Categorizing behavior in online communities: a look into the world of cake bakers

Research output: Chapter in Book / Report / Conference proceedingChapterAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

In this article, we examine the patterns of behavior of online community members. We develop a list of measurable markers of behavior, drawing on online behavior and social network literature, and show how to construct the markers from the hidden relationship data in online communities. We then conduct an exploratory analysis of an online community devoted to cake baking in the Netherlands. Our results indicate that online community behaviors can be clustered into four distinct categories: utility posters, team players, low profiles, and story tellers, and that these behavioral roles are related to the commitment users have to the website. We provide an account of a novel methodological approach to elucidating social network markers of implicit relationships, using not survey but behavioral data. Finally, we discuss the implications of this line of inquiry for future work into behavior in online communities, and how to use this knowledge optimally in practice. © 2012 IEEE.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 45th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences
Place of PublicationHawaii
PublisherIEEE
Pages3457-3466
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2012

Bibliographical note

Gebeurtenis: 44th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Categorizing behavior in online communities: a look into the world of cake bakers'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this