E-mail is a communication network operating on a computer network that supports social
networks. It combines iocatiornl flexibility, rapid transmission to muitiple others across time
and spa.ce, and the ability to store and process information. We review research into how e-mail
shapes - and is shaped by - organizational structures and processes. Although social
phenomeru strongly affect the use of e-mail, many discussions of media use have treated it as
a voluntary, individual act of matching task to media. They have paid less attention to the
influence of organizational power, group perceptions, and social network relations. E-mail
provides fewer cues than FTF communication about interactions, physical context or social roles.
As this fosters status equalization, there is less awareness of group members'
organizational niche and power, or ascribed characteristics. People are more uninhibited, non-conformist
and conflictual when using email; groups are more polarized and take longer to
reach consensus. However, groups using e-mail tend to produce more diverse opinions and
better decisions. E-mail increases access to new people; weakens spatial, temporal and status
barrien; and provides access to information that would otherwise be unavailable. Whm people
conmunicate electronically, work groups become more fluid. People can participate actively in
more groups, and those on the periphery get more involved.Centre for Urban and Community Studies, UofT
Ontario Telepresence Projec
