The Cameraphone and Online Image Sharing

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Notes

[1] Figure 1 could as easily have been developed using Actor Network Theory, but in this instance I preferred to use concepts of gift exchange and division of labour, which are consistent with the ideas of Gell and Mauss. This has allowed me to emphasize the consensuality in this network, to introduce the concept of patronage, and to identify more clearly the difference between industry and user interests in the cameraphone.

[2] The site www.big-boards.com lists and ranks sites with over 500,000 posts. Gaia Online, an ‘anime role playing community’ has 5,013,010 registered users and has attracted 835,978,048 posts, while IGN Boards, a general video gaming message board, has 1,255,254 members and has attracted 145,909,298 posts. It is not clear how active these memberships are or over what time period they have accumulated.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Virginia Nightingale

Virginia Nightingale is Associate Professor in the School of Communication Arts, University of Western Sydney. Correspondence to: Virginia Nightingale, School of Communication Arts, University of Western Sydney, Penrith Campus, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC, NSW 1797, [email protected]