What are communities?

August 22

• Introduction
• Communities and social networks
  

Readings:

• Putnam (2001). Bowling Alone, the collapse and revival of American community.
  
• http://www.learnativity.com/community.html
  
• http://archive.salon.com/21st/feature/1999/01/cov_19feature.html
  

Discussion Questions:

• What are some similarities and differences between offline communities and online communities?
  
• What are the hallmarks of a successful online community?
  
• Why is Putnam so pessimistic about “social capital” in the contemporary United States?
  
• What do you think about Putnam’s definition of community and social capital? Are those definitions appropriate for online communities?
  
• Why did early communities on the web fail while other later ones have been more successful (thus far)?
  

Attention and the online world

August 29

• Introduction to information overload and the internet
  

Readings:

• Davenport and Beck (2000) Getting the Attention you Need. Harvard Business Review, Sept-Oct 2000. R00505.
  
• Paul Resnick, Beyond Bowling Together: SocioTechnical Capital. (2002) Chapter 29 in HCI in the New Millennium, edited by John M. Carroll. Pgs. 247-272.
  
• Q. Jones, G. Ravid, and S. Rafaeli. (2002) “An empirical exploration of mass interactions systems dynamics: Individual information overload and Usenet discourse. Paper presented at the 35th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences – 2002.
  

Discussion Questions:

• How have online communities effectively captured people’s attention?
  
• What are the proper metrics to measure “attention” in online communities? How can these metrics be valued?
  
• How can online communities further use the power of attention to gain popularity?
  
• How can online communities overcome “information overload”?
  

History of Online Communities

September 12

• "Ages" of online communities
  
• BBS
  
• WELL
  
• Early AOL / Compuserve
  
• WWW
  

Readings:

• http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/5.05/ff_well.html
  
• http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/kollock/papers/communities_01.htm
  
• http://www.rheingold.com/vc/book/intro.html
  
• http://www.rheingold.com/vc/book/1.html

Guest

• Howard Rheingold of Rheingold.com and the WELL
  

Discussion Questions:

• What were people seeking from the earliest online communities? Did they find it?
  
• What did the early online communities offer that did not previously exist?
  
• Why were online communities such a powerful draw to a certain type of individual? What role did this early population play in their development?
  
• How did online communities change and adapt to fit people’s needs?
  
• How did these early online communities affect how their members lived?
  

The Segmentation of Online Communities

September 19

• Different types of online communities
  
  • Politics & Social Organization
    
  • Media & Pop Culture Commentary
    
  • Games & Sports
    
  • Commerce
    
  • Kids
    
  • Health
    
  • Dating & Leisure
    
  • International
    
• Market size & reach
  
  • Demographics
    
  • Income levels
    
  • Survey Opinions
    
  • Technology evolution
    
  • Different tools used
    

Readings:

• http://www.ifsm.umbc.edu/~preece/paper/6%20Final%20Enc%20preece%20et%20al.pdf
  
• Jenny Preece (2000) Online Communities: Designing Usability, Supporting Sociability. Wiley and Sons, 2000.
  
• Szmigin and A.E. Reppel. (2005) "Internet community bonding: the case of macnews.de" European Journal of Marketing, 38(5/6), p. 626-640
  

Discussion Questions:

• Why have online communities segmented along these ways?
  
• What new segmentations have been created by online communities that did not exist before their creation? Are these segmentations significant?
  
• Were these segmentations inevitable given human nature? Or were they exacerbated by the Internet?
  
• How have different technology tools created or mitigated these segmentations?
  
• How many different types of online communities are humans capable of joining before information overload sets in?
  

Online Communities, Trust and Change

September 26

• J S Kleinfeld (2002) The small world problem. Society 39(2), pp. 61-66.
  
• http://smallworld.columbia.edu
  
• Monk (2003) “Common ground in electronically mediated communication: Clarks theory of language use.” Carroll, J.M., Toward a multidisciplinary science of human-computer interaction. Pp.265-290.
  
• Dellarocas, Chrysanthos & Resnick, Paul (2003, May 21). Online reputation mechanisms: Roadmap for future research.
  
