[CITASA] Chat Room Research?

[Jenkins, Kate]

Hi-
In a project only tangentially related to the internet, I seem to have come across a gap in the literature, namely the changing use of the Internet regarding chat rooms.  All of what I have is marketing research, and most of that is raw numbers (e.g. two million average chat room users per day on AOL in 2002, thirty-thousand average chat room users per day on AOL in 2009, numbers probably off as I'm pulling from memory not text) that lack social context or relevant demographic information.
While I have come across literature that almost secondarily refers to the decline of "anonymous" or "pseudonymous" interactions on the Internet (mostly in reference to the rise of social networking that emulates/replicates/reinforces/etc offline social networks), I haven't really found anything that directly addresses chat rooms or related internet phenomena (usenets, bulletin boards, etc).
For a bit of context, this project relates to social support/self-help type websites, chat rooms, message boards, etc.  Basically I've found that for my population, the loss of the chat room(s) has lead to a politicization of the kinds of interactions people can have in relation to their condition, as a neutral space has been taken away, replaced by mostly sponsored message boards, listservs, and hosted chats.  However, I would like some context regarding changing internet use.
Any leads are appreciate.
Thanks in advance!

Kate Jenkins, M.Phil.
Ph.D. Candidate, Sociology
CUNY Graduate Center
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