Virtual Community as New Marketing Channel

2011 ◽  
pp. 524-526
Author(s):  
Chingning Wang ◽  
Kangning Wei ◽  
Michelle L. Kaarst-Brown
Keyword(s):  
Online Communities ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Marketing Channel ◽  
Social Events ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Bulletin Boards ◽  
Promotional Messages ◽  
Business Structure

Virtual community is a virtual meeting place where individuals with common areas of interests share information, ideas, experiences, and feelings (Rheingold, 1993) by using information and communication technology (ICT), especially the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW). It has been taken for granted that people with shared interests would aggregate together. This assumption is equally applicable to the virtual world. As such, a wide variety of discussion topics bring different Internet users together online across time and space. Virtual community has been a pervasive concept emphasizing social aggregation and social events in the computer-mediated environment. This concept has been extended to the horizon of commerce. Hagel and Armstrong (1997) contend in their book, Net Gain, that virtual community could be an important element of a successful Web-based business structure and that community-based business structure helps expand markets for businesses. Businesses have increasingly begun to recognize that they can build their brand images, deliver promotional messages, and retain consumers’ loyalty through online communities. As such, more and more businesses include bulletin boards, discussion groups, and e-mail functions in their business Web sites with the aim to creating a community atmosphere among their customers (Maclaran & Catterall, 2002). This strategy not only helps attract consumers but also helps increase return rate (Hagel, 1999). In the long run, it could promote favorable attitude toward the brand and increase purchasing behavior (Subramaniam, Shaw, & Gardner, 2000). Indeed, virtual communities have opened up new opportunities and established new models for business to reach out and communicate with their consumers. Although the market has become more and more fragmented with the globalization of commerce, virtual communities provide businesses with access to targeted consumers in that various aggregations of Internet users are like different segments of markets. Virtual community indeed has become a new marketing channel for business. Many online communities are business oriented in nature with business participating as organizers, sponsors, or advertisers.

Eksistensi Media Sosial,Youtube, Instagram dan Whatsapp Ditengah Pandemi Covid-19 Dikalangan Masyarakat Virtual Indonesia

2020 ◽  
pp. 41-57
Author(s):  
Hendra Junawan ◽  
Nurdin Laugu
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Collection Method ◽  
Data Collection Method ◽  
Corona Virus ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
The World

Introduction. This article discusses the existence of social media YouTube, Instagram and Watsapp in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic among virtual communities in Indonesia. The development of social media is increasing every year, especially in the conditions of the corona virus outbreak. The development of social media in Indonesia has experienced a very significant increase, it can be seen that Indonesia is in the 3rd position of social media users in the world. Data Collection Method. The method used in this article is by using the literature method by reading literature related to discussion and it can be analyzed that the existence of social media such as YouTube in the midst of the Covid pandemic has experienced a surge in users of around 88% and is then followed by Whatsapp social media with the number of accesses of 84% and Instagram with 79%. Results and Discussions. Based on the data above, we can see the development and level of existence of several social media which is frequently accessed by the world's population during the Covid 19 pandemic. This development has certainly experienced a very clear penetration of internet users among the Indonesian virtual community. Conclusions. the development of social media in Indonesia and globally has increased very significantly. The existence of social media which was popular during the Covid-19 pandemic, which placed YouTube as the first media that was very popular with the highest number of users in the world.

