The Amsterdam-based Institute of Network Cultures was founded by Geert Lovink following his appointment as Professor within the School of Interactive Media at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam (Amsterdam University of Applied Science).The Institute of Network Cultures analyses and shapes the terrain of network cultures from the inside. No innocent bystander, it actively contributes to the field through events, publications and online dialogue. The sphere of new media has huge potential for socio-technological change – the mission of the Institute of Network Cultures, the INC, is to explore, document and feed this potential.Established in 2004 the INC takes as its focus the Internet and other new forms of media. The INC is a framework for the realisation of a diverse array of projects, with a strong emphasis on content. Its goal is to create an open organisational form where ideas from both individuals and organisations can be given an early institutional context.A key INC focus is the establishment of sustainable research networks. Following from this the INC seeks to identify emerging critical topics and to then initiate and steer dialogue and exchange in order to shape the way these new forms develop. Differentiating the INC from Information Technology research is its emphasis on the interaction between aesthetics and social relations within technological environments. Attention is also paid to the intercultural aspects of the field. The INC views theoretical developments and self-reflection as vital to the creation of the rich autonomous language that this new area of knowledge deserves.