Haythornewaite questions the conventional definition of the word ‘community’ arguing that social capital combined with reciprocity and interaction should be better indicators of a community rather than geographic location. This abstract, more “Gemeinschaft” viewpoint is what defines the social network perspective of community. In my experience, I found that my part-time work at Wegmans fulfills almost every aspect of Haythornewaite’s community.
When I was hired, there was certainly this shared focus of providing customer service and working together to help customers. A common language was likened to this Wegmans community, where terms used within the community wouldn’t be used outside the community. There was a interconnectivity among the workers at Wegmans.
Initially, though, we can consider Wegmans to be a community because of their self-described motto, “The Wegmans Family,” which infers community and pushes this cohesion that exists in a community; so an outsider might consider the Wegmans staff at a particular Wegmans along with its customers to already exist as a network community. This is also a good initiator of the common ground aspect of Social Network Analysis (SNA). Within the community, what Haythornewaite’s “actors relations and ties” begin to emerge and the network definition of community further unfolds.
Actors are simply defined in this context as people in the Wegmans community; however, Haythornewaite says, ”actors don’t have to always be individuals.” Furthermore, we begin to form what Haythornewaite describes as strong and weak ties based when we are hired. I began sifting through my ties with in my first hour of work a Wegmans. Because of the diverse staff, and the proximity of workers within department, stronger ties, ones which “actors maintain many relations, particularly when those relations include social and emotional support and intimacy or self-disclosure,” began to form (p.126) One person I was working with was around my age and shared similar views and thoughts, another was much older and less similar. Eventually, these discrepancies formed with more people I worked with and the stronger and weaker ties( ties where “little information is shared and when interaction is frequent”) surfaced. A whole social network of strong ties and weak ties is apparent.
These stronger ties (my friends at work) go even further in supporting the network view of community. As self-disclosure increases, along with reciprocity, other attributes of SNA emerge. One is social capital, which Haythornewaite describes as “a social resource embedded in and constituted by social networking ties.” For example, one of my co-workers who I had a strong tie with helped me get an internship with Wegmans by referring me to people and connecting me with the right people to talk to.
Another indicator of the network community was our associating with media multiplexity, where we used multiple forms of media to interact more frequently. Initially, it was probably Facebook in which we interacted but it has moved to e-mail, text messaging, cell phone, and outside of the geographic community to other face-to-face locations.
To me, this community describes Haythornewaite’s definition of the word. With sometime, these interactions incorporate multiple ways of forming and strengthening ties and building a social network. One interesting note I found is that this community is also comparable to group interaction, because there are created norms and conformity within the group and it can lead to the strengthening of cohesiveness within a group.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
7.2 Jeff Hancock – Half Man Half Amazing?
http://cornell.facebook.com/profile.php?id=403080
Who is Jeff Hancock? Using a Facebook profile as my guide, I utilized the available valid cues to try to attain the Brunswikian epitome of functional achievement. Recently in a passing conversation earlier this week, someone mentioned only the naïve keep open Facebook profiles. At the time I thought of my own profile and whole heartedly agreed, who would want strangers browsing their pictures and learning the names of their friends? But alas, CMC ninja Jeff Hancock has his profile wide open. Is there something that sets apart users who think their profile is too revealing to show? Or is Professor Hancock some kind of Facebook superhero; unable to be embarrassed by a drunken wall post, unstalkable, and perfectly tagged in all of his photogenic-only photos?
Self-directed identity claims are abundant on his profile. Professor Hancock’s current profile picture, while it does give the impression of a reflective person, probably does not mean nearly as much to viewers of his profile than to Professor Hancock himself. Under his favorite quotes he lists “woodworthian pearls,” another obscure reference that means very little to his profile viewers. A Google search even returns zero results which basically guarantees that the statement has never been said, heard, or though outside of Jeff’s profile. Being a member of the group “Jeffs rule Cornell” can probably be considered a self directed identity claim as well. Other directed identity claims are also plentiful. Besides the fact that we eerily have the same birthday, Professor Hancock shows his relationship status as married (disappointing, I know). His detailed descriptions of his favorite music, movies, and books are also statements to others about how he would like to be regarded (apparently he and Missy Elliott are on a first name basis). Interior behavioral residue is present in the form of his newsfeed history. There isn’t much there for this category, apparently Professor Hancock does not post on your wall no matter how ridiculous your post was “Professor Hancock, you could have put my profile up on the big screen and let all the ladies see my nice body...” Exterior behavioral residue in the form of pictures shows Jeff consistently surrounded by good looking happy people which leads to context effects and hopefully the BIRG-y assimilation effect. With only 19 photos, Professor Hancock is nowhere near the hundreds found on other Facebook pages. My guess is that a lower relative amount of behavioral residue would promote users to keep their Facebook accounts open.
