Trusting the Knowledge of Large Online Communities

2011 ◽  
pp. 243-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
John S. Storck ◽  
Lauren E. Storck
Keyword(s):  
Online Communities ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Limited Life ◽  
Effective Leader ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Online Communities Of Practice ◽  
Taking Action ◽  
Important Branch ◽  
Training Practice

The phrase “leading from behind” is borrowed from group analytic theory, an important branch of group psychology. For some, the phrase may be pejorative: an effective leader is normally in front of group members, not taking a position behind them. However, for large online Communities of Practice, leading from behind and trusting the group is an important strategy. This chapter focuses on how a leader develops the capacity to trust the group. Recognizing that groups of people are powerful and creative organisms that can be trusted is difficult for a leader. For Freud, who thought of groups as unthinking, primitive mobs and for modern managers, who are taught the value of using teams with specific objectives and limited life spans, the idea of unstructured, dispersed collections of people making decisions or taking action is an anathema. Learning to trust the knowledge of a large group takes training, practice and courage. We ground our conclusions in an empirical analysis of the leadership of one large online Community of Practice. Using archives of discussions among community members, we develop leadership principles that support the “leading from behind” approach. We use these data to suggest how managers can lead online communities to form the trusting relationships that are essential for effective knowledge sharing and innovation.

Creating a Community of Practice in Learning

2016 ◽  
pp. 1380-1398
Author(s):  
Ebenezer Uy ◽  
Eusebio Yu
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Inductive Approach ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
Online Community Of Practice ◽  
Online Communities Of Practice

Social media plays a huge part in Filipinos' lives. In the area of learning, the proponents observed the emergence of an online community of practice using Facebook groups that has over 350 members. The aim of the chapter is to answer the question: How do online communities of practice engage students to learn and build new knowledge? The objective is to propose a framework that will guide readers to build their own online community of practice based on its learning context. To achieve the objective, the proponents use the inductive approach of grounded theory using action research. Results show that community members used different Facebook features to support their ongoing community of practice. Further studies may also assess the applicability of the framework in other areas of development.

Online Communities of Practice as Vehicles for Teacher Professional Development

2012 ◽  
pp. 142-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Meletiou-Mavrotheris
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Statistics Education ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Geographically Dispersed ◽  
Service Training ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Online Communities Of Practice

The affordances offered by modern Internet technologies provide new opportunities for the pre-service and in-service training of teachers, making it possible to overcome the restrictions of shrinking resources and geographical locations and to offer high quality learning experiences to geographically dispersed teachers. The focus of this chapter is the question of how information and communication tools made available online could be effectively exploited to build and study network-based services with the aim of fostering online communities that promote teacher learning and development. The chapter presents an overview of the main experiences gained from a study which investigated the forms of collaboration and shared knowledge building undertaken by a multinational group of teachers participating in EarlyStatistics, an online professional development in statistics education targeting European elementary and middle school mathematics teachers. Findings from the study provide insights into the factors that may facilitate or hinder the successful implementation of an online community of teaching practitioners.

Online Communities of Practice and Web 2.0

2016 ◽  
pp. 265-292
Author(s):  
Amir Manzoor
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Web 2.0 ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Management Communication ◽  
Organizational Goals ◽  
The People ◽  
Online Tools ◽  
Online Communities Of Practice

In contemporary Knowledge Management, communication and collaboration play very significant role. Knowledge exists within the stakeholders of an organization. Such knowledge, when extracted and harnessed effectively, can become an extremely valuable asset to achieve organizational goals and objectives. This knowledge, embedded in the people, must be properly released through an appropriate channel to make it usable. Through dialogue and discussions, using online tools, this release and reuses of knowledge can be made possible. The Community of Practice (CoP) is a useful organizing concept for enhancing collaboration, sharing knowledge, and disseminating best practices among researchers and practitioners. This chapter explores the concept of Communities of Practice and how Web 2.0 technologies can facilitate the transformation from a conventional community of practice to online community of practice for better and effective online communities of practices.

