1. Coye Cheshire June 8, 2016 // Computer-Mediated Communication Online Communities

2. 6/8/2016Computer-Mediated Communication1 Some 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

3. 6/8/2016Computer-Mediated Communication2 Community Boundaries Revisited: Ye old Facebook Fiasco of ‘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)

4. 6/8/2016Computer-Mediated Communication3 So what makes a community? Symbols? Poster to post ratio? Network ties? Affect-laden relationships? Common practices?

5. 6/8/2016Computer-Mediated Communication4 The Beginnings of Online Community… Or, “Why Usenet ???” The first large-scale online communities were Usenet discussion groups and forums -Developed around 1979 -No official structure Red Letter Dates! http://www.google.com/googlegroups/archive_announce_20.html

6. 6/8/2016Computer-Mediated Communication5 http://www.ischool.berkeley.edu/~atf/images/treemap_all.gif

7. 6/8/2016Computer-Mediated Communication6 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

8. 6/8/2016Computer-Mediated Communication7 And Another view… (Chromatic, from O’reilly Network) http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2002/10/21/community.html 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

9. 6/8/2016Computer-Mediated Communication8 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

10. 6/8/2016Computer-Mediated Communication9 The network perspective People (nodes) Ties (edges)

11. 6/8/2016Computer-Mediated Communication10 Ties in a social network  Directed or undirected  Simplex or multiplex  Valued or unvalued 7

12. 6/8/2016Computer-Mediated Communication11 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”?

13. 6/8/2016Computer-Mediated Communication12 The power of social capital 1 + 1 > 2? 1 + 1 = 2 2 + 2 > 4? 6 + 6 > 12? Fully connected network: N people, N(N-1)/2 ties Connections grow at a much faster rate (quadratic vs. linear) Bridge

14. 6/8/2016Computer-Mediated Communication13 Other Community Types  Communities of Practice  Link-Based Communities

15. Community lost Community saved Community liberated 6/8/2016Computer-Mediated Communication14

16. The Nature and Function of Online Groups 6/8/2016Computer-Mediated Communication15

17. 6/8/2016Computer-Mediated Communication16 Different goals, same behavior, different outcomes. Different motivational processes, same consequences.

18. Other Points (inspired from your reviews) Role of “misunderstandings” and sense-making in groups with limited information 6/8/2016Computer-Mediated Communication17 “Why?” (Kimra McPherson 2010)

19. Shyness 6/8/2016Computer-Mediated Communication18

20. Aggressiveness 6/8/2016Computer-Mediated Communication19

21. Types of online groups (McKenna)  Organizational groups  Social groups  Common bond  Common identity  Stigmatized-population groups  Support groups 6/8/2016Computer-Mediated Communication20

22. Group Dynamics 6/8/2016Computer-Mediated Communication21

23. 6/8/2016Computer-Mediated Communication22 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

24. 6/8/2016Computer-Mediated Communication23 A few more Final Project Examples… A Design Annotation Tool Design Considerations for Collaborative Visual Analytics