How do online communities organise themselves?

I believe that the following factors contribute to this issue of how communities organise themselves:

1. Digital Divide
2. Social movement theory
3. Individual motivations
4. Environmental conditions for both online and offline realms

#1 Digital Divide
Without the technology online communities and members would not be able to organise themselves or exist. It is not just the basics such as the Internet browsers– but also programming technologies that enable these interactions. There is a digital divide for the population. To section it further, there is also a divide within those who are active and technology-capable to produce media and those who are just consumers. Technology affects the way online communities organise themselves. In the past, it was Maxpages where the online community interaction is not as extensive as today’s Facebook. With accessibility comes greater user participation and member retainment/recruitment to the online community.

#2 Social Movement Theory
A prime example of the theory being applicable to online communities is Mankoff et al’s contribution of using social networking sites for online and offline civic participation for a worthy cause. As Morris says, “political process theorists demonstrate that movement mobilization occurs through informal networks, pre-existing institutional structures, and formal organizations… The centrality of mobilizing structures … is crucial because it is through them that rational actors figure prominently in the origins of movement” (Morris in Mankoff 2007, 3). Online communities not only organise themselves in a way to expose their domain to other possible-members such as generating exposure in other communities, but also makes sure that the reason for that community is clear and accessible.

#3 Individual motivations
Various authors have written about the individual motivations and aspirations behind taking part in online communities. Bourdieu would see it as a way for the individual to increase their cultural capital via social means (2005) while I see it as a way to network and contact with people that I don’t normally communicate through other means. Users may see online communities as a way to empower themselves through personal branding or empower their community by democratising the process of online communication or cultural distribution. Whatever the reason, I believe that individual motivation affect the way online communities organise themselves because a community is basically a group of individuals.

#4 Environmental conditions
Online environment
Virtual stability can encompass a .com site where there is a definite virtual realty which houses this community that community members can just access. Psychological stability can be gained in seeing that the .com has a certain theme in its site amidst all the other sites or the knowledge that most members there joined because you share common interests. This affects the way online communities are organised – employing a designer to ensure a constant look and feel to the site or organise a .com name and submit meta-tags for Google searchability.

Offline environment
Despite the central accessibility of the Internet, offline environments affect the way communities organise themselves such as accommodating the site to be multilingual or devoting certain sections that encourages hyperlocal participation.

References:
Bourdieu, P. 2005. Pierre Bourdieu, The Essence of Neoliberalism. http://www.analitica.com/bitblioteca/bourdieu/neoliberalism.asp (Accessed April 10 2008).

Mankoff, J et al. 2007. Leveraging Social Network To Motivate Individuals to Reduce Their Ecological Footprints. http://www.cs.cmu.edu/%7Eassist/publications/07MankoffHICSS.pdf (Accessed April 10 2008).