Virtual communities
This document discusses virtual communities from different perspectives. It defines a virtual community as having people, shared interests, interactions that build social capital through norms and trust, and use of conversational technologies. Belonging to a virtual community involves expectations of benefits and sense of community, as well as activities and interactions. The document outlines perspectives on virtual communities from various fields including economics, management, sociology, information systems, psychology, and communication. It cautions against overstating the newness of online social life, focusing only on technology and not people, and trying to include everything in one investigation. Virtual communities remain complex systems.
Virtual communities
- 1. August 2013 Miia Kosonen, PhD (Econ. & Bus. Adm.), researcher, lecturer miia.kosonen@lut.fi
- 2. Virtual community concepts Technology-mediated community Virtual arena Online community Electronic community Virtual society Network community Electronic network Virtual network e-tribe Virtual public Online crowd Internet community Virtual community Virtual organizations F2F or physical communities Platforms: web 2.0, social media, online networking tools
- 3. Defining a virtual community People Shared interest Interactions - creating and maintaining community- level social capital; norms, trust, shared language Conversational technologies Preece, 2000; Ridings et al., 2002; Porter, 2004; Kosonen, 2008
- 4. Belonging to a virtual community Expectations Activities Sense of community - Feelings of membership - Identification with the group - Feelings of efficacy - Immersion - Getting info or emotional support - Building relationships Does the community fulfill my needs? If so, how? Uses & Gratifications: types of expected benefits What does the community do? How do members interact? What is my role in these activities? Katz et al., 1974; Nambisan & Baron, 2007, Blanchard, 2007, 2008; Tonteri et al., 2011
- 5. Perspectives into virtual communities Virtual community Economics Management Sociology Information systems Cognitive psychology Social psychology Communication - Rational choice theories - Collective action - Participation strategies - Individual learning processes - Motivation: intrinsic, extrinsic - Member personality - Behavioral intentions - Community design - Usability - Attachment, commitment - Identity, identification - We-intentions, group processes - Sense of virtual community, SOVC - TPB, MGB - Social capital, trust, norms - Digital sub-cultures - Effect on societies - Communication richness - Media types, online channels - De-individuation - Hyperpersonal communication - Macro: organizational design, new business models - Meso: innovation management, relationship marketing - Micro: community management
- 6. What is your perspective? …no matter from which discipline or business you represent, try to avoid these three common pitfalls: Overstating the newness of online social life – for decades, there have been virtual communities and community enthusiasts. Why not learn from their experiences? Focusing on online technology and forgetting people – communities are about people. Trying to include everything into one investigation – communities remain complex systems.