This includes a brief discussion of a virtual community created by Harlequin to promote its 12-book Tyler series:
Harlequin launched the Tyler series in March 1992 [...]. Along with the usual Harlequin promotions, Tyler featured a 1-900 number line (1-900-78-TYLER) which allowed you to listen to the voices of various characters as they told you the daily town gossip, gave you previews of forthcoming novels, or shared recipes. In this elaborate voicemail system, you could navigate from one section of Tyler to another by the usual "if you want X, press Y" commands. You could also leave messages at various points, mostly to order books or have a copy of the recipe of the month mailed to you. (16)
The dating is a little unusual, as one page says 1996 but then the copyright page says 1997. I've taken the date on the copyright page.
This essay was reprinted in an edited form in The Cybercultures Reader, ed. David Bell and Barbara M. Kennedy (London and New York: Routledge, 2000), pp. 45-55.
This includes a brief discussion of a virtual community created by Harlequin to promote its 12-book Tyler series:
The dating is a little unusual, as one page says 1996 but then the copyright page says 1997. I've taken the date on the copyright page.
This essay was reprinted in an edited form in The Cybercultures Reader, ed. David Bell and Barbara M. Kennedy (London and New York: Routledge, 2000), pp. 45-55.