UNIT 3

CHAPTER 8

ONLINE
COMMUNITIES
 ONLINE COMMUNITIES
People use online communities to socialise, share infromtion,
play games, work, learn and create.
• Online Community is a group of people with
a shared common interest who communicate
online.
• Member of a online community is someone
who is part of an online community.
• All online communities allow users to interact
with other people.
• Each type of online community has a
function, which is what it does for who use it
• Each type of online community has features,
which enable (or allow it to achieve) its
function.
• Different online communities provide
different features that their members can use
to interact with each other.
Features and Functions of Different Online
Communities
1. Social Networking Communities
2. Online Gaming Communities
3. Online Work Space
4. Virtual Learning Environments
5. User-Generated Reference Sites
6. User-Generated Content
7. Social Bookmarking Sites
• Anonoymity of Others and Misrepresentation
• Disclosure of Personal Information or Location
• Cyberbullying

Video : Dunbar’s Number

 Social Networking Communities
• Online social network allow members to connect through shared interests or
relationships.
• These communities include professional networks such as LinkedIn@ and personal
networks such as Facebook.
• These different types of network started out with separate functions.
• However, the features and use of different types of social network are starting to
mix together.
• For example, some personal networks such as Facebook and Twitter are used by
professionals and businesses as well as for personal relationships.

The Function of Social Networking Communities

• Social networking is the practice of forming groups in a society.
• The internet has provided new ways for us to form social networks.
• Examples of online social networking communities include Facebook, Baidu@
and Twitter.
Social Networking Communities
 Features That Enables The Function of Social
Networking Communities
a) Profiles
• Profile is a collection of user information.
• When you create an account with a social networking community, you can add
information about yourself.
• Some services allow members to decide which information should be made public,
which information should only be visible to certain people and which information
should not be visible to anyone.
• Profiles can be personalised by members and they can include:
o biographical details such as name, gender, date of birth, location and language
o an 'about you' or short description of the user
o details about the user's work and education
o travel history
o family details such as relationship status, family
members and pets
o contact information such as telephone number,
email address and website
o profile and background images, colour schemes
and designs.
 Features That Enables The Function of Social
Networking Communities
b) Friends, follow and connect: Social networking communities have features that
allow users to add someone to their social network. These can be known by many
different names such as friend, follow and connect.
c) Stream, wall and timeline: A user's stream, wall or timeline is the place where
the posts from members’ friends appear.
d) Status updates and posts: Members of a social networking community can
either send a message to other members in their network or send it publicly to all
of the community.
e) Groups, lists and circles: Social networking communities usually allow
members to create named groups, lists or circles of members. Users' posts can
then be made visible only to members of one or more of those groups.
f) Tags: Tags allow members to categorise the content that they create and post on
social networking communities. Other members can then search for content using
the tags that were added to the content when it was posted.
 Features That Enables The Function of Social
Networking Communities
g) Users suggestions: Social networking communities suggest other members that
users might want to connect with.
h) Reactions, ratings, likes, and downvotes: Social networking communities have
features that enable users to show their reactions to posts by other people, such as
liking them or finding them funny. Downvotes are used on some social
networking communities to show that users dislike a post.
i) Share: Share functionality allows members to repeat other members' posts. This
makes the original posts available to more people.
j) Comments and quotes: Social networking provide different ways for members
to write comments about other members' posts. This functionality allows
members to have online conversations and to communicate with each other.
k) Third-party integration: Many websites include direct links to social
networking sites so that people can easily share the information provided on the
third-party website.
 Additional Features of Social Networking
Communities
• Add content to post: Allowing members to add content such as
photographs, videos and URLs to their posts means that members
can share their experiences in different ways.
• Private or direct messages: Most social networking communities
allow their members to send private messages to each other, rather
than having to post messages publicly.
• Notifications: Notifications tell members about new activities within
a social networking community. They help keep members involved
with the rest of the community.
• Analytic: Many social network communities allow their members to
see information about how other people have reacted to their posts.
 Features and Functions of Different Online
Communities
2. Online Gaming Communities
Examples of online gaming include PlayStation Network, Xbox Live, Steam and Massively
Multiplayer Online Role-playing Games (MMORPGs).

