what-when-how
In Depth Tutorials and Information
he benefit of these communities is made obvious by the impact they have on
the creation of information and its diffusion. As an example, these days, blogs are
rapidly turning into a major source of information on a diversity of topics. hese
online gatherings are very appealing for members and operators. A side benefit
of many of these online communities is their ability to sustain socialization and
enable the participants to stand out.
It is also important to note that virtual communities are not standardized or
uniform; they diverge extensively depending on the topic, purpose, and benefits. As
far as the nature of the information mechanism is concerned, scientists are examin-
ing the interaction arrangements and methods, social structures, transaction plans,
organization of features, business models, and design characteristics of information
mechanisms and services for virtual communities. Community members cooperate
by means of digital media and add value via feedback, analysis, and suggestions.
Other important matters are expectation, network outcome, operation fees, and
the design of applications as well as the generation of alterations or improvements.
Wisdomofcrowds
,
collectiveintelligence
, and
crowdsourcing
are important concepts
or buzzwords describing mechanisms around user-generated content in virtual
communities. But how did it all start? Is there a powerful organization underly-
ing the management of virtual communities? Could it be the government? In this
chapter, we will attempt to answer those questions.
16.2 ManagingVirtualKnowledgeNetworks[5]
To formulate the theory of knowledge creation, it is important to realize that the
discursive formation of “self ” employing mediational means is a source of knowl-
edge creation. We need to understand the relationship between such a source and
self-understanding and understanding of others, as well as the specific characteris-
tics of virtuality [5].
he intriguing question that arises is, “How is knowledge created in a virtual
context?” Knowledge generation in the real world as well as in an implicit context
should be understood from the standpoint of public interaction. Social interaction in
an implicit perspective as an ingredient of knowledge generation is referred by ICTs
(information and communication technologies) such as cell phones, laptops, PDAs,
etc. Language develops into something in the form of information symbolically coded.
It is not unusual to see written language turning into, for lack of better words, a texting
method of communication. he text in turn, gets transmitted by media deprived of
context, and when the message is received, it goes into the same cycle where it gets
recontextualized, reshuffled, or restructured based on already-gained information.
Self-understanding and acceptance of others, illustrated in theories of knowl-
edge generation, are influenced by the type and amount of theoretical media-like
characters that can be used as tools to internalize unfamiliar knowledge. Some
