AN EXPLORATORY-STUDY OF THE PERCEIVED BENEFITS OF ELECTRONIC BULLETIN BOARD USE AND THEIR IMPACT ON OTHER COMMUNICATION ACTIVITIES

Electronic bulletin boards have become popular with the advent of inexpensive computers, easily available channels, and large networks. With public message posting, millions with like interests can post, read, and provide immediate feedback. This study focused on adoption and social impact issues the characteristics bulletin board users possess and how board use affects other communication media. A random sample of bulletin board users was selected from two services, CompuServe and Prodigy, and interviewed on-line. These groups were cross analyzed for the two areas of interest. A typology of uses was constructed through a content analysis for future analyses.