In our globalized world, communication and interaction increasingly happen online and are mediated through computers and the internet. This is true not only for organizational settings and teams working together, but also for private contacts with family, friends, and even strangers (e.g., Bargh and McKenna, 2004). Theories on computer-mediated communication (CMC) that have described internet-based communication as deficit-laden compared to face-to-face communication (e.g., Kiesler, 1997; Kiesler et al., 1984; Kiesler and Sproull, 1992; Short et al., 1976; Siegel et al., 1986; Sproull and Kiesler, 1986; Strauss and McGrath, 1994) might have difficulty to explain these current developments. On the other hand, these approaches have argued that the cues we rely on in everyday face-to-face interaction are filtered out in computer-mediated communication. While this was certainly true for mere text-based interactions, more recent forms of communication via the internet have adopted numerous additional features and incorporate several of these cues (Antonijevic, 2008; Fullwood and Orsolina, 2007). This is, on the one hand, due to technological advancements, but has, on the other hand, been fostered by creative efforts of the users, as had been predicted by Walther (1992, 1996) in his social information processing and hyperpersonal communication theory. In fact, recent developments in the field of the so-called Web 2.0 show that users themselves often developed several strategies and technologies to support at least partial surrogates for face-to-face interaction, which have led to a steady increase of immediate and increasingly multimodal communication (Ramirez et al., 2002; Walther and Burgoon, 1992; Walther and Parks, 2002).

In 2010, almost all laptop computers are sold with built-in cameras and microphones. Together with bundled software, such as Skype, everybody with access to a fast connection can easily engage in face-to-face communication over the internet. FaceTime, in conjunction with Apple's iPhone, provides a convenient and portable face-to-face application. Other solutions have been announced and will be released at a rapid pace. Thus, while text-only, computer-mediated communication (CMC) is likely to have its place for years to come, face-to-face mediated communication is here for real and it is here to stay. Concurrently, threats to global mobility, due to the environmental consequences of air travel, or challenges to air travel, such as the global disruptions caused by threats of terrorism and natural disasters, have led to increased calls to use alternative ways to achieve communication and collaborative work goals that so far had been mainly dealt with in physical, face-to-face interaction. At the same time, social networks meld many-to-many communication with one-to-one communication in different chat systems, with and without video. In other words, mediated face-to-face communication has become a commodity in business and private contexts. Thus, a volume dealing with different facets of internet-based, face-to-face communication is timely and we hope it will be of interest to readers who want to learn more about the topic. One goal of the present volume is also to stimulate further research on this topic.

It is possibly strange to think that, just a few years ago, mediated face-to-face communication seemed an exotic topic.

Introduction

Traditionally, computers and everything related to computers were perceived to belong to the masculine domain (Kirk, 1992). However, with the expansion of the internet, and the widespread use of computers in various forms of computer-mediated communication (CMC) (email, chatting, videoconferencing, or social networking sites, such as Hyves, Facebook, and Twitter), we have witnessed an increase of female participation in the virtual world, resulting in more or less equal participating of both sexes. Indeed, there is even evidence that in some contexts women judge CMC more favorably than men do (e.g., Allen, 1995; Hiltz and Johnson, 1990). For example, women consider emailing more effective and easier to use than men, and women seem to be more satisfied with online discussions than men are.

The epigraph reflects a common presumption that an abundance of nonverbal cues is the easiest way to facilitate shared understanding. In contrast, some of my students' course evaluations reflect our regular face-to-face encounters in class:

Introduction

The internet is now a means of communication widely used in the interaction between individuals: It is used for work, to chat with friends, to meet new people, to discuss matters of social importance, for educational purposes, etc. The videoconference has now been added to the most frequently used systems (email, discussion forums, mailing lists, etc.