served for free. You can pop in and drop out anytime. The most important thing is that you feel fun, relax, and really enjoying being with every one of us.

http://creativecuppa.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=66646084584

Creative Cuppa
28/03/2009