THE FUNCTION OF ONLINE GAMING COMMUNITIES

Online gaming communities exist in order to allow members of the community to play
multiplayer games together.
FEATURES THAT ENABLE THE FUNCTION OF ONLINE GAMING COMMUNITIES
The features of online gaming communities include:
• links to social media
• user profiles
• information that allows users to find out how to complete games
• experience points that can be tracked and displayed on a user's profile.
• discussion boards and forums that allow members to discuss tactics
• statuses that allow users to see if other members are online
• notifications about what is happening in the game.
 Features and Functions of Different Online
Communities
3. Online Work Space
Examples of online work spaces include Adobe@ ConnectTM 11, Slack, Microsoft SharePoint and
Workplace by Facebook.
THE FUNCTION OF ONLINE WORK SPACES
The members of online work spaces can collaborate together for the purposes of work.
FEATURES THAT ENABLE THE FUNCTION OF ONLINE WORK SPACES
The features that support the function of online work spaces include:
• cloud storage and web applications that allow members to work on documents through web browsers
• comments that can be left on documents for other users to see and reply to
• enabling documents to be edited at the same time by two or more which allows users to develop the
documents together
• messaging systems so that members can discuss the work
• shared calendars so users can see each other's diaries and arrange meetings
• shared contact lists
• chat rooms to allow discussion of work
• systems for booking such as ICT equipment, meeting rooms and transport
• virtual meeting spaces with the ability for members to:
o give and watch presentations
o speak to each other using VoIP
o use video conferencing tools.
 Features and Functions of Different Online
Communities
4. Virtual Learning Environments
Examples of virtual learning environments (VLEs) include Pearson Active Teach, Google Classroom, Moodle,
Schoology and Blackboard.
THE FUNCTION OF VLES
VLEs are used to allow students and teachers to use learning and assessment materials.
FEATURES THAT ENABLE THE FUNCTION OF VLES
The features that support the function of VLEs are very similar to those found in online work spaces. In
addition, many VLEs look like and work in a similar way to social networking communities, but they do not aim
to connect users with people outside their network.
Features of VLEs include:
• a wall or timeline similar to those on social networking communities that contains posts by teachers and
students
• a notice board for announcements about the course
• the ability to share audio, video, web links or files
• quizzes or multiple choice tests that are often graded automatically
• tools for submitting assignments
• communication tools
• Log-in system
• Document editors which allow teachers to create and edit documents
• Gradebook which allow teachers and students to monitor progress
• Access statistics that allow teachers to track how frequently student access and use facilities.
 Features and Functions of Different Online
Communities
5. User-Generated Reference Sites
User-generated reference sites are information websites created and
maintained by communities of members.
a) WIKIS: A Wiki is a website or database that is developed by a
number of collaborating users, all of whom can add and edit content.
Examples include the online encyclopaedia, Wikipedia, and the online
music database, Discogs.
The function of wikis: Wikis allow members of the community to
collaborate in order to build and edit web pages.
The features that enable the function of wikis include:
• member accounts, which allow users to track which edits have been made by which
members of the community
• an edit button, which takes editors to a text editor so that they can edit the content
• structured language, which allows members to format web pages or add links to other
content
• search tools.
 Features and Functions of Different Online
Communities
b) FORUMS: An online forum (bulletin boards or message boards) is a website or web page where users can post comments and
information and reply to other users' comments. Examples of forums include Yahoo!, Google Groups, Stack Overflow, Quora and
The Student Room.
The function of forums: Forums provide members of the community with online spaces for structured discussions.
Posts on the forum are arranged in topics or threads.
Features that enable the function of forums:
• groups (members in one group can have different levels of access or rights)
• moderators are members who have the right to allow or block posts of members
• administrators are members with the same privileges as moderators plus some additional rights, such as being able
to promote members to be moderators and demote moderators
• posts are messages sent by members to the group
• threads are topics for conversation
• sticky notes or stickies are threads kept at the top of threads to make them easily accesable
• ratings allow members to rate other members’ posts and enable members to see how helpful or genuine the posts
are
• private or direct message functions
Many forums also include some safety features.
Word or URL censoring: All posts are scanned automatically for inappropriate words and URLs. If any are found,
the post is rejected or sent to moderators to check.
Ignore or block: Muting members or stoping them from being able to access the forum.
Rules and responsible or acceptable use policies: If members break rules of the forum, they can warn or block.
Report or flag a user or post: This feature allows members to tell moderators if other members have broken the
rules of the forum.
 USER GENERATED REFERENCES
• Wikis
Ex: Wikipedia, Online Encycloaedia,
Online music database,
Online text books, Discogs,…