Knowledge Brokers in Overlapping Online Communities of Practice

2010 ◽  
pp. 77-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jocelyn Cranefield ◽  
Pak Yoong
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Knowledge Flows ◽  
Knowledge Broker ◽  
System Level ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
Knowledge Brokers ◽  
Online Communities Of Practice ◽  
Professional Learners

This chapter argues that leaders need to better understand the roles played by informal knowledge brokers in connecting overlapping online communities of practice (CoPs). It illustrates how distributed individuals playing a key knowledge broker role – the Connector-leader – helped to drive transformative professional change. The research context was a professional development programme for New Zealand schools that promoted a new, student-centric teaching approach. The research project explored how online CoPs facilitate professional knowledge transfer, focusing on how new knowledge is embedded in interpretive frameworks and practices. Connector-leaders spanned boundaries in the online community realm and had a strong online presence. As professional learners, they were strongly outward facing, identifying primarily as members of a distributed online CoP. As leaders, they were inward facing, focusing largely on the knowledge needs of local organisations and CoPs. This study extends previous research into the boundary spanner and knowledge broker, introduces new ideas about the nature of boundaries in CoPs, and promotes a system-level view of knowledge flows, emphasising the importance of both visible and invisible dimensions of online knowledge brokering.

scholarly journals Speech Etiquette in Online Communities: Medialinguistics Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liliya Rashidovna Duskaeva
Keyword(s):  
Online Communities ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Systematic Approach ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Online Groups ◽  
Language Communication ◽  
Group Members ◽  
The One ◽  
Creative Self

The article deals with the peculiarities of communicative politeness in the poorly investigated sphere of Russian-language communication focusing specifically on online groups. The purpose of the article is to identify the ways and means used in this environment for the organization of polite communication. A distinctive feature of the author’s research approach is the analysis of etiquette in the context of a dialogue, which means not only the analysis of the rules of stimulus, but also the rules of reaction, which corresponds to the systematic approach as a general principle of media linguistics (as a research method). The article defines speech etiquette as a system of norms and rules of polite speech behavior, the observance of which ensures the existence of the online community. The study allows us to conclude that the communicative tactics of etiquette in online groups are as follows: a) the participant’s inclusion into the community is regulated; b) bans on some forms of speech behavior are established and sanctions for violations of bans are imposed; c) high communicative status is provided to the author in different ways and freedom for creative self-expression is guaranteed to each participant; d) on the one hand, the establishment of contacts with a partner suitable in one or another parameter is stimulated, on the other hand, the degree of the partners’ proximity is regulated in accordance with the wish of its initiator; e) the opportunity to give/receive a response to a particular activity of the communication initiator is provided. These setups are implemented via a variety of resources, including both technical and speech means of address and response. Netiquette, drawings and images help to ensure emotional comfort. An adequate communicative distance is supported by abbreviations used in speech and understood only by the group members, by creating an adequate balance in the use of elevated and low stylistic means, in the use of methods creating a comic effect. Following speech etiquette rules is promoted by a kind of communication sanitation, which is carried out by the group administrator and the participants themselves. Participants use a metatext, which demonstrates the reflection of the group participants’ speech activity. The existing rules in online communities are aimed at making communication emotionally comfortable, ensuring easy navigation, neutralization of aggression, and prevention of speech crimes, encouraging the users to demonstrate courtesy and display attention to one another.

Creating a Community of Practice in Learning

2015 ◽  
pp. 259-277
Author(s):  
Ebenezer Uy ◽  
Eusebio Yu
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Inductive Approach ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
Online Community Of Practice ◽  
Online Communities Of Practice

Social media plays a huge part in Filipinos' lives. In the area of learning, the proponents observed the emergence of an online community of practice using Facebook groups that has over 350 members. The aim of the chapter is to answer the question: How do online communities of practice engage students to learn and build new knowledge? The objective is to propose a framework that will guide readers to build their own online community of practice based on its learning context. To achieve the objective, the proponents use the inductive approach of grounded theory using action research. Results show that community members used different Facebook features to support their ongoing community of practice. Further studies may also assess the applicability of the framework in other areas of development.

