Online community. A New Type of Community[edit] The idea of a community is not a new concept. What is new, however, is transferring it over into the online world. Before, a community was defined as a group from a single location. If you lived in the designated area, then you became a part of that community. Interaction between community members was done primarily face-to-face and in a social setting. This definition for community no longer applies. In the online world, social interactions no longer have to be face-to-face or based on proximity, instead they can be with literally anyone anywhere.[2] The study of communities has had to adapt along with the new technologies. Online communities can congregate around a shared interest, but can be spread across multiple websites. What is particularly tricky about online communities is that their meaning can change depending on who is defining them. Although many possibilities probably come to mind some examples of successful Internet Communities are:
Crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing is a sourcing model in which individuals or organizations obtain goods and services. These services include ideas and finances, from a large, relatively open and often rapidly-evolving group of internet users; it divides work between participants to achieve a cumulative result. The word crowdsourcing itself is a portmanteau of crowd and outsourcing, and was coined in 2005.[1][2][3][4] As a mode of sourcing, crowdsourcing existed prior to the digital age (i.e.
"offline").[5] There are major differences between crowdsourcing and outsourcing. Crowdsourcing comes from a less-specific, more public group, whereas outsourcing is commissioned from a specific, named group, and includes a mix of bottom-up and top-down processes.[6][7][8] Advantages of using crowdsourcing may include improved costs, speed, quality, flexibility, scalability, or diversity.[9][10] Definitions[edit] In a February 1, 2008, article, Daren C. Historical examples[edit] Timeline of major events[edit] G. Mass collaboration. Mass collaboration is a form of collective action that occurs when large numbers of people work independently on a single project, often modular in its nature.
Such projects typically take place on the internet using social software and computer-supported collaboration tools such as wiki technologies, which provide a potentially infinite hypertextual substrate within which the collaboration may be situated. Factors[edit] Modularity[edit] Modularity enables a mass of experiments to proceed in parallel, with different teams working on the same modules, each proposing different solutions. Differences[edit] Cooperation[edit] Mass collaboration differs from mass cooperation in that the creative acts taking place require the joint development of shared understandings. Another important distinction is the borders around which a mass cooperation can be defined. Online forum[edit] Coauthoring[edit] Changes[edit] Business[edit] being openpeeringsharingacting globallyinterdependence See also[edit]
Online community manager. The online community manager role is a growing and developing profession. People in this position work to build, grow and manage online communities around a brand or cause. History[edit] General roles[edit] Online community managers may serve a variety of roles depending on the nature and purpose of their online community, which may or may not be part of a profit motivated enterprise. Patti Anklam has asserted that "Every network has an underlying purpose" and motivations for such network creation include; Mission, Business, Idea, Learning or Personal.[1] She claims such leaders hold the collective vision, create and manage relationships and manage collaborative processes.
Anklam does not distinguish a fundamental difference for these roles as related to the varying purposes of network, (i.e. community), creation. Professional roles[edit] There is a list of online community managers employed by large corporations (a Fortune 5000 company or over 1,000 employees). Authorities[edit]