When applying the Big Five personality traits, and ignoring the glaring Facebook plugin that Professor Hancock added to his profile that describes his traits, I would say that he has a high degree of openness (due to his interests in music/movies/books), and agreeableness (due to his pictures, and small tidbits of humor like being interested in monkeys). Extraversion seems high based on his willingness to share his profile. Conscientiousness and Neuroticism are harder to judge based solely on a Facebook profile but seem lower. My opinion of his personality traits do not quite match up with his self reported scores which suggests that a Facebook profile does not have complete functional achievement.
http://cornell.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=370584&op=1&view=all&subj=403080&id=632517951&ref=mf
A7,2 myself
For this assignment I am actually going to analyze my own facebook profile in order to try and understand what others may interpret when viewing my facebook. To do this I will refer to the Brunswikian Lens Model. First according to the Brunswikian Lens model people try to conduct themselves and leave a trace that reflects their real life personalities online. Two aspects need to be considered when analyzing myself. First the validity of cues, which means just how good am I at accurately portraying myself online as compared to myself in real life. On facebook I make self-directed identity claims to portray myself how I think I am. The best example of this is my profile picture, my picture of me is of a black and white diagonal portrait. This could possible mean that I am one that enjoys getting my picture taking in a more professional environment or possible I just don’t have any friends to take a picture with. I also make other-directed identity claims on facebook, which means I am attempting to portray a little about myself that is not so obvious. An example of this would be things like my relationship statue, my actual info about myself and my websites section. From these areas one can find out that I am a single guy and looking, that I am a local Ithacan, and that I have other websites where I display more pictures of myself and even some of the photography I have done. I also show sings of exterior residue on my facebook profile, the best example of this would be my news feed at the top of my page and also my superpoke newsfeed about who has done what to me and what I have done to others. When examining this one may notice that by what I do on superpoke I seem to have a sense of humor, an interesting one and not a sick one. From my regular news feed one can see that I tend to care about my friends and or enjoy giving advice because all of my current news is me answering there special questions from the questions application. Last, exterior behavioral residue, which is what happens to me outside of the online space is demonstrated by my pictures. Which on facebook I have very few of, this is mainly because I do not carry a camera with me and apparently do not have many friends that do either. My photo album is even very small with very few pictures. Again this could make one think I have no friends or do not enjoy ever getting out of my house and doing anything. From examining y facebook profile, and making assumptions that I made here may discourage them from wanted to contact me or ever hang out for fear of me being dry and boring. That is why in the last week I have attempted to spice it up a little and get it up to speed with who I really am.
Let me hear you say it loud and proud: I am GREEK! Assignment 7, option 1
The Greek system at Cornell encompasses approximately 33% of undergrads on campus. We include people of all races, socio-economic backgrounds, majors, hometowns, and ages among other traits. We consist of approximately 16 sororities, and over 30 fraternities. The social community that I wish to explore consists of more than the Greek community; it is the specific sorority I belong to, Kappa Delta.
As a member of a sorority, I was welcomes into the folds of a community with years of traditions, rituals and bonds. I live with, eat with, study with and spend most of my time throughout the school year with these girls. We have the required weekly meeting (known as chapter), but we also have various other bonding activities throughout the week. These activities range from social events to philanthropic events and can consist of a small group of girls to the entire house.
According to Haythornwaite (2007), a social community consists of three major things; a social network, common ground and reciprocity.
A social network is a social structure consisting of individuals or organizations that are tied together by one or more types of interdependencies.
My social community has a social network. There are strong ties that exist in a variety of ways. We have the obvious in that we all associate ourselves with the identity of being a member of Kappa Delta. This leads to similar social patterns, similar access to resources offered by the sorority and a bond that does not exist in any other type of relationship. We are all sisters. There are also strong ties to be found within the sorority ranks. We all have pearl, diamond and emerald sisters; sisters who we got close to during the recruitment and pledging process. These sisters are your mentors and are members of the upper pledge classes. They exist to guide you and help you in any way possible. The strongest tie has to be with your big sister; a person who you choose and who chooses you to be your closest related upperclassman in the sorority. Bigs and littles are usually as close as blood and family. Weak ties also exist; to the alumni that have graduated from our ranks, to Nationals that preside over us and to other chapters/colonies that are in existence throughout the country. These weak ties provide us with additional resources that might not be found within the on campus community.
There are various other metrics that exist as well such as betweenness; the ability of actors to be tied to others indirectly because of direct links, closeness; the degree to which an individual is near other actors and cohesion: how strong the bonds are. Betweenness exists in that I have direct links to approximately 115 girls, but then I am indirectly linked to the people they know through school, and from home. Closeness exists in that I live with 42 other members of the sorority but I also have others in my major, my clubs and I spend most of my waking hours with them. Cohesion exists in the fact that we all identify with a common identity that comes with its own language, rituals and secrets. This ties us closer together.
