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www.sti-innsbruck.at
Not a common forum software
It is more a product able to manage a community using different tools
Includes an archive of Usenet news group postings dating back t o
1981
Strongly focuses on the concept of mailing list - Can have parallel
mailing lists (can use Google groups to archive another mailing list,
such as Yahoo Groups)
Need a Google account to access groups or post messages;
Types: groups created with
Google Apps: can create up to 10 groups
Google Apps for Business and Education: can create an unlimited number of groups
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What can be shared: there’s a limit of 25MB including attachments/ group
Users by role:
Owner: creates the group, deletes it, manages settings and appoints new
managers or co-owners. Only the owner can appoint a new co-owner or
transfer ownership.
Manager: moderates discussions
Participant: subscribe to group and participate in group discussions
Users by membership:
Direct: user is a direct member of a group if his or her address was added
directly to the members list (can be a direct member of up to 2000 groups)
Indirect: that is, an owner of a group or a member of a group that's nested within
another group
A user's total group memberships -- both direct and indirect combined -- can be
up to 5000
Joining a group: Invitation or request. Owners can make an opt-out issue by inviting
members directly through their email addres
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Notifications:
No email: read group postings only online
Abridged Email: one summary email of new activity/day
Digest Email: get up to 25 full messages in a single email
Email: send each message to me as it arrives
Noise: the level of noise is dependent on the managers; discussion
groups can be
Un-moderated – anyone can post
Moderated – submissions are automatically directed to moderator, who edits and
filters out inappropriate and irrelevant material
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Email masking to prevent email harvesting”
replaces up to the last three characters of the user name with three dots
To view email you have to pass a CAPCHA challenge
Masked only in the web interface, not when receiving an email notification
Users cannot obfuscate their own email addresses
Fully integrated with Google products : Google Calendars, Google Docs, Google Sites
Can be accessed using smart phones
Rate posts and threads using a 5 star system (up to 200 individual threads can be
tracked centrally)
Subscription (email) to topics that I post to
Can create events with up to 500 invites (or workarounds for more)
Link to public Google profile
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Circles
Google+ Circles helps you organize everyone according to your real-life social
connections.
This allows users to share information and restrict the sharing with a particular group
Anyone can add another person to one of their circles without confirmation. Does not work
in reverse (the first person is not automatically added to the second person’s circles)
After adding a person to a circle, you don’t get additional access to their profile information
Who can see circles: People in a circle (but not the name of the circle); will appear to
others on the owner’s Google Profile, unless he chooses not to display that information.
For enterprises: ease segmentation of your customers and manage of offers and
promotions
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Yahoo! Groups is one of the world’s largest collections of online discussion
boards.
Group messages can be read and posted by e-mail or on the Group's
webpage like a web forum.
Members can choose whether to receive individual, daily digest or Special
Delivery e-mails, or simply read Group posts on the Group’s web site
Groups can be created with public or member-only access.
Yahoo! Groups service provides additional facilities for each Group web
site, such as a homepage, message archive, polls, calendar
announcements, files, photos, database functions, and bookmarks
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Create a private space (group) to share
Post updates, questions, photos;
Chat with the group;
Create share docs
Schedule group events
Members can stay in touch using:
Notifications regarding new posts and updates
The group’s shared email address to connect off Facebook
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There are 3 levels of control on groups
Secret: group name cannot be found in searches; the name of the group will not be
displayed on the member’s timeline/profiles; only members can see the group and
what members post; to join, you need to be added by a member;
Closed: anyone can see the group name and members, but only members see posts;
unless added to a group by a member, users need permission to join and become
members when the request is approved;
Open (public): anyone can see the group and what members post; anyone can join;
• Group chat is unavailable once a group has more than 250 members.
• All members of the group can interact regardless of whether
they are confirmed friends.
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Members cannot see more information about a non-confirmed friend
(the amount of information seen is determined by the member’s privacy
settings);
All members of the group may view and edit documents;
A group is automatically deleted once it has no members.
All members of the group are invited at an event.
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Facebook Groups function on the push-strategy (as opposed to pull-strategy): they can
stay updated without having to physically visit the group page -> increases the vehicles for
communication;
Admins:
Once you create a group, you automatically become an Admin
A group can have more than one admins:
By asking another admin to add you;
If the group has no Admin, a member can become one by clicking “Make me Admin”.
Admins can:
Edit group descriptions and settings;
Add more admins;
Remove abusive posts
Remove or ban members
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Opt-out issue: similarly to Facebook Places and tags, friends can add other friends to the
group without their permission (if you don’t want to join, you have to remove yourself from
the group);
Note: Only friends can add you to a group, not a random stranger!
Once you have left a group, you cannot be added again unless you explicitly
request to be added
Noise: members can get overwhelmed by the number of notifications.
The only way to avoid or fully disengage from the chat
is to change your chat status to “go offline”. Members
can report/block other members.
