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Apologies for cross-posting. Please
disseminate widely.
This is a call for papers, posters, and
expressions of interest in
attending a two-day conference at the
University of Essex, UK:
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Cultures of eBay: making
sense of social and economic aspects of the
eBay
'phenomenon'
August 24th-25th 2005,
Colchester, University of Essex
http://www.essex.ac.uk/chimera/culturesofebay.html
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Conference background
This is the first independent UK conference which aims to look at the
cultural, social and economic aspects of
eBay. As such, this e-mail asks
for early expressions of interest in
attending, as well as being a call
for papers and posters, in order to gauge
the demand for this one-off
conference. The idea for this conference
originated from an ongoing ESRC
project (RES-000-23-0433) at Chimera, a
department of the University of
Essex,
which began in February 2004 and is due to end in January 2006.
Results of this research project will be
disseminated at the conference.
The overall aim of this conference is to
bring together academics, and
practitioner groups from both business and
the voluntary sector, to
explore and ‘make sense’ of
the cultural, social and economic aspects and
implications of eBay, the Internet auction
site.
Important dates
Expressions of interest in attending (for
non-presenters only), no later
than: 21st March 2005
Abstracts and posters no later than: 31st
March 2005
Acceptance notification: 22nd April 2005
PowerPoint presentations no later than:
29th July 2005
Formal registration for all no later than:
16th May 2005
Conference dates: 24th and 25th August,
2005
Background
to eBay
This conference explores a phenomenally
successful form of e-commerce, the
Internet auction. Specifically, the
conference will concentrate on one
such Internet auction site, eBay - chosen
for its market dominance. With
70% of all online auctions currently
taking place through its site
(Rowley, 2000), eBay represents ‘the
world's largest personal online
trading community’. Initially set up
in 1995 with collectors in mind, eBay
enabled easier access to collectibles
(vid. Bunnel and Luecke, 2000) -
where the traditional inefficiencies of
person-to-person trading such as
geographical fragmentation and imperfect
knowledge (ibid.) could be offset
through computer-mediated communication
(CMC). Dubbed “the perfect store”
(Cohen, 2002), its success has been
phenomenal both in financial terms and
in the number of users it has
attracted. Indeed, eBay is fast becoming an
e-commerce mainstay and household name
with 125 million registered users
worldwide (eBay, 2004), and it is now the UK’s number one e-commerce site
(Nielsen Net Ratings, May 2003 cited eBay,
2004). Online auction sites
have revolutionised the way we browse and
shop for second-hand, antique
and collectible items. However, they
also provide new ways and new spaces
to perform and display knowledges and
‘knowingness,’ particularly in
relation to material culture.
eBay differs substantially from almost
every other ‘virtual store’ or e-
commerce site in carrying a stock of
mostly second-hand items, which are
described and loaded on to a database by
thousands of individual sellers
themselves. Accordingly, very
contrasting consumer and collecting
knowledges are brought to bear on such
items than for mainstream new goods
e-tailing. eBay is also a highly
unusual site in the way
that ‘communities’ are enabled
and identities performed through the site’s
own community spaces (discussions around
topic threads and asynchronous
chat boards) - mediated by material
culture in buying, selling and
browsing practices. Yet eBay remains
largely unexplored by the academic
literature beyond its reputation
(feedback) system, particularly in terms
of the key issues it raises around
knowledge, identity, community and
collecting practices in an
e-society. This conference seeks to redress
these gaps in the literature. But
eBay also has considerable relevance
for government and practitioner
groups. The research will raise key
issues for government and policy
surrounding the potential for eBay to be
a source of self-employment, particularly
for ‘disadvantaged’ groups or
those requiring flexible work, and
increasingly important consumer issues
such as the misselling of goods and the
growing problem of fraudulent
behaviour over the Internet. eBay
additionally has significant
implications for UK economic competitiveness in terms of the practices,
structures and systems architecture of
e-commerce, which include web site
design and the distribution systems for
both goods and money in an
Internet era.
Who should attend
Academics in the fields of (but not
exclusively): new media, e-commerce,
cultural studies, sociology, human
geography, HCI
Practitioners in relevant fields
Research students
Industry consultants
Keynote speakers:
Dr Rebecca Ellis and Anna Haywood, University of Essex
http://www.essex.ac.uk/chimera/team/beckye.html
http://www.essex.ac.uk/chimera/team/annah.html
Mr Will Davies, IPPR
http://www.ippr.org.uk/about/staff.php?id=180
Dr Tim Dant, UEA (tbc)
http://www.uea.ac.uk/psi/people/dant_t.htm
Others tbc.
Conference themes
The conference themes have been written in
order to accommodate the
interests of both academics and practitioner
groups. Although papers and
presentations could address the following
themes, submissions should not
be limited to the themes suggested. See
the conference website (Conference
themes and scope section) for an outline
of potential research questions
that could be addressed under each theme.
eBay and identity: the presentation of
self/ others and knowledge
performance
• Significance
(or not) of members’ eBay user names.
• Presentation
of self through item description, photography and
buying/ selling practices
• eBay
'claims to status' and disidentification practices
• Knowledge
performance and presentation
• Knowledge
giving
• 'Unknowingness'
• How
do eBay sellers present themselves, others and material
culture in terms of discourses of ‘race,’ nation or Diaspora?
eBay and social capital
•
eBay and 'community'
•
eBay and the development of social capital
•
eBay & trust
eBay, consumption and consumer lifestyles
• eBay
and its effects on other disposal routes: charity shops,
throwing away, relegating to the attic
• eBay
as a place to get rid of unwanted gifts
• eBay
and 'minimalist living' – e.g. de-junking one’s life
• eBay
as ethical consumption? ‘Recycling’ to second owners.
