Business Models for Online Communities: The Case of the Virtual Worlds Industry in China

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. MacInnes ◽  
Lili Hu
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Business Models

Gaming as a Woman

2013 ◽  
pp. 106-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen B. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Rock Band ◽  
Affinity Groups ◽  
Males And Females

This chapter reports the findings of two surveys taken by players of the video game Rock Band. The purpose of the surveys was to determine what differences, if any, exist between the ways that males and females learn to play the game, are motivated to improve, interact with other players both online and in real life, and interact with other players in online communities for the game. This study suggests that while females do not appear to learn to play this game much differently from males, they are motivated differently and interact with other players differently, and ultimately they have a harder time than males finding a place in the affinity groups that exist for the game, and these findings provide starting points for teachers who intend to use video games and virtual worlds for educational purposes in guarding against creating a “gender gap” between males and females.

scholarly journals Teens and Virtual Goods: The Fun, Useful and Affordable Luxuries that are Driving the Virtual Economy

1970 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maura Welch
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Real World ◽  
Personal Networks ◽  
The Real ◽  
The Third ◽  
Virtual Economy

Virtual worlds are quickly becoming a popular way for teens–especially younger teens 13-16 years of age–to spend time connecting with existing friends while searching for new contacts. According to KZero, in the third quarter of last year alone, 92 million new, unique users joined virtual worlds. However, as virtual worlds grow, teens are looking for more opportunities beyond just building their personal networks. Enter virtual goods–items users can earn or purchase to express themselves creatively or to gain status among their peers in a community. Those who have not spent time in online communities and worlds find it difficult to understand the motivation for purchasing virtual goods. But buying them or completing tasks to earn them is fun and challenging, in the exact same way shopping or playing games in the real world is fun and challenging. For example, some virtual goods provide an immediate advantage in games or contests, some help express your personal styles and interests, and some can be sent as gifts to friends. Sometimes people buy virtual goods because they’re impatient or competitive and don’t want to wait the number of days it would take to earn them for free. But fundamentally, virtual goods are entertainment–they make it fun to interact with friends and express personal styles.

scholarly journals Virtual Goods: Good for Business?

1970 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nic Mitham
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
User Experience ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Good For ◽  
Mini Games

Whilst 2008 saw the emergence of the virtual worlds sector, 2009 has to be called the year of the virtual good. With online destinations such as social networks seeing a creation of brand-new revenue steams and virtual worlds ‘giving the users want they want’, the virtual goods sector is one of the fastest growing areas of the Internet. In its most popular form, virtual goods relate to accessories for avatars–clothing, hair and other person-related apparel. These are purchased by users to customize their appearance and are popular across all types of virtual worlds, from kids and tweens right through grown-up worlds and also apply across all genres. There is an incumbent demand for users to want to change andcontrol how they are seen in virtual worlds. But virtual goods don’t just include avatar appearance customization. Online communities are learning how to monetize all aspects of the user experience, including the ability, for example, to buy a bespoke user name or access specific areas inside a virtual world. On the SocNet side, virtual goods are being used to great effect with social/mini-games, providing ‘tools’ to complete a game faster/level-up.

Creative Collaborative Virtual Environments

2019 ◽  
pp. 461-473
Author(s):  
Luís Eustáquio ◽  
Catarina Carneiro de Sousa
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Collaborative Virtual Environments ◽  
Digital Communities ◽  
Collaborative Creativity ◽  
Creative Agency ◽  
Collaborative Models ◽  
The Social ◽  
Agents Of Change

The authors propose to define creative collaborative virtual environments (CCVEs) as platforms for collaborative and distributed creation in online communities. This will be established by examining virtual worlds as agents of change towards new creative and collaborative models. CCVEs are grounded on three key elements: creation, collaboration, and distribution. These relate not only to the technical but also to the social layers of virtual online communities. Shared creativity and distributed authorship are approached as examples of specific dynamics rooted upon these three elements. The concept of CCVE is important to the design of emerging virtual worlds, specifically regarding the preservation of affordances for collaborative creativity. Discussion based on these observations demonstrates how collaborative creation of new content and meaning takes place in CCVEs, and how they transform communicative and creative agency in digital communities.

DIGITAL TOURISM COMMUNICATION AND DEMOCRACY

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Digital Communication ◽  
Social Web ◽  
Political Citizenship ◽  
The Stranger

Political philosophy is applied to analyze the democratic potential of tourism social media. This study shows that while these media have deliberative potential, they also reflect the post-political and post-democratic condition in tourism digital communication. This analysis is illustrated through the discussion of three metaphors: the menu, the stranger, and the tourist-light. The menu represents the increased invasion of lifeworlds by the commercialization and corporate regulation of the tourism social Web. The stranger symbolizes the weak accountability of online communities. The tourist-light embodies the relevance of hedonism in virtual worlds. Social media contributes to digital narcissism and support consumer centricity. Digital communication produces a sanitized version of tourism and entails a subtle constraint of political citizenship.

scholarly journals Grasping the business value of online communities

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 396-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zilia Iskoujina ◽  
Malgorzata Ciesielska ◽  
Joanne Roberts ◽  
Feng Li
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Paper ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Financial Benefits ◽  
Sustainable Value ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Business And Management

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the definitions, dimensions, and classifications of online communities together with their potential to produce value for business. Those value options are then discussed in the context of empirical vignettes showing examples of business models focussed on one of the two potential benefits coming from online communities – clear financial gains and intangible long-run returns. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses systematic literature review method. In total, 67 academic paper in the area of business and management were chosen for the analysis. Findings The literature review shows multitude of online communities definitions and classifications, but hardly any comprehensive attempt to map the phenomena in full. This paper is looking into recognising potential revenue streams from online businesses and other non-financial benefits that can be combined to create strong and sustainable value proposition. Originality/value Drawing on the literature reviewed a novel categorisation of the commercial opportunities offered by the online communities is presented. These opportunities are discussed in a context of business model design.

Business Opportunities in Social Virtual Worlds

2011 ◽  
pp. 432-447
Author(s):  
Danny Pannicke ◽  
Jonas Repschläger ◽  
Rüdiger Zarnekow
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Value Creation ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Social System ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Digital Content ◽  
Second Step ◽  
Case Examples ◽  
Business Opportunities ◽  
New Business

Virtual worlds enable new ways to create value. Recent examples from Second Life – a virtual world run by Linden Lab – have demonstrated how firms can use this technology to get in touch with customers and provide value to them. This chapter aims at giving an overview of upcoming business opportunities in social virtual worlds. For this purpose, the platform service offered by Linden Lab is analysed first. In the second step, the value creation potential is differentiated into four areas: 1. community-related business models which are comprised of the creation and maintenance of a social system with specific processes; 2. commerce business models which refer to initiation, negotiation and processing of transactions; 3. context business models which add value by supporting navigation and orientation; and finally, 4. content business models which refer to production and preparation of digital content such as avatars, virtual locations and artefacts. The business opportunities of each area are analysed with regard to case examples from Second Life. The chapter concludes with some business implications in order to help practitioners find their way into this new business medium.

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