• http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/kollock/papers/vcommons.htm
  
• http://smg.media.mit.edu/people/Judith/Identity/IdentityDeception.html
  

Guest:

• Craig Newmark of Craigslist.org
  

Discussion Questions: (led by Phil Gomes, Siobhan O’Neill, Kirsten Markson, Alison Voorhees)

• Can we ever really achieve “trust” online?
  
• How have communication patterns changed thanks to online communities?
  
• What sorts of “trust” issues are unique to online communities? What sorts of “trust” issues are similar in on and offline communities?
  
• Has technology increased trust or decreased it?
  
• What are the biggest threats to conducting mutually beneficial transactions online?
  
• How do online communities evolve to take into account changing norms and values?
  

Focus on: Media

October 3

Topics:

• Media Gossip
  
  • Gawker media (Nick Denton et al)
    
  • Poynter
    
  • Media Bistro
    
• • Television & Movies
  
  • Televisionwithoutpity.com
    
  • Thefutoncritic.com
    
  • Various fan sites
    

Readings:

• New York Times, May 29, 2005, A Mother's War, by Cynthia Gorney (could not replicate the original LA Times article on MilitaryParents.com - so here's another one on the same topic)
  
• Pemberton, Andy, "NEW KIDS ON THE BLOG: Jessica Cohen, 24, is the acid-tongued gossip columnist whose irreverent weblog, Gawker.com, has become required daily reading for New York's media elite. Andy Pemberton meets the scourge of Manhattan's wannabe celebrities." The Observer (UK), December 5, 2004, Pg. 32
  
• Chris Gaither, "COLUMN ONE; The Plot Thickens Online; Producers of TV dramas are creating Web-only content that adds story elements and interactivity to keep viewers engaged,” Los Angeles Times, February 25, 2005, Page 1.
  
• Kali Pearson, "No shortage of laughs: Television without pity summaries hilarious. Surf the Net before you channel search for the real lowdown on programs and their stars," The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec), September 20, 2003, Pg. D2
  

Guest:

• Shawn Hardin, Content Operations, Yahoo Media Group
  

Discussion Questions (led by Shuya Pan, Chunbo Zhang, Wang Hai)

• How are media companies changing to react to these new communities?
  
• How should media companies construct viable business models in the future given the new presence of media-focused online communities?
  
• Should online communities be treated as legitimate news sources? What are the criteria for doing so?
  
• If you ran a major media company, how would you treat these new startups – co-opt them, ignore them, or actively challenge them?
  

Focus on: Health & Humanitarian

October 10

• CHOICE Humanitarian
  
• WebMD
  
• CancerCare.org
  

Readings:

• B. Shaw, et al. (2001) “Experiences of Women with Breast Cancer: Exchanging social support over the CHESS computer network,” Journal of Health Communication, 5(2).
  
• G2: Health: Surf yourself better: More and more of us are turning to the web for medical advice. But which sites can you actually rely on? Sophie Petit-Zeman rounds up 10 of the best resources online, The Guardian (London) - Final Edition, December 7, 2004, Guardian Features Pages, Pg. 10, 1782 words, Sophie Petit-Zeman
  
• Help! I'm a cyberchondriac Self-diagnosis using the internet can be bad for your health - and your stress levels, says Damian Thompson, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH(LONDON), November 07, 2003, Friday, Pg. 26, 1033 words, By DAMIAN THOMPSON
  

Guest:

• Mitchell Wade, CEO of CHOICE Humanitarian
  

Discussion Questions (led by Yun Ma, Yi-Wen Ting, Yu-Hua Cheng)

• How have online communities been helpful and/or harmful to public health?
  
• How do the benefits of increased knowledge about health care online stack up against the problem of “cyberchrondria”?
  
• What are the unique challenges of trusting online communities for health advice?
  
• How do the social support networks for people with illnesses affect those participating?
  
• What are the pitfalls of relying on online communities as your primary support network?
  