Online Communities and Community Building

2011 ◽  
pp. 2893-2898
Author(s):  
Martin C. Kindsmüller ◽  
Sandro Leuchter ◽  
Leon Urbas
Keyword(s):  
Online Community ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Bulletin Boards ◽  
Real Community ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Tacit Assumptions

“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. Nevertheless, there are other reasonable definitions of online community. An early and most influencing characterization (which unfortunately utilizes the term “virtual community”) was coined by Howard Rheingold (1994), who wrote: “…virtual communities are cultural aggregations that emerge when enough people bump into each other often enough in cyberspace. A virtual community is a group of people […] who exchanges words and ideas through the mediation of computer bulletin boards and networks” (p. 57). A more elaborated and technical definition of online community was given by Jenny Preece (2000), which since then, has been a benchmark for developers. She stated that an online community consists of four basic constituents (Preece, 2000, p. 3): 1. Socially interacting people striving to satisfy their own needs. 2. A shared purpose, such as interest or need that provides a reason to cooperate. 3. Policies in the form of tacit assumptions, rituals, or rules that guide the community members’ behavior. 4. A technical system that works as a carrier that mediates social interaction. Not explicitly mentioned in this characterization but nevertheless crucial for our aforementioned definition (and not in opposition to Preece’s position) is voluntary engagement.

Virtual Community and Online Game Players

2011 ◽  
pp. 1757-1763
Author(s):  
Jengchung V. Chen ◽  
Yu-Hsiang Wang
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technology ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Online Games ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Online Game ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Game Players

Since the Internet and other IT technologies have become more popular than ever before, the amount of time people spend with computers and IT products, such as Internet and online games, has increased tremendously. The continuing boom of information and communication technology is causing the Internet to become a part of everyone’s life. People use the Internet not only as a tool for their jobs, but also to participate in virtual communities. Even if the rate of Internet uptake slows considerably (Weisenbacher, 2002), the trend still remains growing. There were 275.5 million people using the Internet in February 2000. That number had changed to 605.60 million in September 2002 (Nua Ltd., 2002). According to Horrigan’s study (2001), 84 percent of Internet users in America have participated in a virtual community. Moreover, apart from the number of people using Internet, the average time spent doing any activity online is increasing.

Virtual Communities and Social Capital Theory

2011 ◽  
pp. 493-496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine M. Ridings
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Social Capital Theory ◽  
Community Context ◽  
Capital Theory ◽  
Physically Based ◽  
Civic Group

Imagine a neighborhood where young children can play freely in the streets and various backyards without direct parental oversight, the implication being that other adults in the vicinity will watch out for the children. If a parent is late getting home before the school bus, the children know which neighbors’ house to go to and will be well cared for until the parent arrives home. The residents are very willing to help each other, perhaps by moving a sofa down to a basement or lending a ladder for a project. In such a neighborhood, the first place one turns to for recommendations for plumbers, dry cleaners, and preschools, or perhaps to borrow a tool, is each other. Perhaps one person has secured a job for a neighbor’s daughter, and another family has “paved the way” for their neighbor’s entry into a country club. If a person has a need for emotional support to deal with a personal crisis, she turns to a neighbor. Such a neighborhood can be said to have social capital—that resource that comes from relations between people that makes lives more productive and easier. Social capital is not only created from groups of people living in very close proximity, such as in a neighborhood. It might be created between people belonging to the same church or civic group, or perhaps between people who met at a hospital support group for a particular affliction, or people who are alumni of a particular university. These groups of people can be said to constitute communities, or gatherings of people who have common interests or ties. In the past, these communities tended also to be focused in a local geographic area. This article will examine social capital in the context on online communities. Online communities, like physically based communities such as church groups or neighborhoods, can also be said to produce social capital for their members. These virtual communities can create and foster social capital—and indeed, it may be social capital that draws and retains their members. The background of social capital theory will be examined and then applied in the virtual community context.

