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Mediated interaction has become a feature of everyday life, used routinely to communicate and maintain contacts, yet sociological analysis of mediated communication is relatively undeveloped. This article argues that new mediated communication channels merit detailed sociological analysis, and that interactional differences between media have been overlooked. Goffman explicitly restricted his interaction order to face-to-face interaction. The article adapts some of Goffman's interactional concepts for synchronous mediated interaction, but argues that his situational focus is less relevant to asynchronous media. The theoretical approach developed is illustrated and supported by qualitative research on mobile phones, which fortuitously afford both synchronous and asynchronous communication. The study suggests that although the distinction between synchronous and asynchronous interaction is important, it is not technologically determined, but shaped by interactional norms. KEY WORDS Goffman / interaction order/mediated communication / mobile phones / new media / SMS / synchrony

Computer games have not been adequately theorized within the humanities. In this paper a brief history of computer games is presented as a starting point for developing a topology of games and a theory of computer games as rhetorical artifacts suitable for critical study. The paper addresses the question of why games should be treated seriously and suggests a theoretical approach based on Bakhtin's poetics of the novel where the experience of time and space (the chronotope) provides a framework of questions for discussing computer games. Key words: Bakhtin, computer games, interactive, literary theory, multi-media

The 'link' metaphor typically applied to hypertext not only rears to electronic documents' points of connection but also suggests something about how people think about and process contemporary informational forms. This essay examines features of electronic texts that contain such 'clickable' links and contrasts those features with others characterizing print documents. Two critical essays published in the Quarterly Journal of Speech demonstrate how the two competing perspectives inform communication criticism. Interestingly, however, associational reasoning, or a 'logic of the link,' can be found in both electronic and print texts, and in critical analysis of those texts. This essay shows that an important function of criticism is to constrain interpretation by controlling the processes of association.

British politics marketing has become more advanced as the consumerist volatility of the electorate has increased. Voters throughout the country exchange party loyalty for scrutiny of the advertised political brands. The effect of such transformation has involved strengthening the role of the public and the victimization of the public.

Myst, an interactive multimedia novel on CD-ROM, successfully shapes the older art forms into a new genre of participatory literature. Myst confirms McLuhan's fourth law of media shift, which advocates the retrieval of older art forms in a new medium. It recreates art forms, which range from the Homeric epic to medieval allegories and from silent cinema to surrealist paintings. Its classic presentation of the subject without any violence has made it the first bestseller in the multimedia market during 1994 and 1995.

Years ago, during a former career in the theater, I made pocket money doing mime on the streets of New York City, and was always stunned at the difference between [...]