Google paid 1.65bn for the acquisition of Youtube, Rupert Murdochs's News Corp. bought Myspace for 580m, and Holzbrinck fully took over Studivz.net for about 85m, to give just a few examples of recent Web 2.0 deals. What makes these so-called online communities so valuable? The answer to this question may be surprising: The deployed technologies are more or less the same as 6 years ago, but what all these new sites share is a new approach to creating things: "user-generated content", in the jargon. The Internet is no longer about corporations telling users what to do, think or buy; it is about the content people create themselves. Participation, not publishing, is the keyword. This development is particularly interesting for corporations which have noticed the importance and potential of the "do-it-yourself Web" as both a strategic marketing tool and a source of valuable information about consumer preferences and opinions. Tomorrow's consumers will no longer be interested in what companies say about their products and services, they will rely on opinions of other "normal" people.
Chris Anderson, chief editor of Wired Magazine, states: "Your brand is what Google says about it. Not what you say about it". Corporations which have spent huge amounts of money on questionable market research projects in the past can get even better information for free in the future, as consumers and interested users exchange experiences and opinions about brands and products in online discussion forums anyway. As a result, marketing activities and product offers can be customized by gathering, processing and analyzing information about consumer preferences - it remains to be seen which companies will exploit these new opportunities and which will not. Very little is known about the factors that influence the content production.Often online communities fail because participation drops to zero - and nobody knows why. In order to maximize the participation level and, thereby, the benefits that can be drawn from their contributions, it is important to examine what drives people to produce content. Therefore, this thesis aims to identify the most important factors that influence the level of user-generated content production in online communities.
More specifically, a comprehensive framework of the relevant determinants will be proposed and tested on an empirical basis. The results are supposed to serve as a guideline for researchers and community operators in the future.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1 Online Communities
1.1 Introduction
1.2 What Is an Online Community?
1.3 A Typology of Online Communities
1.4 Features of Online Communities
1.4.1 Discussion Forums and Sub-Groups
1.4.2 User Profiles
1.5 Conclusion
2 User-Generated Content
2.1 Introduction
2.2 What Is User-Generated Content?
2.3 Why Is User-Generated Content Important?
2.4 Determinants of User-Generated Content Production
2.4.1 Group Size
2.4.1.1 Critical Mass Theory
2.4.1.2 Information Overload Theory
2.4.1.3 Social Loafing
2.4.1.4 Common Ground
2.4.2 Topic and Purpose
2.4.3 Usability
2.4.4 Member Characteristics
2.4.5 Trust And Security
2.4.6 Membership Life Cycle and the Factor Time
2.4.7 Incentives
2.5 Participation Inequalities and Lurkers
2.6 Conclusion
3 The Study
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Defining and Measuring Activity
3.3 Methodology
3.3.1 Data Collection
3.3.2 Period of Observation
3.3.3 Objects of Investigation
3.4 Results of the Empirical Study
3.5 Discussion of the Results
3.5.1 Hypothesis 1
3.5.2 Hypothesis 2
3.5.3 Hypothesis 3
3.5.4 Hypothesis 4
3.5.5 Other aspects
3.6 Limitations
4 Conclusion
4.1 Findings of this Thesis
4.2 Suggestions for Further Research
Research Objective and Themes
The primary objective of this thesis is to identify and analyze the critical determinants that influence the level of user-generated content production within online community discussion forums, aiming to provide a comprehensive conceptual framework that serves as a practical guideline for community operators and researchers.
- Analysis of group size and its correlation with content production (Critical Mass Theory).
- Investigation into the impact of discussion topics and community purpose on member participation.
- Evaluation of usability and technical design as prerequisites for effective communication.
- Examination of member characteristics, trust, security, and membership life cycles in influencing behavior.
Excerpt from the Book
2.4.1.1 Critical Mass Theory
Critical mass theory is a well-known model that has been adopted from economists, physicists and sociologists by mass communication- and diffusion-of-innovation researchers to better understand the number of participants needed for a new technology to be considered successful (Oliver et al. 1985; Markus 1991).
As Critical mass theory is widely accepted as an useful concept, many researchers claim that it can be applied to online communities without hesitation. It is assumed that if there are too few participants contributing to an online community it will die due to insufficient new content that keeps the interest of existing members alive. Moreover, a community will be perceived as worth joining only if there are enough active people that produce continually changing content (e.g. Preece & Maloney-Krichmar 2003, p. 16).
Critical mass theory, however, is so far of limited practical value to online community developers and managers as no existing study has tried to examine it on an empirical basis, so far. Nevertheless, a positive correlation between the number of members and the number of messages posted is assumed, since early researchers of computer-mediated communication systems observed such an interdependency.
Summary of Chapters
Online Communities: This chapter provides a definition, a typology, and an overview of key features of online communities to establish a common background for the study.
User-Generated Content: This chapter defines user-generated content, discusses its importance for online communities, and identifies key determinants—such as group size and usability—that influence its production.
The Study: This chapter details the empirical research procedure, including the observation of 385 discussion forums, and presents the findings regarding the research hypotheses.
Conclusion: This chapter summarizes the main findings of the thesis and provides suggestions for future research directions.
Keywords
User-generated content, online communities, discussion forums, critical mass theory, information overload, social loafing, common ground, usability, membership life cycle, participation inequality, lurkers, community management, content production, digital marketing, online interaction.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper focuses on analyzing the determinants that drive user-generated content production in online community discussion forums, seeking to explain why participation levels vary between different groups.
What are the primary thematic areas covered?
Key themes include the impact of group size, community topics and purpose, usability, member characteristics, trust/security, and member incentive strategies.
What is the primary goal or research question?
The primary goal is to identify the most significant factors influencing content production and to propose a testable conceptual framework that explains these determinants.
What scientific methodology was applied?
The author conducted a structured, disguised, and natural empirical observation of 385 discussion forums across 50 online communities and sub-groups over a one-week period.
What is covered in the main body of the work?
The main body examines established theories like Critical Mass, Information Overload, and Social Loafing, followed by an empirical analysis of how these apply to specific community topics like sports, business, and flirting.
Which keywords best characterize this thesis?
Essential keywords include User-generated content, online communities, critical mass, lurkers, and participation inequality.
How does group size specifically affect content creation?
The study found that a critical mass (identified as approximately 70 members) is required for activity, but growth beyond an "optimal" size of around 3,000 members leads to a plateau or decrease in content, often due to information overload.
Do sports communities differ from other types?
Yes, the study revealed that sports communities, particularly handball forums, exhibited significantly higher levels of engagement and content production compared to party or lifestyle communities.
- Quote paper
- Timo Beck (Author), 2007, Web 2.0: User-Generated Content in Online Communities, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/140974
