Coye Cheshire & Andrew Fiore June 30, 2015 // Computer-Mediated Communication Online Communities

6/30/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore1 Specific Criteria for a Problem  What are we going to learn as the result of the proposed project that we do not know now?  Why is it worth knowing?  How will we know that the conclusions are valid?

6/30/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore2 Problem: Too Broad “I want to understand how trust develops on IRC or IM chat programs” “What factors influence the use of an interface?”

6/30/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore3 Problem: Too Narrow “Do undergraduate students use Facebook more than graduate students?”

6/30/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore4 Problem: Value-Laden and/or Impossible to Operationalize “Do Wiki’s make the world a better place?”

6/30/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore5 Problem: Trivial or Previously Answered Research Questions This is why we use literature (theory, empirical work, etc)– even in applied, business, or exploratory research.

6/30/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore6 For Some Examples… Course Website

6/30/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore7 Online Communities

6/30/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore8 Key terms from Cohen  Symbol: the means to make meaning  Subjectivity: to each her own interpretation  Community: inclusion, exclusion, and … ???  Simplexity and multiplexity: like weak and strong ties

6/30/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore9 Community Boundaries Revisited: Facebook Fiasco ‘06 “The point is, you're always presenting the identity you want to present - you never have to worry about the identity you used to present … This morning, millions of students were shown that they can't actually rewrite history. Everything they do, all of the groups they join and interests they state or friends they make - it is all being recorded.” (Fred Stutzman)

6/30/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore10 Some questions to consider Examples of communities in CMC and the use of symbols? How does the community define its boundaries? If there have been times when those boundaries were violated, how did members respond?

6/30/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore11 The Beginnings of Online Community… Or, “Why Usenet ???” The first large-scale online communities were Usenet discussion groups and forums -Developed around No official structure Red Letter Dates! Explore the history of all messages on Usenet…

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6/30/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore13 One View on Virtual Communities… Jones (1997) Four Qualities that characterize virtual communities: A minimum level of interactivity A variety of communicators Common public space A minimum level of sustained membership

6/30/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore14 And Another view… (Chromatic, from O’reilly Network) Exist for a reason Users draw other users Users will surprise you A sense of ownership A shared history and culture Role of Mischief Barriers are mixed blessings Discuss the Community Openly

6/30/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore15 Social Networks and Online Community “Community emerges where the cumulative impact of interactions among individuals adds value above the level of pairwise interactions” - Caroline Haythornthwaite

6/30/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore16 The network perspective People (nodes) Ties (edges)

6/30/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore17 Ties in a social network  Directed or undirected  Simplex or multiplex  Valued or unvalued 7

6/30/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore18 Network Approach to Community  Examines interconnections to discover where groups exist rather than determining a priori that a group exists based on external criteria.  But is this a community? Or “an alliance, a collaborative work group, a collective, a cohort”?

6/30/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore19 The power of social capital > 2? = > 4? > 12? Fully connected network: N people, N(N-1)/2 ties Connections grow at a much faster rate (quadratic vs. linear) Bridge

6/30/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore20 Other Community Types  Communities of Practice  Link-Based Communities

6/30/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore21 Online communities are neither built nor do they just emerge, they evolve organically and change over time. Developers cannot control online community development but they can influence it. Jenny Preece

6/30/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore22 So what makes a community? Symbols? Poster to post ratio? Network ties? Affect-laden relationships? Common practices?