Focus on: Games

October 17

Topics

• Fantasy Sports
  
  • Yahoo
    
  • ESPN
    
• MMORPGs
  
  • Everquest
    
  • World of Warcraft
    
  • City of Heroes
    

• Reading:

• "Economists to explore world of online games: Researchers could assess players' response to change," San Francisco Chronicle, August 1, 2005, Tom Abate
• US$1.8 bn for online games, Xinhuanet
• The Making of an X Box Warrior, The New York Times, August 22, 2004 Sunday, Late Edition - Final, Section 6; Column 1; Magazine Desk; Pg. 33, 4232 words, By Clive Thompson.
  
• David Thomas, "GAMES PEOPLE PLAY Nerds and geeks, families and women connect via imaginary worlds and online friendships," The Denver Post, March 28, 2004 Sunday, FINAL EDITION, Pg. L-06
  
• The Matrix Ever-Loaded: Online Game for the Committed, The New York Times, April 25, 2005 Monday, Late Edition - Final, Section C; Column 1; Business/Financial Desk; TECHNOLOGY; Pg. 4, 1153 words, By ROBERT LEVINE
  
• Making a play for the future; DAVE JONES; Creator of notorious Grand Theft Auto, his dream is of massive multiplayer online gaming, finds Kristy Dorsey, The Herald (Glasgow), March 19, 2005, BUSINESS; Pg. 19, 1541 words, Kristy Dorsey
  
• “G2: Get a life: Online fantasy games are booming - with up to four million players worldwide regularly visiting make-believe lands to fight, hunt for treasure, or just sit their characters down for a chat. But as the games' popularity has grown, a new and very strange economy has emerged - in which a good player in South Korea can sell his 'avatar' for hundreds of pounds to a less skilful one in Britain. James Meek picks up his fantasy sword and steps into the virtual worlds,” The Guardian (London) - Final Edition, August 3, 2004, Guardian Features Pages, Pg. 2, 2761 words, James Meek
  
• Advertisers discover the value of young men with time and money to spend on fantasy sports on the Web., The New York Times, August 23, 2004 Monday, Late Edition - Final, Section C; Column 1; Business/Financial Desk; E-Commerce Report; Pg. 7, 1102 words, By Bob Tedeschi
  

Guest:

• Douglas Lowenstein, President, Entertainment Software Association
  
• Gerard LaFond, Persuasive Games
  

Discussion Questions:

• How have fantasy sports leagues changed the way professional sports leagues conduct business and market themselves?
  
• How have MMORPGs evolved and what secondary markets have sprung up around their development?
  
• What are the future implications for “traditional” sports given the rise in popularity of online games?
  
• How have and will these games change the way people relate to one another through play?
  
• What are the implications online games will have for international business, government and social networks?
  

Focus on: Entertainment

October 24

• Kids Sites
  • Trollz
    
  • Neopets
    
  • DeviantArt
    
• Personal/Networking Sites
  • Friendster
    
  • mySpace
    
  • Match.com
    

Readings:

• http://www.danah.org/papers/CHI2004Friendster.pdf
  
• http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/~atf/papers/chi2004_personals_short.pdf
  
• K.Y.A. McKenna, A.S. Green and M.E.J. Gleason (2002) “Relationship formation on the Internet: What’s the big attraction?” Journal of Social Issues, 58(1), pp. 9-31.
  
• J. Cummings, B. Butler, and R. Kraut. (2002) “The quality of online social relationships.” Communications of the ACM, 45 (7), pp. 103-108.
  
• The Seattle Times, March 7, 2005, Social networking: A link to like minds, By Kristi Heim

Discussion Questions (led by David Kirtmann, Helen Porter, Hsu Wei Chow and Sarah Pomeroy)

• How have sites like Friendster and Match changed social patterns (like dating) among users? Have these sites made dating easier, harder, or neither?
  
• Why are traditional media companies paying so much for sites like Neopets and MySpace?
  
• How valuable are “network effects” to social oriented sites?
  
• Are online social relationships inherently less stable than offline social relationships? What are the determining factors?
  
• Have new social patterns driven online community formation patterns, or vice versa?
  
• How have expectations of children changed over time with respect to what is available online?
  