Conception, Categorization, and Impact of HR-Relevant Virtual Communities

2009 ◽  
pp. 154-160
Author(s):  
Anke Diederichsen
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Bulletin Board ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Bulletin Boards ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
E Mail

Virtual community (VC), in its most general sense, is an increasingly popular and apparently omnipresent tool to communicate and interact on the Web. People from diverse backgrounds meet in VCs for likewise diverse purposes: social gatherings, information sharing, entertainment, social, and professional support. The phenomenon of virtual—or online—communities dates back to the late 1960s, when ARPANET, a network for U.S.-military research purposes was established (Licklider & Taylor, 1968). The initially provided e-mail service was later supplemented by a chat functionality. In 1979, virtual social interaction was enabled by USENET use-groups. Here, asynchronous communication is enabled by e-mail and bulletin boards. In the same year, multi user dungeons (MUDs), a new form of text-based virtual reality games were created. In 1985, The WELL was started. This mainly bulletin board-based VC received public attention at least by the publication of the community experiences of one of its most active members, Howard Rheingold. His book also marks the starting point of the virtual community literature (Rheingold, 1993). In the late 1990s, the focus on VCs as Web-based enablers of social interaction (e.g., Wellman, Salaff, Dimitrova, Garton, Gulia, & Haythornthwaite, 1996) shifted to the perception of its potential economic value (e.g., Hagel & Armstrong, 1997). The aim of this article is to depict applications of VCs in human resources (HR)-relevant processes. Applications range from company internal employee communities to company external applicant communities. HR-relevant VCs reflect the increasing utilization of modern information and communication technology (ICT) in human resource management (HRM). The application of VCs in HRM might be beneficial but also may cause negative effects if current trends, are not observed or if the technology is not incorporated strategically. In the following, a definition, a framework, and a categorization of HR-relevant VCs is given. Examples outline potential applications and implications for HRM.

scholarly journals Factors Affecting Re-usage Intentions of Virtual Communities Supporting Cosmetic Products

10.28945/3644 ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 017-036
Author(s):  
Chien-Ta Ho ◽  
Jhong-Min Yang ◽  
Wei-Ting Chen
Keyword(s):  
Social Influence ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Performance Expectancy ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
Confirmatory Factor

Aim/Purpose: This study uses a cosmetic virtual community (VC) as the research context and the UTAUT model as the theoretical structure aim to explore factors affecting the re-usage intentions of VC members. Background: The Internet use rate of VC was up to 50%, thereby implying that VC gained the attention of Internet users. Therefore, operating a VC will be an effective way to communicate with customers. However, to maintain an existing member is more efficient than creating a new one. As such, understanding determinants of VC members’ re-use intentions becomes important for firms. Methodology: Through an online survey, 276 valid responses were gathered. The collected data were examined by performing confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modelling procedures, as well as the moderator analysis. Contribution: This study shows the importance in the context of online cosmetics-related VC, which was rarely explored before. We provide issues for future research, despite the accumulated academic literature related to UTAUT and VC. Findings: Results show that only performance expectancy and social influence significantly affecting re-usage intentions and only gender has moderating effects on the path from performance expectancy to VC re-use intention and from trust to VC re-use intention. Recommendations for Practitioners : This study found that users emphasized performance expectancy most of all. A cosmetic product-related VC should introduce products abundantly, offer useful information, and help people accomplish tasks quickly and productively. Recommendation for Researchers: Future researchers may use our findings to conduct further positivist research in the area of social influence using different subjects and research contexts.

African Ethics and Online Communities: An Argument for a Virtual Communitarianism

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 103-118
Author(s):  
Stephen Nkansah Morgan ◽  
Beatrice Okyere-Manu
Keyword(s):  
Online Communities ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Strong Sense ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Group Solidarity ◽  
African Ethics ◽  
Virtual Platform

A virtual community is generally described as a group of people with shared interests, ideas, and goals in a particular digital group or virtual platform. Virtual communities have become ubiquitous in recent times, and almost everyone belongs to one or multiple virtual communities. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with its associated national lockdowns, has made virtual communities more essential and a necessary part of our daily lives, whether for work and business, educational purposes or keeping in touch with friends and family. Given these facts, how do we ensure that virtual communities become a true community qua community? We address this question by proposing and arguing for a ‘virtual communitarianism’—an online community that integrates essential features of traditional African communitarianism in its outlook and practice. The paper’s position is that virtual communitarianism can make for a strong ethical virtual community where members can demonstrate a strong sense of group solidarity, care and compassion towards each other. The inclusion of these virtues can bring members who often are farapart and help create a stronger community bond. This will ensure that the evolution of virtual communities does not happen without the integration of progressive African communitarian values.