• eBay
as a 'weird' or spectacular site of alternative
consumption
• eBay
as a societal mirror in terms of what is being bought and
sold
• eBay
as a store of social memory in material culture –
e.g. ‘memory artefacts,’ nostalgia
Collecting in an e-society
•
The impact of eBay on offline collecting practices/ rituals
•
eBay and globalised collecting - the world of goods
•
eBay and the ease of ‘armchair collecting’
•
The effect of eBay on specific collecting cultures and communities
eBay and employment effects
• What
impact is eBay having on self-employment in the UK?
• Who
does an eBay living appeal to?
• What
impact is eBay having on other forms of employment?
• Is
eBay creating new types of jobs?
• Is
eBay a good place to start trading for the newly self-
employed?
• eBay
as a supplementary source of income
• Is
eBay a good medium for selling services?
eBay, competition and the 'perfect market'
•
Does eBay really constitute the economists' 'perfect market'?
•
Is eBay creating new markets?
•
eBay and competition
•
eBay’s business model
eBay and the 'real' economy
•
Money flows
•
National postal services and other goods distribution networks
•
Internet infrastructure – Broadband vs. dial up
eBay and website design
•
Designing e-commerce sites: what makes eBay sticky?
•
Designing e-commerce sites to support trustworthiness
•
How effective is eBay’s feedback system?
eBay and the consumer
•
eBay and consumer privacy
•
eBay and consumer protection issues
Representations of eBay
• How
has eBay been represented in the media?
• How
do eBay’s customers perceive it – through practice and media
representation?
Guidance for authors of
papers
It is not intended for authors to submit
full papers for the conference.
Presenters will be chosen by a panel on
the basis of their submitted
abstracts. Abstracts should be no more
than 400 words. If you are
interested in participating, please email
your abstract to the conference
administrator by 31st March, 2005.
Please e-mail Mr Martin Hicks (hicksm
and add @essex.ac.uk to create full e-mail
address) using the title ‘eBay
Conference.’
The submission must include:
• A
title and abstract (400 words) outlining the work to be
presented
• Name(s)
& contact details for each of the author(s)
• Whether
work is completed or on-going
• Whether
partly or wholly a student project
• If
work is subject to external constraints, (e.g. commercial
sensitivity)
Authors of accepted submissions will be
notified by 22nd April 2005.
PowerPoint presentations will be required
by 29th July 2005.
Guidance for poster
submission
Poster submissions addressing any of the
areas identified in the
conference topics are invited. The poster
sessions are an ideal venue for
presenting recent research results or
ongoing research projects that might
not yet be complete, but whose preliminary
results are interesting
nonetheless. Although poster authors do
not formally present their work,
the session allows for informal open-ended
questions and discussion as
attendees explore the topic with the
presenter(s), who can convey their
ideas without the requirements of a
written paper. Unfortunately, as
poster sessions afford opportunities for
interaction with other attendees,
poster submissions cannot be made without
attendance.
If you would like to present a poster,
please send details to Mr Martin
Hicks (hicksm and add @essex.ac.uk to
create full e-mail address) using
the title ‘eBay Conference
poster.’ The deadline for poster submission is
31st March, 2005.
The submission must include:
• A
title and brief abstract (250 words) describing the contents of
the poster
• Name(s)
& address(es) of author(s)
• Name
of presenter of the poster, address, email, telephone and fax
number (if available)
• Whether
work is completed or on-going
• Whether
partly or wholly a student project
• If
work is subject to external constraints,
(e.g. commercial sensitivity)
• A
brief note indicating how the space afforded for display of the
poster will be used, including any innovative suggestions for
display or observer involvement.
Authors of accepted submissions will be
notified by 22nd April 2005.
There is no predefined layout and content
format for poster presentations.
A standard A1 poster board (approx 23 x 33
inches or 61 x 45.7cm) will be
provided to display your work. For
additional information on poster
presentations, please refer to the
conference website.
Conference location
The conference will be held at the campus
of the University of Essex in
Colchester,
UK (see http://www.essex.ac.uk/about/ ).
The University is
situated in a landscaped parkland campus
on the outskirts of Colchester,
the oldest recorded town in Britain. Colchester is served by excellent
transport links, with the A12 running into
London and trains to the
capital taking 45 minutes. Stansted Airport, the home of many of
the 'budget' airlines is easily
accessible. Colchester is also linked from
the north with Ipswich and via the A14 to Birmingham, the M1/M6 to the
Midlands and the north of England. Accommodation is available on the
campus.
More information
For more information on any aspects of the
conference, please see the
conference website:
http://www.essex.ac.uk/chimera/culturesofebay.html
Additionally, please e-mail Mr Martin
Hicks (hicksm and add @essex.ac.uk
to create full e-mail address) using the
title ‘eBay Conference’ for early
expressions of interest, or any queries
you may have. To go to this e-
mail address automatically, please go to
the conference
website.
Regards,
Anna Haywood
Chimera
University of Essex
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M: +44(0) 7764 976938
F: +44(0) 1473
614936
Ross Building pp1, Adastral Park, Ipswich,
Martlesham Heath, Suffolk IP5 3RE
http://www.essex.ac.uk/chimera