Focus on: Politics & Social Organization

October 31

• Blogs from the left, right and center
  
  • Winds of Change
  • DailyKos (Markos Moulitsas)
    
  • Kausfiles (Mickey Kaus)
    
  • Wonkette (Ana Marie Cox)
    
  • AndrewSullivan.com (Andrew Sullivan)
    
  • Talking Points Memo (Josh Marshall)
    
  • Little Green Footballs (Charles Johnson)
• Lessons from past election cycles
  • Howard Dean campaign (networked “Meetup” style)
  • George Bush campaign (top-down “Amway” style)
• Activism
  • MoveOn.org
  • Americans Coming Together
• Military
  • "The Blogs of War" (Wired article)
    

• Readings:

• T. Postmes, and S. Brunsting (2002) “Collective action in the age of the Internet: Mass communication and online mobilization.” Social Science Computer Review 20(3), pp. 290-301.
  
• Klam, Matthew, “Fear and Laptops on the Campaign Trail”, New York Times, September 26, 2004, Section 6; Column 3; Magazine; Pg. 43
  
• Bai, Matt, "Wiring the Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy," The New York Times, July 25, 2004, Section 6; Column 1; Magazine Desk; Pg. 30
  
• "The Alpha Bloggers" Newsweek, December 20, 2004.
  

Guest:

• Ori Neidich of Hollywood Hill
• Micki Krimmel of Participant Productions

Discussion Questions:

• What value do participants see in joining in these communities?
  
• Do these communities have any effect on elected officials? If so, what?
  
• Do they have any effect on voter participation or activity? If so, what?
  
• What are the best practices from politically based online communities? What are the worst?
  
• How can online communities make their political messages more effective in the future?
  

Focus on: Gender, Sexual Orientation and Race

November 7

• PlanetOut.com
  
• BlackPlanet.com
  
• Glaad.org
  
• Asian-nation.org
  

Readings:

• http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/kollock/papers/communities_03.htm
  
• When the Computer Opens the Closet, The New York Times, August 22, 2004 Sunday, Late Edition - Final, Section 9; Column 1; Style Desk; Pg. 6, 1763 words, By JANE GROSS
  
• When You Contain Multitudes, The New York Times, April 24, 2005 Sunday, Late Edition - Final, Section 9; Column 1; Style Desk; Pg. 1, 1643 words, By MIREYA NAVARRO, LOS ANGELES
  
• PLANETOUT; On the Record: Lowell Selvin, The San Francisco Chronicle, JANUARY 23, 2005, SUNDAY,, FINAL EDITION, BUSINESS;, Pg. B1
  

Guest:

• Jon Huggett, founder of PlanetOut.com
• Gary Dauphin
  

Discussion Questions:

• How do different racial and ethnic groups organize online to promote awareness of their communities and cultures?
  
• What purpose do these various communities serve to their respective constituent groups?
  
• What offline activities do these various communities compliment, replace or create?
  
• Why have racial and sexual orientation issues remained so prominent when the Internet was supposed to have reduced the importance of those differences?
  

Focus on: Kids & Marketing

November 14

• Teens and Technology: Youth are Leading the Transition to a Fully Wired and Mobile Nation, Pew Internet Report, July 2005
  
• David Sheff, "New Babes in Toyland: Trollz," New York Times, January 4, 2005
  
• Will Wade, "Care and Feeding of Cyberpets Rivets Tag-Along Marketers," New York Times, February 26, 2004
  
• Janet Kornblum, "Teens wear their hearts on their blog," USA Today, October 31, 2005
  
• Public Internet Access for Young Children in the Inner City: Evidence to Inform Access Subsidy and Content Regulation, Christian Sandvig, The Information Society, 19:171–183, 2003
  
• Adolescent Internet use: What we expect, what teens report, Elisheva F. Gross, Applied Developmental Psychology 25 (2004) 633–649
  

Guest:

• Andy Heyward, DIC
  

Discussion Questions (led by Johanna Holan, Tze Wei Leong, Edward West, David Schlosberg):

• How will teens growing use and acceptance of technology change society?
• What methods and practices can companies use to drive increased use of their products and services online by the younger generation?
• What are the mental and emotional drivers for teens to share so much of themselves online?
• What do you think about companies' attempts to drive online activity through efforts such as "Trollz"?

Final Project Presentations

November 28

• Final project presentations

Guest:

• David Bohnett, Geocities.com