Metaphors of virtuality: shaping an emergent reality

In this paper, we explore the contemporary discourse associated with the new phenomenon of virtual organizing, and identify a number of metaphors used in this discourse to characterize various aspects of virtuality. We believe paying attention to such metaphors is important because in the absence of experiences (direct or vicarious) to guide practice, the images and ideals promoted in the discourse will shape people's views of and actions towards this new way of organizing. As such, metaphors play a powerful role in structuring the reality of virtuality. To understand the kind of reality being imagined and incited, we examine the various metaphors being proposed in the practitioner-directed literature on virtual organizing. We find that this discourse contains a multiplicity of different metaphors, each highlighting and hiding distinct aspects of virtual organizing. We identify five overarching metaphors in this discourse. These metaphors (re)present virtual organizing as a platform, as existing in space, as composed of bits, as operating as a community, and as engaging in a network of relationships. We analyze these metaphors in terms of their assumptions and presumptions about how to organize work, as well as their affordances and challenges. We conclude by considering what the consequences might be for people acting on the basis of such different, and often contradictory, metaphors in practice.