We also have common ground. First and foremost, all the members of my sorority are girls, between the ages of 18-22, and Cornell undergraduates. Beyond that, many of us share the same interests; may it be music, or hobbies or even as simple as a favorite food. We may each have distinct and individual personalities, however we all have one thing in common; the desire to be the best Kappa Delta's we can be. We hail from different towns, different backgrounds, yet when it comes down to it, we all have the same type of problems in life. All of us have had problems with boyfriends or friends as well as teachers and family. We all have the same values; striving for what is honest, highest, and most beautiful. These types of inherent similarities tie us together better than more superficial ones.
Lastly, we have reciprocity. My sisters and I all joined the sorority under one main purpose; to gain better friends, and to have access to resources and networks that span the world. When you enter the pledging process, you barely know the other members of your pledge class, but as time goes on, you help each other and in turn help yourself. The more you helps others in the pledge class, the more likely it is that you will become closer and that bond will be strengthened. Often we have philanthropic events that coincide with other obligations. Sisters are more than willing to "step up to the plate" and fill in for other sisters.
CMC and online/offline synergies also affect this social community. In the Ftf world, members of the sorority often see each other at social, and philanthropic events. These meetings could be as small as getting a cup of coffee to as big as chapter. We live on the same campus so running into each other occurs often.
In the CMC world, we have an online website complete with pictures, stories and an introduction to who this sorority truly is. We also have a Facebook group that allows us to send messages back and forth relating to a variety of topics. We also have minutes and announcements sent out by e-mail twice a week. We used to have an AIM screen name to inform girls about events taking place but now we have switched over to using Google groups.
Haythornwaite states that CMC communication is “a low-level connector among community members, particularly among those who might not otherwise come in contact.” This is true in that the aforementioned ways we communicate online help those who have busy schedules and cannot interact with the sorority that often in the Ftf world stay in touch with us. This also helps us maintain those weak ties with alumni, Nationals and other chapters. Since we may not come in direct contact with them often, CMC offers an easy way to communicate with them.
In conclusion, although my sorority has been around since 1897 (it started on October 23rd so it is actually our 110'th anniversary today), using only Ftf communication methods to keep in touch; CMC communication has helped strengthen the bonds that exist and broadened our horizons.
First comment
http://comm245green.blogspot.com/2007/10/71-ewww-thats-grossest-thing-i-have.html
Second comment
http://comm245green.blogspot.com/2007/10/71.html
As a member of a sorority, I was welcomes into the folds of a community with years of traditions, rituals and bonds. I live with, eat with, study with and spend most of my time throughout the school year with these girls. We have the required weekly meeting (known as chapter), but we also have various other bonding activities throughout the week. These activities range from social events to philanthropic events and can consist of a small group of girls to the entire house.
According to Haythornwaite (2007), a social community consists of three major things; a social network, common ground and reciprocity.
A social network is a social structure consisting of individuals or organizations that are tied together by one or more types of interdependencies.
My social community has a social network. There are strong ties that exist in a variety of ways. We have the obvious in that we all associate ourselves with the identity of being a member of Kappa Delta. This leads to similar social patterns, similar access to resources offered by the sorority and a bond that does not exist in any other type of relationship. We are all sisters. There are also strong ties to be found within the sorority ranks. We all have pearl, diamond and emerald sisters; sisters who we got close to during the recruitment and pledging process. These sisters are your mentors and are members of the upper pledge classes. They exist to guide you and help you in any way possible. The strongest tie has to be with your big sister; a person who you choose and who chooses you to be your closest related upperclassman in the sorority. Bigs and littles are usually as close as blood and family. Weak ties also exist; to the alumni that have graduated from our ranks, to Nationals that preside over us and to other chapters/colonies that are in existence throughout the country. These weak ties provide us with additional resources that might not be found within the on campus community.
There are various other metrics that exist as well such as betweenness; the ability of actors to be tied to others indirectly because of direct links, closeness; the degree to which an individual is near other actors and cohesion: how strong the bonds are. Betweenness exists in that I have direct links to approximately 115 girls, but then I am indirectly linked to the people they know through school, and from home. Closeness exists in that I live with 42 other members of the sorority but I also have others in my major, my clubs and I spend most of my waking hours with them. Cohesion exists in the fact that we all identify with a common identity that comes with its own language, rituals and secrets. This ties us closer together.
We also have common ground. First and foremost, all the members of my sorority are girls, between the ages of 18-22, and Cornell undergraduates. Beyond that, many of us share the same interests; may it be music, or hobbies or even as simple as a favorite food. We may each have distinct and individual personalities, however we all have one thing in common; the desire to be the best Kappa Delta's we can be. We hail from different towns, different backgrounds, yet when it comes down to it, we all have the same type of problems in life. All of us have had problems with boyfriends or friends as well as teachers and family. We all have the same values; striving for what is honest, highest, and most beautiful. These types of inherent similarities tie us together better than more superficial ones.
