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Blogger communities are virtual communities Virtual Communities that develop from blog (see Blogs - Uses) websites.
The theory that blog websites are a home for communities is a fairly new one, and so far, all research regarding blogger communities are based on the framework that define virtual communities. Currently, for a blog website to be considered a virtual community there are characteristics that must be present.
Firstly, a virtual community must have virtual settlement, which according to Jones (1997) occurs when there is a “minimal number of public interactions with a variety of communicators in which there is a minimal level of sustained membership over a period of time�?. He then continues to state, “feelings and social relationships that develop with the virtual settlement help distinguish a virtual community from a virtual group�?, these social relationships help form an important defining element of virtual communities, ‘Sense of Community’.
Due to the nature of blogs, they are typically a one-to-many form of communication, which normally means there is not much “public interaction�?, particularly when compared to other forms of Computer Mediated Communication (Blanchard, 2003), however blog websites often incorporate interactive features. These include links to other blogs, forums areas for discussion and spaces for comments regarding the blog/ger. These sections require interaction from the audience and point to the inclusion of blog sites into the realm of virtual communities. However, many argue that this type of interaction is not enough to warrant a sense of community, which is the second defining characteristic of a virtual community.
Sense of community originated from studies into face-to-face contact but has been adapted to studies of virtual communities. Originally sense of community in virtual communities was defined as:
However, studies how found that sense of community in online environments is more likely to have the following characteristics:
These characteristics can be applied to the use and interaction involved with blog websites.
Unlike traditional virtual communities, blogging communities do not have a “shared space, clear boundaries, or clear membership�? (Efimova and Hendrick, 2005: p1). Blogging communities are also driven by the personalities behind them (Efimova and Hendrick, 2005: p2), therefore blogs are assisting the formation online identities, rather than shared interests and discussion topics.
Most virtual communities include active members and inactive members that are also known as lurkers (see Virtual Communities - Netiquette). Lurkers generally read all posts but do not actively participate in discussions or post comments. This practice makes research into virtual communities difficult, as it is hard to gauge the exact number of lurkers and if these members contribute to and/or experience a sense of community.
Research (Blanchard, 2003) indicates that this practice takes place in blog websites as well.
Asyikin, N. (2003) “Lessons in Community Building: An Inquiry into the role of weblogs in online community building,�? retrieved October 20, 2005, from http://www.knowledgeboard.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=101440
Blanchard, A. (2003) “Blogs as Virtual Communities: Identifying a Sense of Community in the Julie/Julie Project,�? retrieved October 20, 2005, from
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/blogosphere/blogs_as_virtual.html
Efimova, L. and Hendrick, S. (2005) “In search for a virtual settlement: An exploration of weblog community boundaries�? retrieved October 20, 2005, from https://doc.telin.nl/dscgi/ds.py/Get/File-46041
Jones, Q. (1997). Virtual-communities, virtual settlements & cyber-archaeology:
A theorethical outline. Journal of Computer Supported Cooperative Work, 3
(3)
Weiss, Aaron. (2005) “The Power of Collective Intelligence�? Collective Intelligence September, 2005, pp. 16-24.
--Lisa Hitchcock 22:05, 26 Oct 2005 (EST)
