The growing presence of social media and computer use has caused significant changes to community engagement. With the ubiquity of these technologies, there is increasing engagement in social and political policies and changes. Online Communities as Agents of Change and Social Movements is a pivotal reference source for the latest research on relevant theoretical and practical frameworks regarding online communities and social media as agents of social and political change. Featuring extensive coverage on relevant areas such as computer use, online engagement, and collective action, this publication is an ideal resource for researchers, academics, practitioners, and students in the fields of social psychology, social network analysis, media studies, information systems, and political science.

This interdisciplinary collection of papers explores the question of identity and its interaction with digital technologies, online platforms and, primarily, new media.

Online communities are among the most obvious manifestations of social networks based on new media technology. Facilitating ad-hoc communication and leveraging collective intelligence by matching similar or related users have become important success factors in almost every successful business plan. Researchers are just beginning to understand virtual communities and collaborations among participants currently proliferating across the world. Virtual Communities, Social Networks and Collaboration covers cutting edge research topics of utmost real-world importance in the specific domain of social networks. This volume focuses on exploring issues relating to the design, development, and outcomes from electronic groups and online communities, including: - The implications of social networking, - Understanding of how and why knowledge is shared among participants, - What leads to participation, effective collaboration, co-creation and innovation, - How organizations can better utilize the potential benefits of communities in both internal operations, marketing, and new product development.

"This encyclopedia of virtual communities and technologies provides a much needed integrated overview of all the critical concepts, technologies and issues in the area of virtual communities"--Provided by publisher.

There is increasing awareness of the development of newer «smart» and more interactive media, at precipitate speed, in many parts of the world. The concept of change-as opposed to continuity-is central to the increasing interest in digital media. However, this focus has not yet been matched by substantive theoretical discussions, or by extensive empirical examinations of computer-mediated communication and intercultural communication. Against such a backdrop, this volume offers theoretical insights, fresh evidence and rich applications as it assesses the nature of digital culture(s) in order to address assumptions about the present state of mediated global society(ies) and their future trajectory. Chapters explore what happens in praxis when digital media are implemented across cultures and are contested and negotiated within complex local and political conditions. The book showcases interpretative and critical research from voices with diverse backgrounds, from locations around the world. As such, this volume presents a rich and colorful tapestry that provides opportunities for comparative analyses and deepened international understandings of digital media connections, particularly in the areas of identity, community and politics.

Provides an analysis of virtual communities, explaining their lifecycle in terms of maturity-based models and workflows.

Social networks and online communities are reshaping the way people communicate, both in their personal and professional lives. What makes some succeed and others fail? What draws a user in? What makes them join? What keeps them coming back? Entrepreneurs and businesses are turning to user experience practitioners to figure this out. Though they are well-equipped to evaluate and create a variety of interfaces, social networks require a different set of design principles and ways of thinking about the user in order to be successful. Design to Thrive presents tried and tested design methodologies, based on the author’s decades of research, to ensure successful and sustainable online communities -- whether a wiki for employees to share procedures and best practices or for the next Facebook. The book describes four criteria, called "RIBS," which are necessary to the design of a successful and sustainable online community. These concepts provide designers with the tools they need to generate informed creative and productive design ideas, to think proactively about the communities they are building or maintaining, and to design communities that encourage users to actively contribute. Provides essential tools to create thriving social networks, helping designers to avoid common pitfalls, avoid costly mistakes, and to ensure that communities meet client needs Contains real world stories from popular, well known communities to illustrate how the concepts work Features a companion online network that employs the techniques outlined in the boo

Howard Rheingold tours the "virtual community" of online networking. Howard Rheingold has been called the First Citizen of the Internet. In this book he tours the "virtual community" of online networking. He describes a community that is as real and as much a mixed bag as any physical community—one where people talk, argue, seek information, organize politically, fall in love, and dupe others. At the same time that he tells moving stories about people who have received online emotional support during devastating illnesses, he acknowledges a darker side to people's behavior in cyberspace. Indeed, contends Rheingold, people relate to each other online much the same as they do in physical communities. Originally published in 1993, The Virtual Community is more timely than ever. This edition contains a new chapter, in which the author revisits his ideas about online social communication now that so much more of the world's population is wired. It also contains an extended bibliography.

A landmark insider’s tour of how social media affects our decision-making and shapes our world in ways both useful and dangerous, with critical insights into the social media trends of the 2020 election and beyond “The book might be described as prophetic. . . . At least two of Aral’s three predictions have come to fruition.”—New York NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY WIRED • LONGLISTED FOR THE PORCHLIGHT BUSINESS BOOK AWARD Social media connected the world—and gave rise to fake news and increasing polarization. It is paramount, MIT professor Sinan Aral says, that we recognize the outsize effect social media has on us—on our politics, our economy, and even our personal health—in order to steer today’s social technology toward its great promise while avoiding the ways it can pull us apart. Drawing on decades of his own research and business experience, Aral goes under the hood of the most powerful social networks to tackle the critical question of just how much social media actually shapes our choices, for better or worse. He shows how the tech behind social media offers the same set of behavior influencing levers to everyone who hopes to change the way we think and act—from Russian hackers to brand marketers—which is why its consequences affect everything from elections to business, dating to health. Along the way, he covers a wide array of topics, including how network effects fuel Twitter’s and Facebook’s massive growth, the neuroscience of how social media affects our brains, the real consequences of fake news, the power of social ratings, and the impact of social media on our kids. In mapping out strategies for being more thoughtful consumers of social media, The Hype Machine offers the definitive guide to understanding and harnessing for good the technology that has redefined our world overnight.

A media guru shows us how to use social media intelligently, humanely, and, above all, mindfully. Like it or not, knowing how to make use of online tools without being overloaded with too much information is an essential ingredient to personal success in the twenty-first century. But how can we use digital media so that they make us empowered participants rather than passive receivers, grounded, well-rounded people rather than multitasking basket cases? In Net Smart, cyberculture expert Howard Rheingold shows us how to use social media intelligently, humanely, and, above all, mindfully. Mindful use of digital media means thinking about what we are doing, cultivating an ongoing inner inquiry into how we want to spend our time. Rheingold outlines five fundamental digital literacies, online skills that will help us do this: attention, participation, collaboration, critical consumption of information (or "crap detection"), and network smarts. He explains how attention works, and how we can use our attention to focus on the tiny relevant portion of the incoming tsunami of information. He describes the quality of participation that empowers the best of the bloggers, netizens, tweeters, and other online community participants; he examines how successful online collaborative enterprises contribute new knowledge to the world in new ways; and he teaches us a lesson on networks and network building. Rheingold points out that there is a bigger social issue at work in digital literacy, one that goes beyond personal empowerment. If we combine our individual efforts wisely, it could produce a more thoughtful society: countless small acts like publishing a Web page or sharing a link could add up to a public good that enriches everybody.