HCC: Participation Lifecycles in Online Communities

Michigan State University, East Lansing MI

Investigators

Abstract

Increased participation in social networking sites (e.g., MySpace, Facebook), discussion sites (e.g., Slashdot, Digg), and contributory social media sites (e.g., YouTube, Wikipedia) has raised questions about the user experience within these online communities. This research will make conceptual contributions to the emerging understanding of participation in online communities; how new users of persistent online communities become integrated, how that participation is sustained, the predictors of exit, and patterns of involvement over time. This project will engage in an in-depth, multi-method analysis of Slashdot, a news and discussion site focused on technology issues, and Everything2, a user-generated encyclopedia with an emphasis on creative expression. Both sites are long-lived, with up to ten years of interaction history, which enables an analysis of longitudinal patterns. Special site access agreements afford an unusually comprehensive level of access to server logs and user data. In the case of Everything2, the agreement also allows interface modifications and creation of multiple experimental conditions within the site. These field experiments will complement more traditional analyses of server logs, user surveys, and interviews. Simultaneously examining two sites with the same set of tools creates opportunities for greater generalization of results and validated measures that can be applied to other online communities in the future. Broader Impact: The growing prevalence of large-scale online communities has changed how people collaborate, generate content, share interest, discuss topics, and maintain relationships. However, little is known about how the design of sites, terms of service, incentive structures, norms or other socio-technical features affect the user experience. Given the centrality that these types of online communities increasingly have in students' online experiences, this project thoughtfully engages pedagogy at all levels with the hook of social computing research. Ultimately the impact of this research will be improved design and maintenance of online communities as robust socio-technical systems.