Christine Hine- Virtual Ethnography (1998)

Christine Hine presents an interesting paper, discussing ethnography online.  The ethnographers that she researched argue that the information that is gained from being/researching online is more than that- it is a way to sustain relationships and share values as well as a way of being with respect to online environments (Hine, 1998).

The need for communities to have a location is no longer needed because communities online have a place to meet and exist.  I think that this aspect is hard for a lot of people to wrap their minds around- to have a place that exists but doesn't actually exist... 

The Louise Woodward Case, an 18 year old convicted of the murder of Maththew Eappen-of which Louise was given a life sentence. Matthew (8 months old) was diagnosed with a brain haemorrage and 'shaken baby syndrome'(Hine, 1998).  The judge decided to over rule the juries verdict and imposed his own ruling.  The verdict would be delivered on the internet instead of in the court house.  This ruling was made on November 10th, 1997, the original ruling of murder was overruled and a verdict of involuntary manslaughter with 279 days in state prison- which in fact was the the number of days that Louise had already been in jail (Hine, 1997).  

This case was well publicized, people set up support websites and some sites used clips from the court house, which made it easier for people to view the proceedings from their home.  Hine (1998) writes "The Louise Woodward case on the World Wide Web issusrates the emerging spatiality of the World Wide Web.  It also demonstrates that the boundary between off-line and on-line is constructed through the actions of the participants.  It is possible to see the Internet as a culture is its own right, but that culture is tied in by complex connections to off-line life.  When closely tied to  off-line life, the Internet is used as a transparent communications medium".  

This is what I think Hine is talking about above, the aspect of being online and allowing participants to be 'in the courtroom' but in fact they are at home in their study. Hine (1998) writes that 'Ethnography is used strategically to produce some insights into the ways in which the Internet is culturally produced and produced as culture'.