Lastly, we have reciprocity. My sisters and I all joined the sorority under one main purpose; to gain better friends, and to have access to resources and networks that span the world. When you enter the pledging process, you barely know the other members of your pledge class, but as time goes on, you help each other and in turn help yourself. The more you helps others in the pledge class, the more likely it is that you will become closer and that bond will be strengthened. Often we have philanthropic events that coincide with other obligations. Sisters are more than willing to "step up to the plate" and fill in for other sisters.
CMC and online/offline synergies also affect this social community. In the Ftf world, members of the sorority often see each other at social, and philanthropic events. These meetings could be as small as getting a cup of coffee to as big as chapter. We live on the same campus so running into each other occurs often.
In the CMC world, we have an online website complete with pictures, stories and an introduction to who this sorority truly is. We also have a Facebook group that allows us to send messages back and forth relating to a variety of topics. We also have minutes and announcements sent out by e-mail twice a week. We used to have an AIM screen name to inform girls about events taking place but now we have switched over to using Google groups.
Haythornwaite states that CMC communication is “a low-level connector among community members, particularly among those who might not otherwise come in contact.” This is true in that the aforementioned ways we communicate online help those who have busy schedules and cannot interact with the sorority that often in the Ftf world stay in touch with us. This also helps us maintain those weak ties with alumni, Nationals and other chapters. Since we may not come in direct contact with them often, CMC offers an easy way to communicate with them.
In conclusion, although my sorority has been around since 1897 (it started on October 23rd so it is actually our 110'th anniversary today), using only Ftf communication methods to keep in touch; CMC communication has helped strengthen the bonds that exist and broadened our horizons.
First comment
http://comm245green.blogspot.com/2007/10/71-ewww-thats-grossest-thing-i-have.html
Second comment
http://comm245green.blogspot.com/2007/10/71.html
Assign 1, opt 1 - list serves, not just to flood your inbox
I am a member of the track and field team here at Cornell. The online community which I decided to discuss is our team list serve. The idea of a list serve has become more and more common with the increased use and dependency on email. A list serve is a medium in which a large or small group of people can send out bulk emails to get a message, story, picture, etc out. These list serves can be either open to anyone who chooses, or closed. The track and field list serve is closed to only members of the team. Since the list serve is closed, it is comprised of a tight knit group of a little over 65 guys. Haythornwaite’s description of gemeinschaft or community fit our team description very well, making us a solid community of actors with more than one tie to each other. Haythornwaite mentions that the more ties between the actors of a community, the closer the social network. This is evident in the close knit nature of our team. The team has a shared focus, common purpose and goals (both on and off the track and field), a common language (track-talk), and at least one shared identity as a student athlete – all characteristics of a community.
The most important aspect of SNA or social network analysis found within the team list serve is social capital. Social capital is responsible for and makes it possible to have a common language. As a team of track athletes, our common language is a necessity to fully understand one another and express ourselves in the most accurate way. An outsider may seem lost reading one of our emails discussing different weight lifting moves we do, or track work outs specific to our team. Social capital is also responsible for the trust which we place in the actors of our group. The list serve is predominately a means to pass on information so you could imagine how necessary trust is. Finally, social capital aids in the reputation building of our community.
Another aspect of SNA found on our team list serve is our common ground. On a superficial level, we share common ground in that we are all athletes or that we dress similarly, wearing a big “C” for Cornell across our shirts. However, it goes much deeper. We have similar values when it comes to track. Train hard/work hard and it will pay off. The team also has similar goals, namely, to win the heptagonal championships. Our common ground funnels into our reciprocity. One member can not win the “heps,” as we call it. We must all rely on and help out our teammates. This is a necessity, and clearly established and witnessed in our team networking actions such as generalized reciprocity.
Ties on the team first begin over the list serve, before the teammates even meet. List serve emails are sent out over the summer explaining our work outs, goals, and various other issues. Furthermore, funny videos, stories, pictures, or track related news are also shared on this list serve. When school starts up and we all meet face to face, these ties we have are definitely strengthened. This synergy between online and offline communication is really a means to maintain and initiate, at any time of the year, regardless of where we may be, communication.
Comments:
http://comm245green.blogspot.com/2007/10/71.html
http://comm245green.blogspot.com/2007/10/a71-rams-fan-no-matter-what.html
The most important aspect of SNA or social network analysis found within the team list serve is social capital. Social capital is responsible for and makes it possible to have a common language. As a team of track athletes, our common language is a necessity to fully understand one another and express ourselves in the most accurate way. An outsider may seem lost reading one of our emails discussing different weight lifting moves we do, or track work outs specific to our team. Social capital is also responsible for the trust which we place in the actors of our group. The list serve is predominately a means to pass on information so you could imagine how necessary trust is. Finally, social capital aids in the reputation building of our community.