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Pages allow real organizations, businesses,celebrities and brands to communicate broadlywith people who like them.
Pages may only be created and managed byofficial representatives.
Privacy: information and posts are public and generally available to everyone on Facebook.
Audience: Anyone can like a Page to become connected with it
and get News Feed updates. There is no limit to how many people can like a
Page. Visitor statistics
Communication: Page admins can share posts under the Page’s
name. Page posts appear in the News Feed of people who
like the Page. Page admins can also create customized apps for
their Pages and check Page Insights to track the Page’s growth and activity.
Groups provide a closed space for small groups ofpeople to communicate about shared interests.
Groups can be created by anyone. Privacy: groups offer three levels of control over
shared information: open, closed and secret. In secret and closed groups, posts are only visible to group members.
Audience: Group members must be approved or added by other
members. When a group reaches a certain size, some features are
limited (e.g. chat). The most useful groups tend to be the ones you create
with small groups of people you know.
Communication: In groups, members receive notifications by default
when any member posts in the group. Group members can participate in chats, upload photos
to shared albums, collaborate on group docs, and invite all members to group events.
Groups: smaller number of people.Pages: large number of followers
www.sti-innsbruck.at
Discover the most popular discussions.
Have an active part in determining the top discussions by liking and commenting.
Follow the most influential people in your groups by checking the Top Influencers
board or clicking their profile image to see all their group activity.
Review new members or search for specific ones.
See both member-generated discussions and news in one setting.
Easily browse previews of the last three comments in a discussion.
Find interesting discussions by seeing who liked a discussion
and how many people commented.
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Allow LinkedIn members to discover, share and participate in a number of professional
conversations happening in their industry and areas of interest.
Members can initiate and participate in discussions and share news articles, blogs, etc via
weblinks (chat is similar to a forum/comment section).
All groups are members only – unless the group owner choses to enable public discussions
Note: the conversations that took place before the public status, remain locked for members
only!
Members can join groups to:
Make connections (identify a member through the group he/she belongs to; email the
member directly without connecting with him);
Become known;
To learn about trends.
You can belong to as many as 50 groups.
LinkedIn Groups offers email notifications.
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Joining a group is done through group invitation: sending invitations to connections – those
who accept become members
Managers and group moderators can:
Delete inappropriate posts, comments (only owner deletes group)
Flag inappropriate items
Create featured discussions – called “Manager’s choice” (to eliminate the confusion on
who featured them – LinkedIn or the Managers)
Restrict the move-to-Jobs capability to themselves
Users can search groups by company name, industry or relevant keywords, as well as by
browsing the Groups Directory by selecting from the “Categories” drop-down: Alumni,
Corporate, Conference, Networking, Non-profit, and Professional.
LinkedIn offers means to measure the health of a group: Group Statistics which includes
number of members, location, operations, demographics
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Social and business networking tool for professionals with over 8 million
users;
Initially established as Open business Club AG in August 2003 in Germany;
name was changed to Xing in November 2006
Main competitor is LinkedIn
Seems to attract more small business and independent business owners
than its competitors
Basic membership is free
The platform uses https and has a rigid privacy and no-spam policy.
www.sti-innsbruck.at 23
DO YOU MEET THE REQUIREMENTS TO CREATE A NEW GROUP?
Moderators have to follow a “Code of Conduct” and ensure that the group is active by
ensuring the members participate, answering to all posts (or XING will replace the
moderator or delete the group);
Xing recommends more than one moderator
Internal group members search HTML formatting in group pages +
integrated external RSS feed
HTML newsletters to group members and XING Event Tool to invite people
to events or seminars
Multi-language forums
Upload individual logos
www.sti-innsbruck.at
Other options for group communication
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Tool Website Description
Meetup www.meetup.com Meetup is an online social networking portal that facilitates offline group meetings in various localities around the world [Wiki].
GroupSpaces groupspaces.com GroupSpaces (styled groupspaces) is a London-based online company that provides technology to help real-world clubs, societies, associations and other groups manage their membership and activities, and promote themselves online [Wiki].
Windows Live Groups
groups.live.com Windows Live Groups is an online service by Microsoft as part of its Windows Live range of services that enable users to create their social groups for sharing, discussion and coordination [Wiki].
