why virtual communities are considered important, and, second, what the characteristics of a virtual community are.
Then, we must determine if at least some blogs have these characteristics.
first, why virtual communities are considered important, and, second, what the characteristics of a virtual community are. Then, we must determine if at least some blogs have these characteristics.
virtual communities are considered important for social reasons
replace the relationships lost as people became more isolated from their neighbors
around the world who share similar interests
As people became more connected with others through these virtual communities, they would reap the benefits of social relationships with like minded others.
increase participation in face-to-face communities
there are arguments for and evidence of the positive social effects of virtual community participation.
“community” implies an emotionally positive effect
Information science professionals and psychologists argue that this positive emotion creates an intrinsically rewarding reason to continue participation in the group
Kuo, 2003; Whitworth & De Moor, 2003
more likely to be self-sustaining
The key, however, is that not all virtual groups are virtual communities.
Jones argues that we can understand virtual communities by understanding the artifacts of its virtual settlement: its postings, structure and content.
Jones (1997) proposes that a virtual settlement exists when there are a) a minimal number of b) public interactions c) with a variety of communicators in which d) there is a minimal level of sustained membership over a period of time.
if one finds a virtual settlement, then one has found a virtual community.
the feelings and social relationships that develop within the virtual settlement help distinguish a virtual community from a virtual group.
Blanchard and Markus (2003)
It is the sense of community that distinguishes virtual communities from mere virtual groups.
McMillan and Chavis (1986) have the most well-regarded and well-researched conceptualization of SOC.
Feelings of membership: Feelings of belonging to, and identifying with, the community;
Feelings of influence: Feelings of having influence on, and being influenced by, the community;
Integration and fulfillment of needs: Feelings of being supported by others in the community while also supporting them; and
Shared emotional connection: Feelings of relationships, shared history, and a “spirit” of community.
Feelings of membership
Feelings of influence
Integration and fulfillment of needs
Shared emotional connection
McMillan and Chavis’s definition is considered the strongest (Chipuer & Pretty, 1999)
Influence, in terms of enforcing and challenging norms (Baym, 1997; Kollock & Smith, 1996; Markus, 1994a, 1994b; McLaughlin, 1995; Pliskin, 1997);
Exchange of support among members (Baym, 1995, 1997; Greer, 2000; Preece, 1999; Rheingold, 1993);
Shared emotional connections among members (Greer, 2000; Preece, 1999; Rheingold, 1993).
So there is evidence that SOC exists in virtual communities.
Can Blogs Be Virtual Communities?
first determine if blogs have the characteristics of a virtual settlement and then determine what their sense of community is.
This creates two opportunities for interaction on the blog for the readers: one with the blog author and one with other readers.
blogs can have links to other Internet sites
inks to websites to which the author refers in his/her entries
there are lists of other blogs that the blog author reads, a technological feature called a “blogroll.”
instead of the many-to-many
a one-to-many form of communication from the author to the readers
the lack of public interaction would preclude a blog from being a virtual settlement and, thus, from being a virtual community.
blogs do offer interactivity
the blog author may interact individually with his or her readers.
1) that they have been added to someone’s blogroll and 2) to identify who added them
blogs create a social network between themselves through their references links to each other.
although comments may not be stored on the main blog page, they are nevertheless included in a public space for many-to-many communication.
Lurkers are members of a virtual community who regularly participate by reading messages but do not contribute to the conversation.
Blanchard and Markus (2003) report that lurkers do have a clear sense of community within the virtual community, although it is weaker than that of the more active members.
would be similar.
may fit Jones’s (1997) definition of a virtual settlement.
Thus, a blog could be a virtual settlement.
This blog was hosted on Salon.com’s blogs and was regularly one of the most popular blogs[2].
The blog is entertaining, profane, informative, and very, very, funny.
Julie would sometimes respond to the comments; other commenters would also respond to each others’ comments.
many other blogs and web sites had links to her blog.
Thus, the Julie/Julia Project is a virtual settlement.
a web survey was conducted of the blog readers.
These hits do not each account for individual readers of the blog, as they also represent multiple visits from individual readers.
“Other readers and I want the same thing from this blog,” “I think this is a good blog to read” and “I recognize the names of most readers who post comments on this blog.”
n order to assess interactivity,
Demographic information
open ended questions about why they read about the Julie/Julia Project and what they felt about it.
To survey readers, I contacted Julie Powell who agreed to participate in the study. She posted a link to the web survey twice over a one week period. She also encouraged readers to fill out the survey.
(Cronbach’s α = .72).
Sense of community is reliably correlated to all of the demographic variables and each of the four predictors.
the magnitude of the sense of community
sense of community was regressed on each of the variables in a two step hierarchical regression.
length of time and frequency of reading the blog are the strongest predictors of sense of community.
Reading and posting to comments also predict sense of community, but not as strongly. The demographic variables do not account for any of the sense of community variance once the predictor variables have been entered.
the members reported a moderate sense of community
It is certainly a virtual settlement.
comments revealed very strong and very positive feelings the blog:
Those members who felt that the Julie/Julia Project was a community did so because of their participation in the comments.
ited in the amount of public interaction
ing a traditional measure of FtF sense of community, for the most part, it is not. However, for a vocal and active minority of the respondents, it is. For these members, social connections were made and emotional attachments were established. But for the majority of participants, particularly those who did not read or contribute to the comments
traditional measure of FtF sense of community
For these members, social connections were made and emotional attachments were established.
This finding is quite different from Blanchard and Markus’ (2003) finding that lurkers have a clear, albeit weaker, sense of community in other virtual communities.
may lie in the CMC technology
The Julie/Julia Project was not self-sustaining. It depended heavily on Julie to succeed.
These findings have implications for our understanding of the importance of sense of community in determining whether or not a virtual group can be correctly called a virtual community.
was a highly successful blog.
Without a critical mass of engaged, connected, and attached participants, its survival depended primarily on the blog author alone.
Their main challenge may be in providing public spaces for member interaction.
Additionally, blogrolls (which the Julie/Julia Project did not have) could increase public interactions by increasing interactions between different blogs.
Interactive blogrolls connecting blogs with highly active comments’ sections may create communities of blogs who share an audience.
d then expect to see the benefits in terms of increased social relationships and sustainability
Blogs are the newest popular form of group CMC technology
Future studies of blogs as virtual communities should continue to assess not only members’ sense of community, but also how members adapt to and modify the CMC technology to meet their needs in developing a vibrant virtual community.
self-sustaining virtual communities.
sense of community
Blanchard, A., & Markus, M. L. (2003). The experienced "sense" of a virtual community: Characteristics and processes. The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems.