Another aspect of SNA found on our team list serve is our common ground. On a superficial level, we share common ground in that we are all athletes or that we dress similarly, wearing a big “C” for Cornell across our shirts. However, it goes much deeper. We have similar values when it comes to track. Train hard/work hard and it will pay off. The team also has similar goals, namely, to win the heptagonal championships. Our common ground funnels into our reciprocity. One member can not win the “heps,” as we call it. We must all rely on and help out our teammates. This is a necessity, and clearly established and witnessed in our team networking actions such as generalized reciprocity.
Ties on the team first begin over the list serve, before the teammates even meet. List serve emails are sent out over the summer explaining our work outs, goals, and various other issues. Furthermore, funny videos, stories, pictures, or track related news are also shared on this list serve. When school starts up and we all meet face to face, these ties we have are definitely strengthened. This synergy between online and offline communication is really a means to maintain and initiate, at any time of the year, regardless of where we may be, communication.
Comments:
http://comm245green.blogspot.com/2007/10/71.html
http://comm245green.blogspot.com/2007/10/a71-rams-fan-no-matter-what.html
7.1-OMG Let's Go Shoppingggg
Remember the good old days when mom would take you to GAP to help you pick out all your clothes? Or when your dad took you to the comic book store to pick up some baseball cards? I sure do, and no matter what anyone says, they were some great times. Yet these days in our society, more and more shopping is done online, taking away this in-store face-to-face activity. One place in particular where thousands of people go online to search for items they may desire is eBay. eBay has exploded in popularity over the past five to ten years, and many people I know will go to eBay first to take care of their shopping needs. eBay displays many Social Network Analysis properties, including interpersonal ties, shared focus, common purpose, and reciprocity.
eBay is truly a community of its own; many other sites have attempted to mimic its success, yet none have come close to eclipsing it. The first SNA factor related to eBay is interpersonal ties. It is sometimes hard to remember that you are dealing with real people because eBay is so efficient with buying and selling. Yet when you win a bid, it forces interaction with a buyer or seller. You share personal information with them including where you may live, your phone number, and credit card information. Here’s a link to my relatively new eBay profile:
http://my.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?MyEbay&CurrentPage=MyeBayMyAccounts&FClassic=true&ssPageName=STRK:ME:MAX
In addition, you leave feedback on this person after the transaction is completed, and if you like them this much you can even add them to your list of “Favorite Sellers.” While a degree of anonymity remains without photos, you feel more connected with users you do business with more often, and you gain a sense of respect and loyalty towards some users.
Many users on eBay have a shared focus and a common purpose. The focus and purpose clearly are to buy or sell items primarily, as that is the main function of the site. Therefore, most if not all eBay users share common focus and purpose. One of the more important attributes related to eBay is reciprocity, as it plays a large role. When you win an item, you have a certain amount of time to pay for it. Yet if a buyer pays for the item quickly, within a few hours of the winning bid for example, most buyers feel a sense of gratitude and reciprocate by immediately sending the item. The fast payment led to faster shipping. On the other hand, if someone waits a few days, the seller may not feel obligated to reciprocate with fast shipping. In addition, giving positive feedback to a seller will most likely cause the seller to respond with good feedback to you. If someone leaves bad feedback on a seller, the seller might feel insulted and negatively reciprocate by giving negative feedback as well. Therefore, reciprocity plays a very large role on eBay.
Obviously, since eBay is limited to the internet and the online community (unless there are any “We Sell You Stuff on eBay” stores like the one in “40 Year Old Virgin), eBay would not be possible without CMC. Some of our parents still cannot fathom the idea of buying a pair of shoes at the click of a button. They still will trudge to the Roosevelt Field mall to pick out what they need, and there is nothing wrong with that. Yet CMC has made it possible for faster, and sometimes more efficient purchases online with sites like eBay.
eBay is truly a community of its own; many other sites have attempted to mimic its success, yet none have come close to eclipsing it. The first SNA factor related to eBay is interpersonal ties. It is sometimes hard to remember that you are dealing with real people because eBay is so efficient with buying and selling. Yet when you win a bid, it forces interaction with a buyer or seller. You share personal information with them including where you may live, your phone number, and credit card information. Here’s a link to my relatively new eBay profile:
http://my.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?MyEbay&CurrentPage=MyeBayMyAccounts&FClassic=true&ssPageName=STRK:ME:MAX
In addition, you leave feedback on this person after the transaction is completed, and if you like them this much you can even add them to your list of “Favorite Sellers.” While a degree of anonymity remains without photos, you feel more connected with users you do business with more often, and you gain a sense of respect and loyalty towards some users.