www.sti-innsbruck.at
Comparison Group Communication
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Group Communication
Comparison Criterion
Communication and content
features
Event Features
Cost
Administration Features
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Communication and Content Features
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Characteristics Google Groups Yahoo Groups Facebook Groups LinkedIn Groups
Xing Groups
Forums Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Chat Threaded conversation
Yes Yes (max 250 members)
No No
Shared email Yes Yes Yes No No
Upload content (documents, images, videos)
Not part of groupsGoogle Docs
Yes Yes Via weblinks Yes
Maximum Storage 25 MB posts and attachments
200 MB Unlimited -- 2 MB
Integrate external content (RSS feeds)
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Notifications Customizable: no email, abridged, digest, email
Email Email, FB notifications
Email, bundled
http newsletter
Search features Google Search / Directory Search
Yahoo search,separate group search
Not a separate function (Facebook classic search), clumsy and no group suggestion
Advanced -search for group, member,event
Advanced
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Event Features
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Characteristics Google Groups Yahoo Groups Facebook Groups
LinkedIn Groups
Xing Groups
Create/schedule events
Yes (using Google Calendar) – members invited need to use GoogleCalendar
Yes(using RSVP Event Application)
Yes (Create Group Event Tool)
Yes (Not a part of Groups, but a separate option on account)
Yes
Invite members All members (up to 500 people)
Yes (can track who is coming)
Everyone invited
Yes Yes (can track who is coming)
Join events Public events or events with invitation
Yes Join, Maybe or Decline options
Yes, options are: Attend or follow
Yes, can send mass invites
Search events Public events or events with invitation
Only within group
Yes Special event search
Search for seminars, trade fairs, cultural or networking events
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Administration Features
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Characteristics Google Groups Yahoo Groups Facebook Groups
LinkedIn Groups
Xing Groups
Create group Owner Owner Admin Groupmanager
Approval fromXing
Delete group Only owner Owner or moderator
Automatically at 0 members
Only owner Xing terminates it
Level of access Open, restricted and privateAnnouncement only
Private or open Secret > closed > open
Private > open Control group visibility
User types Owner, manager (moderator), members
Members and moderators
Admin, user Members and moderators
Moderator, co-moderator, user
Joining options Invitation/request or direct invite
Invitation / request, add (opt-out illegal)
Opt-out Invitation or request
Invitation or request
Member lists Max 100 or unlimited No limit 300 groups/user
50 Min 100 /group
Noise Dependent manager Dependent moderator
Can be overwhelming
Dependent moderator
small
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Costs
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Characteristics Basic access Plans Maximum
Google Groups free - free
Yahoo Groups Free - free
Facebook Groups Free - free
LinkedIn Groups Free Business: Annual: €14.95/month;Monthly: €17.95/monthBusiness Plus: Annual: €29.95/month;Monthly: €35.95/monthExecutive: Annual: €53.95/month;Monthly: €71.95/month
€71.95 per month
Xing Groups free €6.35 per month (3-month)€5.55 per month (12-month)
€6.35 per month
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Measuring Group Impact
• Size (number of members)
• Interconnectedness and network density
• Shared Language
• Communication activity
• Noise level
• Built-in methods of determining group health
• Access level
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Communication activity
• Measure the number of message replies that the individual receives
from other members of the group = the level of feedback from group
members
• Conversational thread length, which is calculated as the amount and
length of message threads spurred by individuals = the amount of
user engagement and depth in the communication
• User rating of message replies and posts (if functionality is provided by
the group provider)
• Verity the types of messages received: are they seen as relevant,
consistent and credible?
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Polls and surveys
• Built-in poll feature (if provided)
• Empirical tests to determine health: surveys, content analysis,
observational studies, interviews, etc.
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Built-in Methods
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Characteristics Google Groups Yahoo Groups Facebook Groups
LinkedIn Groups
Xing Groups
Show number of members
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Show number of posts
Yes (and the top posters)
Yes No Yes Yes
“Health” (activity) measuring mechanism
5 star rating system (users)
Internal, owner can add other mechanisms (e.g. “like” buttons on pictures); Management Features to track activity
Like button on group page and individual comments
Internal Internal
Polls No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Group statistics No No No dashboard Yes
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Secret vs. Private
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Facebook, Yahoo Groups (unlisted)
Google Groups, LinkedIn, Xing
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References
• L. Adamic, J. Zhang, E. Bakshy, and M. Ackerman, 2008. “Knowledge sharing and Yaho! Answers:
Everyone knows something,” paper presented at the WWW ’08 (Beijing, China), at
http://www2008.org/papers/fp840.html, accessed 28 March 2011.
• B.S. Butler, 2001. “Membership size, communication activity, and sustainability: A resource–based
model of online social structures,” Information Systems Research, volume 12, number 4, pp. 346–
362.
• R. Grewal, G. Lilien, and G. Mallapragada, 2006. “Location, location, location: How network
embeddedness affects project success in open source systems,” Management Science, volume
52, number 7, pp. 1043–1056.
• Q. Jones, G. Ravid, and S. Rafaeli, 2004. “Information overload and the message dynamics of
online interaction spaces: A theoretical model and empirical exploration,” Information Systems
Research, volume 15, number 2, pp. 194–210.
• R.E. Rice, 1987. “New patterns of social structure in an information society,” In: J.R. Schement
and L.A. Lievrouw (editors). Competing visions, complex realities: Social aspects of the
information society. Norwood, N.J.: Ablex, pp. 107–120.
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