國立高雄大學圖資館 |

Language: English

Back

Investigating the Impact of Offline Interactions on Members of Online Communities.

Record Type:	Electronic resources : Monograph/item
Title/Author:	Investigating the Impact of Offline Interactions on Members of Online Communities.
Author:	Randall, David P.
Published:	Ann Arbor : ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, 2023
Description:	319 p.
Notes:	Source: Dissertations Abstracts International, Volume: 84-10, Section: B.
Notes:	Advisor: McDonald, David W.
Contained By:	Dissertations Abstracts International84-10B.
Subject:	Information science.
Online resource:	http://pqdd.sinica.edu.tw/twdaoapp/servlet/advanced?query=30312667
ISBN:	9798379410445

Investigating the Impact of Offline Interactions on Members of Online Communities.
Randall, David P.

Investigating the Impact of Offline Interactions on Members of Online Communities. - Ann Arbor : ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, 2023 - 319 p.

Source: Dissertations Abstracts International, Volume: 84-10, Section: B.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2023.

This item must not be sold to any third party vendors.

Members of online communities are increasingly participating in offline meet-up events and offline meetups are an increasingly important aspect of participation in many online communities. Prior research has shown these interactions are highly valued by community members, especially in video-sharing communities such as YouTube and online link sharing communities like Reddit. However, little is known about the impact such offline meetings have on the productivity and participation of members within the communities, and what research has been conducted has provided conflicting results. This research utilizes the lenses of Legitimate Peripheral Participation and Media Synchronicity Theory together to clarify prior inconsistent findings and investigate how offline interactions impact the productivity and participation of members of online communities. This was done through a multi-year process of ethnographic fieldwork including in-person and online participant observation, the collection of a decade of Reddit comment and posting data, 42 semi-structured interviews conducted both online and in-person, and a detailed case study of one YouTube collaboration channel. Overall members of offline communities showed a great deal of value in offline meetup events, describing them as critical and central elements of being a member of their respective community. As a result, there are clear impacts on individuals from their participation in offline meetup events, resulting from increased frequency of communication and a shift in their media choices to facilitate new and changing relationships with other community members. Individuals’ participation within their original community is also impacted – although not their continued membership – as they shift away from the medium hosting that community to develop their interpersonal relationships with other members. Curiously, despite clear evidence of the impact of offline interactions on individuals, members of these communities are often at pains to not exclude other members who do not, or cannot, attend such events. Claiming that offline interactions are not required for participation in a community, or a senior status within it. This work holds clear implications for the future of designing for online communities, particularly for platform that host such communities, and ensuring the right sort of communication tools are available to members at the right times in order to facilitate member interaction not just with the community but also with other members. This in turn will inform design techniques for platforms to limit user-attrition and encourage longevity, growth, and productivity in these communities. From a theoretical perspective this dissertation observes unique processes occurring within the Legitimate Peripheral Participation of group members moving through a Community of Practice that are not part of the traditional theory and offers potential explanations for these observed deviations as a jumping off point for future research. Additionally, it is also the first work to combine the theoretical lenses of Media Synchronicity Theory and Legitimate Peripheral Participation and as such offers a unique perspective into the media choices of individuals as they move through a Community of Practice. Future work from this research can look to uncover more around the active denial of users over the demonstrable impacts of meeting in person.

ISBN: 9798379410445Subjects--Topical Terms:

190425
Information science.
Subjects--Index Terms:

Computer supported collaborative work

Investigating the Impact of Offline Interactions on Members of Online Communities.
LDR:04681nmm a2200385 4500 001 655743
005 20240414211919.5
006 m o d
007 cr#unu||||||||
008 240620s2023 ||||||||||||||||| ||eng d
020 $a 9798379410445
035 $a (MiAaPQ)AAI30312667
035 $a AAI30312667
040 $a MiAaPQ $c MiAaPQ
100 1 $a Randall, David P. $3 966800
245 1 0 $a Investigating the Impact of Offline Interactions on Members of Online Communities.
260 1 $a Ann Arbor : $b ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, $c 2023
300 $a 319 p.
500 $a Source: Dissertations Abstracts International, Volume: 84-10, Section: B.
500 $a Advisor: McDonald, David W.
502 $a Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2023.
506 $a This item must not be sold to any third party vendors.
520 $a Members of online communities are increasingly participating in offline meet-up events and offline meetups are an increasingly important aspect of participation in many online communities. Prior research has shown these interactions are highly valued by community members, especially in video-sharing communities such as YouTube and online link sharing communities like Reddit. However, little is known about the impact such offline meetings have on the productivity and participation of members within the communities, and what research has been conducted has provided conflicting results. This research utilizes the lenses of Legitimate Peripheral Participation and Media Synchronicity Theory together to clarify prior inconsistent findings and investigate how offline interactions impact the productivity and participation of members of online communities. This was done through a multi-year process of ethnographic fieldwork including in-person and online participant observation, the collection of a decade of Reddit comment and posting data, 42 semi-structured interviews conducted both online and in-person, and a detailed case study of one YouTube collaboration channel. Overall members of offline communities showed a great deal of value in offline meetup events, describing them as critical and central elements of being a member of their respective community. As a result, there are clear impacts on individuals from their participation in offline meetup events, resulting from increased frequency of communication and a shift in their media choices to facilitate new and changing relationships with other community members. Individuals’ participation within their original community is also impacted – although not their continued membership – as they shift away from the medium hosting that community to develop their interpersonal relationships with other members. Curiously, despite clear evidence of the impact of offline interactions on individuals, members of these communities are often at pains to not exclude other members who do not, or cannot, attend such events. Claiming that offline interactions are not required for participation in a community, or a senior status within it. This work holds clear implications for the future of designing for online communities, particularly for platform that host such communities, and ensuring the right sort of communication tools are available to members at the right times in order to facilitate member interaction not just with the community but also with other members. This in turn will inform design techniques for platforms to limit user-attrition and encourage longevity, growth, and productivity in these communities. From a theoretical perspective this dissertation observes unique processes occurring within the Legitimate Peripheral Participation of group members moving through a Community of Practice that are not part of the traditional theory and offers potential explanations for these observed deviations as a jumping off point for future research. Additionally, it is also the first work to combine the theoretical lenses of Media Synchronicity Theory and Legitimate Peripheral Participation and as such offers a unique perspective into the media choices of individuals as they move through a Community of Practice. Future work from this research can look to uncover more around the active denial of users over the demonstrable impacts of meeting in person.
590 $a School code: 0250.
650 4 $a Information science. $3 190425
650 4 $a Computer science. $3 199325
650 4 $a Information technology. $3 184390
653 $a Computer supported collaborative work
653 $a Media synchronicity theory
653 $a Offline interactions
653 $a Online communities
690 $a 0723
690 $a 0984
690 $a 0489
710 2 $a University of Washington. $b Information School. $3 966801
773 0 $t Dissertations Abstracts International $g 84-10B.
790 $a 0250
791 $a Ph.D.
792 $a 2023
793 $a English
856 4 0 $u http://pqdd.sinica.edu.tw/twdaoapp/servlet/advanced?query=30312667