Many users on eBay have a shared focus and a common purpose. The focus and purpose clearly are to buy or sell items primarily, as that is the main function of the site. Therefore, most if not all eBay users share common focus and purpose. One of the more important attributes related to eBay is reciprocity, as it plays a large role. When you win an item, you have a certain amount of time to pay for it. Yet if a buyer pays for the item quickly, within a few hours of the winning bid for example, most buyers feel a sense of gratitude and reciprocate by immediately sending the item. The fast payment led to faster shipping. On the other hand, if someone waits a few days, the seller may not feel obligated to reciprocate with fast shipping. In addition, giving positive feedback to a seller will most likely cause the seller to respond with good feedback to you. If someone leaves bad feedback on a seller, the seller might feel insulted and negatively reciprocate by giving negative feedback as well. Therefore, reciprocity plays a very large role on eBay.
Obviously, since eBay is limited to the internet and the online community (unless there are any “We Sell You Stuff on eBay” stores like the one in “40 Year Old Virgin), eBay would not be possible without CMC. Some of our parents still cannot fathom the idea of buying a pair of shoes at the click of a button. They still will trudge to the Roosevelt Field mall to pick out what they need, and there is nothing wrong with that. Yet CMC has made it possible for faster, and sometimes more efficient purchases online with sites like eBay.
7.1
I used to have a fixed class of about 20 people with the same major. We take all major courses together. (1) As we take most of our courses together, and sometines study together after class, we meet each other nearly everyday. So there are strong interpersonal ties. We talk, joke before and after class; we make a new year's party together; we somstimes travel together. There are definitly tight ties among us. (2) Most of the time, our share the same purpose simply just to learn the courses well. When there is academic competition, we make two or three groups. We work on a large information system; we work on an integrate circuit. Each group usually take different tasks, but each works under the name of our class. We are happy no matter which team wins. (3) We certainly have same identity. Basicly, although not wear too often, everyone has a T-shirt with out class symbol on it. We share some "special" words, like we call one a "corn" when he/she does something silly, although without any clear reasons. And we have our own slogn, we may shout that when we participate some sports competitions. So I take our class as a community.
Our class is a social network. It certainly fits the defination of interpersonal web with crisscross relationships and bondings. It is a community has a common ground. As we take the same field of our study, we have mostly the same interesting field of our future jobs. Although every individual has different personal interests, at least we have a very strong intersection point that takes us together. Our class has reciprocity. We are a team with same commom ground and same aim, so we really reciprocate each other to improve the whole team. We want our class to become better and better. And when every one simply considers itself as a member , they help each other to win team benefit.
As CMC, we have personal webs just like facebook. We certainly are "good friends" online. I find we tend to post more and comment more to the people in our tem more than to others. Maybe some people don't talk too much ftf post a lot on each other's wall, which can improve real life interpersonal ties. I think both the online and offline relations affect each other. And both of them make our team denser and closer.
Our class is a social network. It certainly fits the defination of interpersonal web with crisscross relationships and bondings. It is a community has a common ground. As we take the same field of our study, we have mostly the same interesting field of our future jobs. Although every individual has different personal interests, at least we have a very strong intersection point that takes us together. Our class has reciprocity. We are a team with same commom ground and same aim, so we really reciprocate each other to improve the whole team. We want our class to become better and better. And when every one simply considers itself as a member , they help each other to win team benefit.
As CMC, we have personal webs just like facebook. We certainly are "good friends" online. I find we tend to post more and comment more to the people in our tem more than to others. Maybe some people don't talk too much ftf post a lot on each other's wall, which can improve real life interpersonal ties. I think both the online and offline relations affect each other. And both of them make our team denser and closer.
7.1...a summer community
This past summer I participated in a program that slightly resembled a summer camp of sorts, which is actually a program for college students looking for an internship. This was an interesting community to become a part of because it was a specific program for students at four-year universities who are interested in finding an internship in virtually any given field, and want the help of this program to find an internship in the city of their choice. Basically, you applied specifically to the program, you would choose your city of interest (NYC, LA, Chicago, San Francisco, Barcelona, or London), the industry you're interested in (I chose the film/entertainment industry for example), and once accepted into the program, they help you find an internship that best fits your needs and desires, they train you on how to put together a resume and conduct an interview, and they provide you with housing, roommates, and weekly seminars and weekend activities. This was something that I became interested in because I knew I wanted to get a film internship in LA, but I had never been out on the west coast and I was honestly scared to go out to LA all by myself with no other assistance, so I applied to this program, I got an internship at Warner Bros. studios, housing at UCLA, great roommates and weekend activities (wine tours, Dodger games, Las Vegas, etc.), and it reminded me a lot of my experiences at summer camp simply because it placed such an emphasis on the strong community aspect.
