Online CommunitiesBy Jennifer L. BowieBased on the readings for
class
Questions for discussion• What is the difference between a
group and a community?• Can a true community form online?
What is a online community?• Online or virtual communities form "when people carry on public
discussions long enough, with sufficient human feeling, to form webs of personal relationships” Rheingold
• Virtual communities are created around common interests• They require:
– People– Purpose– Policies– Computer systems (Preece)
• Considered “third places” (conversation-based informal environments that are neither work nor home and are a place of community)
• They can include (from Preece 13 drawing on ACM):– Shared activities and strong emotional ties– Shared access to resources and policies concerning the resources– Reciprocity of info, services, and support– Shared context including language
• There is a sense of community• There are often rituals
Why do people contribute?• According to Peter Kollock there are
three non-altruistic motivations:– Anticipated reciprocity: give and get – Increased recognition: become
recognized – Sense of efficacy: can effect the
environment • Also due to a “sense of community”
according to Mark Smith
The community hierarchyAccording to Amy Jo Kim there are five
stages of the community participation hierarchy:
1. Lurker or visitor: just observe2. Novice: begin participating3. Regular: have continue participation over a
period of time4. Leader: further sustained participation with
recognition5. Elder: long time leader and often a
community pillar or “wise person”
Virtual selves?
by Peter Steiner page 61 of July 5, 1993 issue of The New Yorker, (Vol.69 (LXIX) no. 20)
From http://www.unc.edu/depts/jomc/academics/dri/idog.html
Virtual selves…• Psychical aspects like race, sex,
appearance, and even disabilities are not “evident” online
• People can be whoever they want (within reason generally)
• This is seen as both positive and negative. Why?
What online communities can you think of?• Why/how are they communities?
The End
From: http://www.arcatapet.com/fullsize/11131.jpg