community and ties
TRANSCRIPT
Community and Ties
Social Media – Dr. Giorgos Cheliotis ([email protected])Communications and New Media, National University of Singapore
Community
Term traditionally associated with a particular place and the people that live in it
Conjuring images of harmonious living in small villages or urban residential districts, with strong networks of trust and mutual support that are cultivated over generations
Deriving strength from shared interest, culture, religion, creed, race, national identity or social status
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How has our sense of community changed?
With every major socioeconomic and political shift our understanding of community has been challenged Industrialization Urbanization Revolution Migration Poverty Marginalization
In the era of computer-mediated communication we are also forced to rethink ‘community’
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Polarization of community discourse
ICT enthusiasts see unlimited potential in the ability of online users to define community in new and meaningful ways
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Critics see an increase in individualization and a weakening of traditional community ties; some even fear the destruction of local communities
Common arguments from both sides
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The Internet helps create and manage many usefulweak ties
People will help even those they barely know
The maintenance of strong ties is assisted by ICT
Online communities do develop norms, identity, attachment and reciprocity
Online participation can increase diversity of ties
Online communities can complement/support offline activities
Relationships on the Internet are weak, short-lived and interest-based only
Low motivation to reciprocate; lack of commitment or solidarity
Difficult to create sense of community online
Strong, intimate ties not possible
Online involvement antagonizes offline communities
Online communities are not like offline communities
Mark as true or false based on your understanding!
1. Narrowly specialized or broadly supportive?
The ideal broadly supportive ‘real life’ community is somewhat of a myth in modern urban societies
Some online communities do focus on a topic of interest and information exchange – narrower; but information is not the only thing that is exchanged online (example: support groups)
Greater willingness to engage with strangers (forming weak ties) in CMC due to lack of (offline) status and situational cues
Recognition: any sign of support will be viewed by entire online community; quicker and broader recognition
Lower risk: easier to withdraw from problematic situations online
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Main findings
2. Reciprocity and attachment
Reciprocity is essential; yet many online interactions are indeed based on weak ties which may reduce incentives to reciprocate
Social dilemma: why reciprocate if it is unlikely that others will? However, online users do have reasons to take the first step
and to reciprocate: increase in self-esteem, respect from others and status attainment in community
Group/organizational attachment visible in some online communities; directly related to generalized trust and reciprocity which in turn become community norms (“the person I may help may never be in a position to help me, but someone else might be”, Rheingold 1993)
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Main findings
3. Are strong, intimate ties possible?
CMC does encourage formation of weak ties which come with few strings attached. Strong ties on the other hand must exhibit certain characteristics: emotional investment, desire for frequent interaction, long-term relationship, sense of mutuality and knowing each other, often also shared social characteristics
Yet there are many examples of forming – and even more for maintaining – existing strong ties online
The antagonism offline-online makes less sense here – Internet just one of several channels people use to maintain strong ties
Some issues with lack of physical and social cues online; easier to misunderstand, unnecessary stress and polarization
Ease of terminating relationship online also an issue But Internet generally does not preclude intimacy
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Main findings
4. How does online community affect offline?
Time spent in front of the computer is often time spent (physically) in isolation (mobile/portable devices changing that)
However, community involvement is not a zero-sum game; spending more time in an online community does not necessarily mean that offline ties will suffer – can also lead to increase in total time spent interacting with same people
Strong ties are supported by CMC (see also previous slide) We must think in terms of relationships managed both offline
and online rather than online vs. offline ties Multiplex relationships: use of multiple media in interaction can
aid in strengthening existing ties or in maintaining relationship when physically distant
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Main findings
5. Diversity
Traditional communities constrained by space, social status, roles and personal identity
On the Internet we tend to participate in multiple communities in parallel: greater diversity of ties (this also relates again to the ‘weak ties’ argument)
For a highly mobile population, allegiance to a diverse set of online communities can be even greater than for (the usually less diverse) offline communities we participate in
Caveat: forming ties online based on shared interests may lead to greater homogeneity of a different type (birds of a feather flock together)
Therefore, both offline/local and online communities can contribute to diversity, in distinct ways
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Main findings
So, what is a ‘community’ online?
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It is generally a community that is based more on shared interests and weak ties; less on social characteristics or strong ties
It is more ego-centric: individuals create social networks based on their interests and motivations; not tied to one community
But these are not either-or distinctions; communities come in many shapes and sizes
The traditional ideal of community is anyway little more than a “pastoralist myth” (Wellman and Gulia, 2007)
In this sense, asking “is community X really a community ?” is not very productive
It is more useful to ask: “what makes this a community in the eyes of its members?”