Haythornwaite (2007) defines a community as consisting of social networks, common ground, and reciprocity, all of which were essential elements to my summer community. First of all, the community is based on a social network, which Haythornwaite (2007) states are "built of the foundation of actors who are connected or tied by the maintenance of one or more relations" (p. 126) In this program, we all enter into it in different ways as individual actors who, once accepted into the program, are immediately tied to the other actors that are accepted into the program, as well as the staff of the program that accept us into the program and become our mentors. At this point, our assigned mentor who helps us with the initial process of finding an internship becomes our strong tie, who connects us with the other staff and applicants who are at that point our weak ties because we have little or no direct contact with them in the beginning.
Our group also shared the common ground aspect, because we all applied to the program for essentially the same reasons, in order to find assistance in getting a summer internship and housing in a perhaps unfamiliar city, and we were essentially all interested in becoming a part of that social network so that it would be easier for us to navigate our new surroundings throughout the summer. We all became committed to each other because we all had the common goal of getting a great internship and having a great summer experience together which allowed us to form a group identity from the start.
And finally, we experienced the reciprocity aspect because the basis of the community in general was really helping each other. When we were accepted to the program, we were all immediately given great assistance in putting together a resume, finding a great internship and completing a successful interview process. We were all also essentially new to the experience and the community, and all wanted to enjoy the summer together, so we aimed to reinforce one another as members of the same community, attempting to form relationships and friendships that would be the basis of our summer community. The combination of all these efforts and perhaps the greatest advantage of becoming a part of this community was the social capital that it provided, because just by applying to this internship, we were immediately tied to all the other individuals that would be in our program with us that summer, and that would become a part of our network simply by association and shared values and goals. We all knew that this social capital, or added value of the community, was that we were all becoming a part of this social network with the common goal of eventually finding job resources, and since we were all tied together by the program, we would all act as this sort of connective resource for one another in the future, particularly regarding the job search process later on.
However, perhaps the most interesting element of this community were its online/offline synergies. This community is therefore definitely what Haythornwaite (2007) defines as a latent tie network, "on which ties may be initiated and can (potentially) grow into strong ties" (p. 130). This applies so well to my summer program community because we were all essentially tied weakly to the other members of the program in the beginning. We were tied closest to our assigned roommates, which we all obviously facebooked as soon as possible, and we began to attempt to form closer ties in this CMC fashion. We were all tied together as an online community in the beginning, where the group forum would be the space that we shared through which we were connected, and this CMC community was how we were all tied together initially.
However, when the summer started, the community became primarily a FtF community, in which our strong ties (typically our roommates) became stronger, we all lived in a housing complex together as a program, we went on weekend trips and took seminars together every week, and hung our virtually every night. We became a FtF community because we all applied to this program which was initially a mostly CMC community where we were only tied through the online group forum. However, after the summer ended and FtF interactions among the group were for the most part no longer possible, the community reverted back to a CMC community, this time held together by a facebook group and listserve, which allow us to all stay connected to one another, to maintain the group network ties, and allow us to easily contact one another if need be.
Therefore, the group community remains so strong, because our weak ties originate from the CMC community, both our strong and weak ties were strengthened by our FtF interactions all summer long, and then both our strong and weak ties were maintained by continuing the CMC community via facebook and a listserve. I therefore believe that this community most resembles the Gemeinschaft community perspective because we were all virtual strangers who had a common summer goal, and allowed the program to connect all of us via an online network, shared social activities, the community was based on strong interpersonal ties that became strongest because of the extensive FtF interactions, the shared focus and purpose for the summer and the program itself, and the common language that was shared and understood by the community because of our shared goals for the summer.
Therefore, I think this community became so strong because of its successful forging of weak ties via a CMC online forum community, its reinforcing of strong ties via extensive FtF group interactions and activities as well as facebook, and its maintenance of these ties via added CMC online community by means of a facebook group and listserve newsletters and group updates. Overall, it was a great experience, and I feel closely tied to even the actors to which I am tied the weakest to, simply because the program was so good at reinforcing these ties and emphasizing the importance of having a strong social network which we all add to and take from.
In case you're interested, here's the website for the program (really cheesy name but amazing experience):
http://summerinternships.com/
Comments:
http://comm245green.blogspot.com/2007/10/assignment-7-option-1-im-nothing.html
http://comm245green.blogspot.com/2007/10/my-boyfriend-jim-halpern-assignment-7.html
Haythornwaite (2007) defines a community as consisting of social networks, common ground, and reciprocity, all of which were essential elements to my summer community. First of all, the community is based on a social network, which Haythornwaite (2007) states are "built of the foundation of actors who are connected or tied by the maintenance of one or more relations" (p. 126) In this program, we all enter into it in different ways as individual actors who, once accepted into the program, are immediately tied to the other actors that are accepted into the program, as well as the staff of the program that accept us into the program and become our mentors. At this point, our assigned mentor who helps us with the initial process of finding an internship becomes our strong tie, who connects us with the other staff and applicants who are at that point our weak ties because we have little or no direct contact with them in the beginning.