• Forums
Ex: Quora,
Stack Overflow,…
 Features and Functions of Different Online
Communities
6. User-Generated Content
User-generated content is content available online that has been made by users of a particular
site or service.
a) VIDEO-SHARING AND PHOTO-SHARING SITES
Examples of sites where users can share their videos and photographs include Vimeo, Flickr,
Giphy and YouTube.
The function of video-sharing and photo-sharing sites
These sites allow people to access and share content created and uploaded by members of the
community.
The features that enable the function of video- and photo-sharing sites include:
• user accounts and profiles
• content management systems, which allow users to add content to a page or to edit content
on a page
• tags to categorise shared content
• ratings, which allow users to rate shared contents
• comments, which allow users to discuss the contents that have been shared
• third-party integration, which allows users to share and react to uploaded videos or
photographs on social networking sites.
 Features and Functions of Different Online
Communities
6. User-Generated Content
b) BLOGS (WEB LOG) and VLOGS (VIDEO LOG)
A blog is a website or web page that is updated regularly, often written like a diary or a series of
articles. A vlog is a video blog. Examples of blog and vlog communities include Weibo,
Wordpress, Tumblr and YouTube.
The function of blogs and vlogs
Blog and vlog communities allow people to create online diaries of events or articles. They are
very similar to wikis, but they usually contain additional features and more integration with
social networking sites.
The features that enable the function of blogs and vlogs include:
• user accounts and profiles
• text editors, which allow bloggers to write and edit their content online
• upload tools for adding videos and photographs
• tags
• ratings
• comments
• third-party integration such as social networking features, which allows users to share and
react to the blog or vlog.
 USER-GENERATED CONTENT
• Video Sharing and Photo Sharing Sites
Ex: Youtube, Vimeo, 500px, Giphy, Flickr

• Blogs and Vlogs

Ex: Wordpress (blog), Weibo (vlog), Tumblr (blog), Youtube
(vlog)
 Features and Functions of Different Online
Communities
7. Social Bookmarking Sites
Social bookmarking sites allow users to categorise and share web documents and
URLs so that other people can access them. Examples include Pinterest, Digg,
Pocket, reddit and StumbleUpon.
The function of social bookmarking sites
Social bookmarking sites exist to allow people to share web documents and URLs
with each other.
The features that enable the function of social bookmarking sites
include:
• social networking features to connect users with each other
• third-party integration such as social networking features, which allows users to share and
react to content on social bookmarking sites directly from websites using buttons
• tags to organise and categorise URLs
• user accounts.
 SOCIAL BOOKMARKING SITES
Ex: Pinterest, Digg, pocket, Reddit, StumbleUpon
THE USE OF ONLINE COMMUNITIES FOR COMMUNICATION
AND COLLABORATION ON A GLOBAL SCALE
• Because of the global reach of the internet, online communities are
accessed by members from all over the world.
• Many communities have translation tools to provide wider access to
their content and services.
 HOW TO STAY SAFE ONLINE
• Most online communities have features that help members
of the community to stay safe online.
• Most online communities allow their members to report
users who break the rules of the community.

o ANONYMITY OF OTHERS AND MISREPRESENTATION

o DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION OR

LOCATION

o CYBERBULLYING
• ANONYMITY OF OTHERS AND
MISREPRESENTATION
o Members of online communities can choose to stay anonymous
online.
o Anonymity can protect users, but it also means that some users
can misrepresent themselves by pretending to be someone that
they are not.
• DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL
INFORMATION OR LOCATION
o It can be dangerous to disclose too much personal information online.
o People could use this information for the of grooming or to locate the person or their friends and
family.
o In some cases, location data can be given away, either on purpose or by accident, by uploading
geotagged photographs to photo-sharing sites.
o Many online community apps for mobile devices enable users to include their location in their posts.
o This information is provided by GPS data, or calculated from data provided by the user's Wi-Fi
access point or ISP data.
o If this feature is activated, then any member of the community can find out exactly where that person
is.
o To reduce the risk, online safety organisations advise individuals to think carefully about how much
of their personal information they want to make public, and not to post publicly any images
containing information about their location.
o It is also recommended that users check and their privacy settings regularly, so that only people that
they know in the real world can access their personal information online.
o Finally, members of online communities should report anyone who they think may be
misrepresenting themselves or who is acting in a way that puts members of the community at risk.
• DISCLOSURE OF
PERSONAL
INFORMATION
OR LOCATION
• CYBERBULLYING
o Cyberbullying is the term used to describe the use of the
internet to send text or images in order to upset or embarrass
someone.
 CHAPTER QUESTIONS
1. Which one of these is used to set the rules for an online community?
a) User ratings
b) Analytics
c) Features that allow commenting and sharing
d) Acceptable use policies

2. Describe the use of tags in online communities.

3. Describe how social networking services benefit from members sharing content.
4. Explain why some online communities have administrators and moderators.
5. State three ways in which a user can personalise their online profile.
6. State the function of social bookmarking
7. Explain why online work spaces could benefit a large international organisation.
8. Describe how social networking sites are able to make suggestions to members about
people that they may want to connect with.
9. Describe how some social networking sites are able to decide which advertisements to
show to different members.
10. State four ways in which students can use the features of VLEs to support their learning.
11. State three examples of interactions that social network users can have with a member's
post.
12. Discuss the factors that users of social networking sites should consider when sharing
personal information.