What will on-line interactive communities be like? ... They will be communities not of common location, but of common interest. In each field, the overall community of interest will be large enough to support a comprehensive system of field-oriented programs and data.
Licklider and Taylor, The Computer as a Communication Device, 1968
Writing in 1968, JCR Licklider envisioned the computer as a communication device that would lead to communities of common interest rather than communities based on location. He forsaw networked computers as allowing us to collaborate and cooperate with others at the same time (synchronously) or different time (asynchronously). As head of the ARPA office responsible for information processing research, he pursued his vision by funding research on networking and interactive computing.
We have many applications for computer support of cooperative work, or groupware. Some groupware tools, like email, are well-known and simple. Others are more complex and they may impose structure or process upon the collaboration. Examples of netorked collaborative applications are:
| Same time (synchronous) | Different time (asynchronous) | |
| Same place |
DSS room | Refrigerator door magnets |
| Different place | Chat, video conference, instant messaging, VOIP, shared screen, call-in audio/video | E-mail, voice mail, listserver, questionnaire server, threaded discussion, blog, twitter, social network |