xxxiv Preface INTRODUCTION The 21 st century has witnessed a phenomenal increase in the number of virtual communities. This growth signifies our augmenting desire to connect, work, share, exchange, play and socialize with others irre- spective of time, space, speed and distance. Today, more and more people are using social software such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Blogs, Wikis, LinkedIn, and many others, to help them carry out their daily activities. As new technologies become an increasingly interwoven aspect of our everyday lives, it has become apparent that traditional methods for studying social systems that characterizes some of these technologies often lack the detailed understanding of aspects of human, social and cultural life that is required. Since virtual communities and phenomena inherent in them are emergent, there is still