Editorial Pointers

Millions of us meet online each day to share a form of community still so new to our social milieu we are just beginning to appreciate the powerful potential it holds. We create communities to share common interests, debate world events, or simply offer comfort during trying times. The dynamics and connections are limitless.

This month’s special section celebrates the work that supports community and builds social capital. Guest editor Jenny Preece defines social capital as the glue holding communities and other social networks together. The featured articles illustrate how to shape successful online communities as well as overcome the challenges to achieving universally usable ones. These stories, as told by some of the leading lights in the field, take you from research to practice.

Also this month, Judy Scott and Iris Vessey investigate system implementation at Dow Corning and FoxMeyer. One effort was a complete success; the other an expensive failure. Their article examines the factors that determine the results of an implementation. Thomas Schambach and Ellis Blanton explore the reasons why so many in IT fail to stay as professionally competent as they might. Bonnie Nardi et al. introduce ContactMap, which allows users to transform their email contacts into social desktops. Mordechai Ben-Menachem and Roy Gelbard detail an integrated IT management tool kit. And Arnd Weber traces the early days of cryptography and the many minds and talents that played roles in bringing this radical innovation to the fore.

You may have noticed our Table of Contents is divided into two sections this month—one listing print-based editorial, the other a virtual extension of online editorial. Communications introduced the concept of an online-only extension of our print edition in 1995 and continues this practice periodically. It allows us to bring more top-quality scientific literature to you—and the world—via free online access. Statistics from ACM’s Digital Library confirm the popularity and value of these extensions. And we are always pleased when we can double the amount of useful information we bring you in any given month. We encourage you to visit the extension at portal.acm.org/cacm/ve2002.

Diane Crawford,
Editor