Detecting and Responding to Online Deception

2011 ◽  
pp. 121-124
Author(s):  
Neil C. Rowe
Keyword(s):  
Online Communities ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Detecting Deception ◽  
Detection Of Deception ◽  
Online Deception

An important problem in online communities is detection of deception by their members. Deception is a form of manipulation, and can have many varied negative consequences in a virtual community, especially once discovered (Joinson & Dietz-Uhler, 2002) and even if undiscovered. Virtual communities need to be aware of the problems and need to agree on policies for detecting deception and responding to it.

Potentials of Information Technology in Building Virtual Communities

2011 ◽  
pp. 836-841 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isola Ajiferuke ◽  
Alexander Markus
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Bulletin Board ◽  
Digital Subscriber Line ◽  
Message Boards ◽  
Mailing Lists ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
E Mail

In recent years, virtual communities have become the topic of countless books, journal articles and television shows, but what are they, and where did they come from? According to Preece, Maloney-Krichmar, and Abras (2003), the roots of virtual communities date back to as early as 1971 when e-mail first made its appearance on the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), which was created by the United State’s Department of Defense. This network would lead to the development of dial-up bulletin board systems (BBSs) which would allow people to use their modems to connect to remote computers and participate in the exchange of e-mail and the first discussion boards. From these beginnings a host of multi user domains (MUDs) and multi-user object oriented domains (MOOs) would spring up all over the wired world. These multi-user environments would allow people to explore an imaginary space and would allow them to interact both with the electronic environment and other users. Additionally, listservs (or mailing lists) sprang up in 1986, and now, almost two decades later, they are still in use as the major method of communication among groups of people sharing common personal or professional interests (L-Soft, 2003). Since then the Internet has exploded due to the development of Web browsers as well as the development of communications technologies such as broadband, digital subscriber line (DSL), and satellite communications. Groups of people from as few as two and reaching to many thousands now communicate via email, chat, and online communities such as the Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link (WELL) and such services as MSN, Friendster, America Online (AoL), Geocities, and Yahoo! Groups. Other examples of online communities are collaborative encyclopedias like Wikipedia. Web logs (Blogs) like Slashdot.com and LiveJournal allow users to create their own content and also to comment on the content of others. They also allow the users to create identities and to make virtual “friends” with other users. The definition of virtual community itself becomes as convoluted as the multitude of technologies that drives it. Are e-mail lists, message boards, and chat rooms online communities or are they virtual communities? Virtual communities might be persistent worlds as those found in popular online games (Everquest, 2004, Ultima Online, 2004) or virtual worlds (such as MUDs and MOOs) where the user is able to explore a simulated world or to take on a digital “physicality” in the form of an avatar. It becomes clear from the literature that the terms are still used interchangeably.

scholarly journals Conflict and Co-Operation in the Virtual Community: eMail and the Wars of the Yugoslav Succession

1998 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 84-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Stubbs
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Bulletin Boards ◽  
The Relationship

This article focuses on the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) during the wars of the Yugoslav succession, through three case studies of particular eMail networks, discussion groups and bulletin boards: zamir; APC/Yugo/Antiwar; and the Soc/Culture/Croatia and Soc/Culture/Yugoslavia newsgroups. The text addresses the relationship between ‘real’ and ‘virtual’ communities and looks, in particular, at the role of eMail as a tool for social, political and cultural change. Despite the rhetoric of CMC as an inherently liberating and democratising medium, the suggestion is that power relations remain crucial in understanding all of the case studies. eMail may be most effective when part of a local discourse and practice of social change. The article concludes with a consideration of the link between different kinds of trust, or social capital, within the eMail world.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document