Jonathan Steuer is a pioneer in online publishing.

In addition to leading the launch teams of a number of early and influential online publishing ventures (such as HotWired, the first ad-supported web magazine, and c|net's online operations), his article "Defining virtual realities: Dimensions determining telepresence," is widely cited in academic and industry literature. Originally published in 1992 in the Journal of Communication 42, 73-9, it has been reprinted in Communication in the Age of Virtual Reality (1995), F. Biocca & M. R. Levy (Eds.).

Steuer's vividness and interactivity matrix from that article appeared in Wired magazine circa 1995 and has been particularly influential in shaping the discourse by defining virtual reality in terms of human experience, rather than technological hardware, and setting out vividness and interactivity as axial dimensions of that experience. Steuer's notability in diverse arenas as a scholar, architect, and instigator of new media is documented in multiple, independent, non-trivial, published works.

Some books and print articles that discuss Steuer's role in the web publishing industry that emerged in San Francisco in the 1990s:

• Net Voice in the City by Yoshihiro Kaneda, ASCII Corporation, Japan, 1997, pp. 88-107
• Architects of the Web by Robert H. Reid, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1997, pp. 289-292, 296-297, 299-300, 302-303.
• "Webheads on Ramona Street," by Jeff Goodell, Rolling Stone, Issue 722, November 30, 1995.

Some books and print that draw on Steuer's definitions of virtual reality and telepresence:

• Cyberspace/Cyberbodies/Cyberpunk, Mike Featherstone and Roger Burrows (Eds.), Sage Publications, London, 1995.
• "Experienced presence within computer-mediated communications: Initial explorations on the effects of gender with respect to empathy and immersion" (2005). Nicovich, S. G., Boller, G. W., and Cornwell, T. B. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 10(2), article 6.
• "Proposing the content perception theory for the online content industry – a structural equation modeling" (2004), Kuo-Fang Peng, Yi-Wen Fan, Tong-An Hsu, Industrial Management & Data Systems Volume 104 Number 6 2004 pp. 469-489.
• "The Effects of Progressive Levels of Interactivity and Vividness in Web Marketing Sites", Coyle, James R. ; Thorson, Esther. Journal of Advertising, 22 September, 2001.
• "Marketing in Hypermedia Computer-Mediated Environments: Conceptual Foundations", by Donna L. Hoffman; Thomas P. Novak. Journal of Marketing, 1996.
• "Interactivity in Distance Learning: The Digital Divide and Student Satisfaction," by Larry R. Irons, Donald J. Jung, and Robert O. Keel. Educational Technology & Society 5 (3) 2002 (ISSN 1436-4522).

Besides the printed works above, Steuer's article is cited in many online works, a few of which are listed here:

http://www.educause.edu/apps/er/erm07/erm0710.asp?bhcp=1

http://www.raphkoster.com/gaming/book/3c.shtml

http://astro.temple.edu/~lombard/InfoSys/98/Coyle.htm

http://hyperion.math.upatras.gr/richmedia/proj/sirm.html

http://www.presence-research.org/papers/Botella.html

Steuer has been a consultant and senior executive for a number of other online media startups: CNet

CNET

CNET is a tech media website that publishes news articles, blogs, and podcasts on technology and consumer electronics. Originally founded in 1994 by Halsey Minor and Shelby Bonnie, it was the flagship brand of CNET Networks and became a brand of CBS Interactive through CNET Networks' acquisition...

, ZDTV, Sawyer Media Systems and Scient

Scient

Scient was a San Francisco-based Internet consulting company, founded in 1997, that was one of the large American consulting firms during the dot-com bubble. The company was founded by Eric Greenberg, who had previously founded its competitor, Viant. Its CEO was Robert Howe, the former head of IBM...

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Steuer has an AB in Philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

 from Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

, and a PhD in Communication Theory & Research from Stanford University

Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

. There, his doctoral dissertation concerned Vividness and Source of Evaluation as Determinants of Social Responses Toward Mediated Representations of Agency.

A longtime resident of the Bay Area

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

, today Steuer resides in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

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