Rheingold (1993) uses the petri dish as a metaphor for cyberspace.
I love this analogy for the simple reason that it highlights the possibilities of cyberspace running parallel to offline reality. All too often there is the automatic expectation that all of our online experiences should be perfect simply because they are online, because they may materialize as bespoke as we shape them to be.
The idea of the social petri dish that mirrors our flaw-filled RL is refreshing.
[further elaboration on this over the next couple of days]
When I started reading this I thought you were about to say “cyberspace running amok” – spilling over, which I thought was quite apt, also!