| Computer Supported Cooperative Work 11: 205–242, 2002. © 2002 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. NetWORKers and their Activity in Intensional Networks (2008) | |||||||||||||||
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| Abstract. Through ethnographic research, we document the rise of personal social networks in the workplace, which we call intensional networks. Paradoxically, we find that the most fundamental unit of analysis for computer-supported cooperative work is not at the group level for many tasks and settings, but at the individual level as personal social networks come to be more and more important. Collective subjects are increasingly put together through the assemblage of people found through personal networks rather than being constituted as teams created through organizational planning and structuring. Teams are still important but they are not the centerpiece of labor management they once were, nor are they the chief resource for individual workers. We draw attention to the importance of networks as most CSCW system designs assume a team. We urge that designers take account of networks and the problems they present to workers. Key words: activity theory, collaborative work, communities of practice, social networks Modern work and the rise of intensional networks In the past, much work took place in relatively stable settings. Many people were employed by large corporations. Long-term established relationships existed between businesses, suppliers, and customers. It was not unusual for white collar | |||||||||||||||
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