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As the Internet reaches more professional and personal activities, it
has the potential to transform these activities as occasional electronic
exchanges evolve into vibrant online communities where new forms of
regular interaction emerge. When people collaborate and interact in
online communities, it is vital to establish context and trust in
addition to building virtual environments that are easy to navigate and
are conducive to learning and communicating. Research into the ways in
which technology can enhance online communities, and the ways it can
create opportunities for new types of community to arise, is a new and
exciting field of inquiry in computer science.
Several years ago, Microsoft Research formed a new research group to
investigate the challenges and possibilities of creating software that
enables and enhances new and existing forms of social interaction in
online communities. Working with this group and select university
partners, we aim to stimulate academic research into software that
contributes to compelling and effective social interactions, with a
focus on user-centered design processes, visualization, reputation,
social network modeling, and normalcy of rich media. Ultimately we hope
to establish social computing as a recognized discipline essential to
understanding and advancing the scope, variety, and quality of online
interactions and virtual communities.
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