The three questions... Ah, this should not be so difficult...
Q1: How do the criteria defining what it takes to be a member of online communities differ depending on the community?
To answer this I mean to look at the goals (if any) of online sites such as Facebook, Match.com, and Secondlife and see what drives the interaction of their members.
Q2: What limits should be placed on the term community and how are these limits linked to structure, frequency of communication and social capital in an online network?
This one is a doozy, but I hope that it will help clarify views on community that are left open in the previous question. It is also tied to Q3.
Q3: How do online communities replace real world communities and what are the repercussions of extended amounts of time and energy being focused on online communities? Do the effects vary depending on what being a part of a certain online community entails?
Okay, yes, that was 2 questions. But, they're related, so I hope it's okay, ne? Oh, I'd like to somehow tie in how feedback affects interactions in online communities, somehow, at some point in the future.
Yes, I am now done.
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2 comments:
you're getting there. good progress.
the three sites are VERY different. they have entirely different goals and, therefore, radically different user populations. be careful in the comparisons you make, realizing how different they are.
the first question is a sort of background question. good to ask, but it will turn up merely descriptive information. just keep that in mind.
i like the second question, though you sort of answer the first part with the second. you seem to imply that the limits are structure, frequency and social capital. not sure what you mean by merely mentioning social capital. develop this a bit more.
The third question you should stay away from, for two very different reasons. First, it strays from the direction of your second. Third, you can't reasonably expect to find answers. YOu won't konw how much time people spend, what repercussions there may or may not be, etc, without surveying them, and you won't be able to survey them. Soooooo, think of another along the line of pursuit you establish in No. 2.
Here's your topic:
Primary research question: Does social capital online translate into social capital offline?
Has physical “place” become less or more important (or neither) to cultural production, to the creation and maintenance of community and social capital?
Networking, or the processes of the formation of social network ties, typically is concentrated in activities within narrow geographic clusters. So look at how social networking online may or may not lead to the generation and transaction (sharing) of social capital offline, in physical “places”.
How to track this? Look at rites and rituals of real space and place: parties, seminars, ceremonies, & the like. Look for them online, offline, interconnected between the two.
Keywords: Internet, social network analysis; network formation; cultural production, social capital, place
Look at Blacksburg, Virginia; Meadowmont, Chapel Hill; FaceBook >> anywhere where there is an interconnection between online community and real space community, and research them with these questions in mind. There is quite a bit of research on these artifacts, including quite a bit on social capital.
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