Researching an online community (1)

I thought I’d give some advice on how to go about finding a suitable online community to research

Read through the course page on identity and community to be aware of what you are looking for and the theoretical issues that you need to address. In particular what is meant by “community”, how the concept of “social capital” is used, and what ‘weak’ and ‘strong’ ties are

Some issues:

• Online groups need a social context to be meaningful - shared values, interaction, time shared

• networks can extend beyond usual geographic boundaries

• online links enables collaboration, but more effective with people you already know face to face (strong v weak ties)

• do you get a careful debate online or a meaningless din?

• social capital could be the prerequisite for rather than the consequence of effective Internet activity.

• can virtual communities fill the gap left by the decline of traditional face-to-face communities?

• is the Internet is a complement to frequent FTF contact, or a substitute for it ?

• do not assume that all online groups are cyber-communities, many are just ‘drive by’ places where there is little or no attachment to other members

I will raise more issues relevant to your online community assessment in the class session I give on this. My next post will discuss how to find a relevant online community and what you should do then