ComputerMediated Communication Online Communities II Coye Cheshire Andrew

Computer-Mediated Communication Online Communities II Coye Cheshire & Andrew Fiore //

Power in Online Communities What are the resources of interest, how much value do they have to the users, and who ‘controls’ them? World of Warcraft Usenet Second Life Source. Forge Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore 1

Online Communities as Collective Goods “Social Network Capital” “Knowledge Capital” “Communion” Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore 2

Trust in Online Communities What are the indicators of trustworthiness in a given online community, and who creates them? Inferred Salience User Reputation System (experience-based) User-defined Information Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore 3

Symbols and Community Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore 4

Community Boundaries Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore 5

Community Boundaries and Symbols Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore 6

Symbolic Meaning within Communities Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore 7

Discussion Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore 8

As a group, pick one online community to discuss Some types you might want to consider: § § § mailing lists Usenet groups social networking sites discussion forums IRC channels games Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore 9

Some questions to consider 1) 2) 3) Which people in your discussion group see themselves as members of the community? What does “member” mean in the context of your chosen community? How does the community define its boundaries? If there have been times when those boundaries were violated, how did members respond? Apply some or all of Kollock’s design principles of on- and off-line communities to your chosen community. Does your chosen community fulfill them? Some (not all) include: § § § ongoing interaction between members support for casual interaction persistent representation of identity promotion of institutional memory “ability to exchange objects and tokens” Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore 10

§ fun@sims § § § External vs internal perceptions § § § Members have very different ideas about nature of list What does “fun” mean? Who belongs? Who reads? Older students use “authority” to define what messages belong on what list; define the rules Venues for normative action; email vs mailing list Eg IRC; outside looking in uses IRC use to assume lots of things; inside sees more complexity; define self from within community Arguing about defining the community important SIMS IRC, Flickr, local community § IRC corresponds to real-world community; users vs non-users § § § power dynamics affects boundary drawing Communication channel as symbol? A lot depends on shared understanding Adoption of channel affects real-world communities; eg IRC backchannel or Flickr; cellphones; if you don’t adopt, not as part of community § § Facebook § § Is it a community if it looks different for everyone? Perception of community is what individual makes of it How border issues are represented… Meta communities; real-life represented; different groups aggregated § § Need to keep up with new communities; “Bay Area bubble” Facebook -> smaller “communities” “Fiasco” creates an overall “Facebook community” Branded-ness; eg “Flickr people” vs “we just use” Flickr IRC, email “circle” & “committee” § § Ongoing discussions Closed vs drifting in and out Deeper interaction -> more responsibility IRC members have hierarchy; don’t need consensus for decisions § But try to have minimal consensus Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore 11