Social networking and digital gaming media convergence: Classification and its consequences for appropriation

Within the field of Information Systems, a good proportion of research is concerned with the work organisation and this has, to some extent, restricted the kind of application areas given consideration. Yet, it is clear that information and communication technology deployments beyond the work organisation are acquiring increased importance in our lives. With this in mind, we offer a field study of the appropriation of an online play space known as Habbo Hotel. Habbo Hotel, as a site of media convergence, incorporates social networking and digital gaming functionality. Our research highlights the ethical problems such a dual classification of technology may bring. We focus upon a particular set of activities undertaken within and facilitated by the space—scamming. Scammers dupe members with respect to their ‘Furni’, virtual objects that have online and offline economic value. Through our analysis we show that sometimes, online activities are bracketed off from those defined as offline and that this can be related to how the technology is classified by members—as a social networking site and/or a digital game. In turn, this may affect members’ beliefs about rights and wrongs. We conclude that given increasing media convergence, the way forward is to continue the project of educating people regarding the difficulties of determining rights and wrongs, and how rights and wrongs may be acted out with respect to new technologies of play online and offline.

Ben LightEmail:

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Marie Griffiths   moved from the IT industry into academia and is now based at the University of Salford as an EPSRC Academic Fellow. She has, and continues to research gender and ICTs. Recently she has embarked upon the study “Cybercitizens and their Virtual Pursuits” to understand the consequence of growing up and living in a technologically saturated environment. Her work has been published in journals such as Gender, Work and Organization, the European Journal of Information Systems and Information Communication and Society. Ben Light   is Professor of Technology and Society at the University of Salford. His research concerns the appropriation of configurable technologies within work, organisations and society. This has led him to explore the use of large-scale enterprise resource planning packages, call centre technologies, social networking sites and digital games. He has published in journals such as Communications of the ACM, Information Systems Journal, New Technology, Work and Employment, the European Journal of Information Systems and the Journal of Information Technology.