Computer networking is changing the way people work and the way organizations function. "Connections is an accessible guide to the promise and the pitfalls of this latest phase of the computer revolution. The ideas in "Connections will help executives shape their vision of a new communication environment. Designers of network systems will see a realistic portrait of the users and uses of their inventions. And those using the technology in their jobs will gain a broader perspective on their work environment.Using experience gained over a decade of research in established electronic mail communities, Lee Sproull and Sara Kiesler show how the new technology can alleviate barriers and distortions in organizational communication and create opportunities for new connections. They also point to the problems it raises and discuss methods for coping with the often profound changes in organizations that accompany moves to computer networking. While each chapter can be read independently, the book follows a historical order, beginning with the social history of nineteenth-century technologies such as the railroad, typewriter, and telephone. Using these older technologies as a framework for thinking about technology changes in organizations, Sproull and Kiester focus on contemporary organizations and contemporary computer-based communication. Topics include the specific kinds of changes that are likely to occur in meetings, in connections among peripheral workers, and in patterns of control and influence. The authors also anticipate long-range changes in organizational procedures and structures, discussing those that are possible with today's technology and those that could occur within the nextdecade.