Publication
Arguello, M., Butler, B., Joyce, E., Kraut, R., Ling, K.S., Wang, X. 2006. Talk to me: Foundations for successful individual-group interactions in online communities. ACM Conference on Human-Factors in Computing Systems, New York: ACM Press. 959-96. Fantastic paper detailing research in converting newcomers into regulars. Highlights importance of newcomers receiving early feedback upon their contributions and the types of early messages newcomers should post that will help them gain feedback.
Facilitator, Education Today, Vol 35. An early exploration of online facilitation within a teaching context. There are plenty of sound recommendations here for the three roles highlighted by Berge.
Dholakia, U.M., Bagozzi, R.P. and Pearo, L.K. (2004) A social influence model of consumer participation in network- and small-group-based virtual communities, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Vol 21. Pp. 241 - 263.
Fredline, L., Deery, M. and Jago, L. (2006) Host Community Perception of the Impacts of Events: A Comparison of Different Event Themes in Urban and Regional Communities.
Jones, Q. Ravid, G. and Rafaeli, S. (2004) Information Overload and the Message Dynamics of Online Interactions Spaces: A Theoretical Model and Empirical Exploration, Information Systems Research, Vol 15. No. 2. Pp. 194 – 210.
Lampe, C. and Resnick, P. (2004) Slash(dot) and Burn: Distributed Moderation in a Large Online Space, ACM Computer Human Interaction Conference, 2004. A fascinating argument for distributed moderation in which a great deal of power is handed to community members. These members then highlight what they feel needs to be removed in the community. This is a good idea. However, it may fall victim to groupthink, bullying and peer pressure. Online community moderation will still be required to prevent this (and perform other essential roles).
Owen, J.E., Bantum, E.O’C., Golant, M. (2008) Benefits and challenges experienced by professional facilitators of online support groups for cancer survivors, Psycho-Oncology. An excellent study in facilitation of online groups within a health context. While the context will distort the ability to generalize from these results, there is still plenty of provocative material here in the tasks undertaken by online facilitators and the obstacles they face.
Ren, Y and Kraut, R.E. (2008) Simulating Newcomer Socialization in Online Communities, Working paper. A short read about the different theories involved in converting newcomers into regular members of the community. It informed much of the background material for this book.
Ridings, C.M. and Gefen, D. (2004) Virtual Community Attraction: Why People Hang Out Online, Journal for Computer Mediated Communication, Vol 10, No. 1. An interesting review of the motivations behind participation in a community and how to sustain interest in a community over a period of time.
Sangwan, S. (2005) Virtual Community Success: a Uses and Gratifications Perspective, Proceedings of the 38th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. An often-cited study to ascertain the uses and gratifications of an online community. This is most relevant for how to offer newcomers something that will interest them enough to participate.
Sense of Community: A Definition and Theory (1986).
McMillan and Chavis’ groundbreaking original work explaining the psychological sense of community people within a community have with one another. This plays a crucial role in understanding what communities need.
Souza, C.S.d., and Preece, J. (2004) A framework for analyzing and understanding online communities, Interacting with Computers, Vol 16. Pp. 579 – 610.
Testing a model of sense of community http://www.psych.uncc.edu/alblanch/TestingaModelCIHB.pdf. An important article by Anita Blanchard who tackles whether online communities have the same sense of community as offline communities.
Tewkesbury, D. (2006) What Do Americans Really Want To Know? Tracking the Behaviors of News Readers On The Internet, Journal of Communication, Vol 53. No. 4. Pp. 694 – 710.
Williams, R.L. and Cothrel, J. (2000) Four Smart Ways To Run Online Communities, Sloan Management Review, Summer, 2000.
Young, B., Ceullar, M.J., and Takeda, H. (2011) Investigating the Impact of Offline Events on Group Development in an Online Sports Community, Proceedings of the Southern Association for Information Systems Conference, 2011.This is one of the best studies undertaken thus far detailing how offline events affect an online community. It also includes an excellent literature review of existing material on this topic.
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