The Strength of Weak Ties
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We tend to value strong ties more because of the emotional investment and mutual expectations that they entail
Loss of a strong tie is likely to upset much more than the loss of a weak tie
So what if the Internet helps build more weak ties?
Weak ties provide unique benefits:
More likely to act as bridges between different social networks and communities
Because weak ties are less likely to be connected to one another than our close ties (transitivity)
This is known as the SWT (Strength of Weak Ties) hypothesis, which has been tested and verified in many studies
What are the real benefits of bridges? They provide information that is likely to be different to that of one’s personal
network Useful in job hunting
Widen the spectrum of influences and our own thinking, possibly improving our understanding of other people
But helping us also explore our individualism
They are more frequently the sources or early adopters of original thinking and innovation Multiple influences engender novel thought
Less constrained by the vested interests of tightly-knit social groups
Assist in socialization, organizational effectiveness and collective action Networks of strong ties tend to have access to the same resources and are closely
knit, which engenders one-sided thinking, conformity to group norms and inter-group competition
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Gemeinschaft(community)
Gesellshaft(society)
bridging
Limitations of weak ties Not all weak ties are valuable bridges
Disparity between the rich and poor; the former tend to have more bridges in their networks (sometimes at the expense of less strong ties)
Potentially evoking less sympathy in time of need Strong ties are more likely to go out of their way to help (e.g., with job loss
and consequent unemployment) Greater dependency of lower social strata on strong ties; but this is also a
direct result of stratification and homophily rather than choice Dependency on strong ties also leads to clustered communities with few if
any bridges between them, leading to disadvantages
Slower and less credible/influential We place more trust and act quicker on information received from strong ties
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The networks that we selectively create as individuals online
Communities focused on the extension of one’s social circle, with little or no pre-determined context (e.g., LinkedIn as a community designed for the purposes of professional networking, ex-pat networks, dating sites, etc.)
Based on a common topic of interest. Members exchange views and information on the topic (e.g., a community of space exploration enthusiasts, a community discussing environmental politics, fans of a certain artist, etc.)
Based on a common practice. Members share knowledge & advice that will aid in their practice (e.g., academics sharing advise on teaching, a community of athletes exchanging nutrition tips, bloggers sharing best practices, etc.)
Communities built around a common goal or set of mutually held convictions, usually with public agenda (e.g., online activists, evangelists of a religion, idea, or social practice, etc.)
Providing emotional/psychological support to members, or other types of support (e.g., technical)
Teams working on common tasks (e.g., a team working on a new piece of software, or on a new advertizing campaign)
A typology of online communities (1 of 2)
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Social networks
Networking/ Partnership
Communities of Interest
Communities of Practice
Collective Action
Support groups
Workgroups
Not mutually exclusive; these are different perspectives on community and more than one may be valid
Local or regional online networks (e.g., a community focused on Singapore-only news and social commentary)
Limited to a certain vocation (.e.g., a community of doctors who promote stem cell research, or of lawyers who specialize in intellectual property law)
As defined by gender or sexual preference (e.g., a community of women in academia, or a support group for homosexuals suffering from discrimination and social exclusion)
Defined by language, culture, or other forms of social identity (e.g., a worldwide community of Chinese speakers and learners, or a community of native Americans in the US)
Communities defined primarily by social end economic status (e.g., a community of Ivy League graduates, or a support network for migrant workers)
Communities that are defined by organizational boundaries (intra-organizational, e.g., a community of engineers working for Microsoft, or inter-organizational, e.g., an online network for employees of a group of partnering NGO’s)
Some communities are primarily defined by the tools or software platforms they use (e.g., the community of Facebook users, a community of Apple users., etc.)
A typology of online communities (2 of 2)
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Location
Gender
Language/Culture
Social Status
Organization
Platform
Communities can also be open/public or closed/private with respect to membership and/or content
Vocation
Thoughts on Design
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What type of community are you trying to build or wish to otherwise participate in?
How do/will members of this community form ties with one another?
How can you build on the strengths of both strong and weak ties while mitigating their disadvantages?
How can you have greater attachment to the community while avoiding homogenization’s undesirable side-effects?
Can you ensure that this online community will complement/build on existing online and offline relationships, or will it clash with them?
Think about the online communities you know and try to understand their goals and scope, how they function, and
how they could improve
Credits and licensing Frontpage photo by h.kopdelaney (license: CC BY-ND)
Polarization/opposite faces photo by Cayusa (license: CC BY-NC)
OLPC/iPhone chat photo by curiouslee (license: CC BY-NC)
Bond/tie photo by ChrisK4u (license: CC BY-ND)
18 CNM Social Media Module – Giorgos Cheliotis ([email protected])
Original content in this presentation is licensed under the Creative Commons Singapore Attribution 3.0 license unless stated otherwise (see above)