Using networked narratives to understand internet book reviews in online communities

2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun Kuei Huang ◽  
Wen I. Yang
Keyword(s):  
Online Communities ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Marketing Strategies ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Word Of Mouth Communication ◽  
Selection Of

Purpose – The aim of this paper was to investigate word-of-mouth communication behavior and other interactions between bloggers writing book testimonials and their community of readers in order to develop a method and strategy for enhancing word-of-mouth communication about books. Design/methodology/approach – This study conducted a netnographic investigation to explore word-of-mouth communication and interactions about new books between bloggers and their community of readers. Netnography is a qualitative approach for exploring the information exchange among online community members. Findings – It was found that personality traits, testimonials, and the responses of community readers to bloggers affected word-of-mouth related to books. Exposure to testimonials with commercial characteristics will not necessarily hinder the word-of-mouth about books. Practical implications – These results may provide a reference for publishers or related businesses that sell books or products via blogs during the planning of their marketing strategies. Originality/value – Businesses value the effects of online communities on marketing communication. This study provides insights into the communication between bloggers and their community of readers by demonstrating how word-of-mouth affects the promotion of books. This could facilitate the selection of relevant recommendations by management.

Are online communities on par with experts in the evaluation of new movies? Evidence from the Fandango community

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pradeep Kumar Ponnamma Divakaran ◽  
Sladjana Nørskov
Keyword(s):  
Online Communities ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Box Office ◽  
Geographic Context ◽  
Film Studios ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Performance Research ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate two questions. First, are movie-based online community evaluations (CE) on par with film expert evaluations of new movies? Second, which group makes more reliable and accurate predictions of movie box office revenues: film reviewers or an online community? Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from a movie-based online community Fandango for a 16-month period and included all movies released during this time (373 movies). The authors compared film reviewers’ evaluations with the online CE during the first eight weeks of the movie’s release. Findings – The study finds that community members evaluate movies differently than film reviewers. The results also reveal that CE have more predictive power than film reviewers’ evaluations, especially during the opening week of a movie. Research limitations/implications – The investigated online community is based in the USA, hence the findings are limited to this geographic context. Practical implications – The main implication is that film studios and movie-goers can rely more on CE than film reviewers’ evaluation for decision making. Online CE can help film studios in negotiating with distributors, theatre owners for the number of screens. Also, community reviews rather than film reviewers’ reviews are looked upon by future movie-goers for movie choice decisions. Originality/value – The study makes an original contribution to the motion picture performance research as well as to the growing research on online consumer communities by demonstrating the predictive potential of online communities with regards to evaluations of new movies.

Live Virtual Technologies to Support Extended Events in Online Communities of Practice

2010 ◽  
pp. 95-112
Author(s):  
Eleftheria Tomadaki ◽  
Peter J. Scott ◽  
Kevin A. Quick
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Instant Messaging ◽  
Synchronous Communication ◽  
Phone Calls ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Similar Range ◽  
Online Communities Of Practice ◽  
Insight Into

Online communities of practice often require support for collaboration over extended periods of time, in what are effectively very long meetings. While there are a wide range of support systems for ‘foreground’ interactions, such as phone calls and video meetings, and a similar range of tools for ‘background’ interactions, such as email and instant messaging, there is a lack in tools that exclusively cater for extended events without switching to different platforms. The current study presents qualitative and quantitative data from a naturalistic insight into the use of two online synchronous communication tools, FM for videoconference and Hexagon for ambient awareness, to support an extended event in a working online community. A complex mix of planned and opportunistic interactions require a new set of working synchronous tools, managing the trade-off between awareness and disruption. Switching between foreground and background ‘meeting activity’ remains a very big challenge.

Online Communities and Community Building

2005 ◽  
pp. 2203-2208
Author(s):  
Martin C. Kindsmuller ◽  
Sandro Leuchter ◽  
Leon Urbas
Keyword(s):  
Online Communities ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Community Building ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Real Community

“Online community” is one of today’s buzzwords. Even though superficially it is not hard to understand, the term has become somewhat vague while being extensively used within the e-commerce business. Within this article, we refer to online community as being a voluntary group of users who partake actively in a certain computer-mediated service. The term “online community” is preferred over the term “virtual community,” as it denotes the character of the community more accurately: community members are interacting online as opposed to face to face. Furthermore, the term “virtual community” seems too unspecific, because it includes other communities that only exist virtually, whereas an online community in our definition is always a real community in the sense that community members know that they are part of the community.

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