Our group also shared the common ground aspect, because we all applied to the program for essentially the same reasons, in order to find assistance in getting a summer internship and housing in a perhaps unfamiliar city, and we were essentially all interested in becoming a part of that social network so that it would be easier for us to navigate our new surroundings throughout the summer. We all became committed to each other because we all had the common goal of getting a great internship and having a great summer experience together which allowed us to form a group identity from the start.
And finally, we experienced the reciprocity aspect because the basis of the community in general was really helping each other. When we were accepted to the program, we were all immediately given great assistance in putting together a resume, finding a great internship and completing a successful interview process. We were all also essentially new to the experience and the community, and all wanted to enjoy the summer together, so we aimed to reinforce one another as members of the same community, attempting to form relationships and friendships that would be the basis of our summer community. The combination of all these efforts and perhaps the greatest advantage of becoming a part of this community was the social capital that it provided, because just by applying to this internship, we were immediately tied to all the other individuals that would be in our program with us that summer, and that would become a part of our network simply by association and shared values and goals. We all knew that this social capital, or added value of the community, was that we were all becoming a part of this social network with the common goal of eventually finding job resources, and since we were all tied together by the program, we would all act as this sort of connective resource for one another in the future, particularly regarding the job search process later on.
However, perhaps the most interesting element of this community were its online/offline synergies. This community is therefore definitely what Haythornwaite (2007) defines as a latent tie network, "on which ties may be initiated and can (potentially) grow into strong ties" (p. 130). This applies so well to my summer program community because we were all essentially tied weakly to the other members of the program in the beginning. We were tied closest to our assigned roommates, which we all obviously facebooked as soon as possible, and we began to attempt to form closer ties in this CMC fashion. We were all tied together as an online community in the beginning, where the group forum would be the space that we shared through which we were connected, and this CMC community was how we were all tied together initially.
However, when the summer started, the community became primarily a FtF community, in which our strong ties (typically our roommates) became stronger, we all lived in a housing complex together as a program, we went on weekend trips and took seminars together every week, and hung our virtually every night. We became a FtF community because we all applied to this program which was initially a mostly CMC community where we were only tied through the online group forum. However, after the summer ended and FtF interactions among the group were for the most part no longer possible, the community reverted back to a CMC community, this time held together by a facebook group and listserve, which allow us to all stay connected to one another, to maintain the group network ties, and allow us to easily contact one another if need be.
Therefore, the group community remains so strong, because our weak ties originate from the CMC community, both our strong and weak ties were strengthened by our FtF interactions all summer long, and then both our strong and weak ties were maintained by continuing the CMC community via facebook and a listserve. I therefore believe that this community most resembles the Gemeinschaft community perspective because we were all virtual strangers who had a common summer goal, and allowed the program to connect all of us via an online network, shared social activities, the community was based on strong interpersonal ties that became strongest because of the extensive FtF interactions, the shared focus and purpose for the summer and the program itself, and the common language that was shared and understood by the community because of our shared goals for the summer.
Therefore, I think this community became so strong because of its successful forging of weak ties via a CMC online forum community, its reinforcing of strong ties via extensive FtF group interactions and activities as well as facebook, and its maintenance of these ties via added CMC online community by means of a facebook group and listserve newsletters and group updates. Overall, it was a great experience, and I feel closely tied to even the actors to which I am tied the weakest to, simply because the program was so good at reinforcing these ties and emphasizing the importance of having a strong social network which we all add to and take from.
In case you're interested, here's the website for the program (really cheesy name but amazing experience):
http://summerinternships.com/
Comments:
http://comm245green.blogspot.com/2007/10/assignment-7-option-1-im-nothing.html
http://comm245green.blogspot.com/2007/10/my-boyfriend-jim-halpern-assignment-7.html
As a member of the Greek community, I think it produces some of the most fascinating social networks. In many ways, fraternities market themselves on the basis of Haythornwaite's benefits of group membership. In a fraternity the actors are obviously the brothers and the ties connect all of the members to form the brotherhood (or network). However, unlike most other groups like sports teams, colleges, or companies where membership generally takes a backseat to a primary goal (winning, teaching, working), fraternities are in many ways a group for the sake of being a group. They are one of the few examples in which membership is not just a side-effect, but the primary focus.
For the people who do enter the Greek system it is often the initial similarity in perspectives that allows a potential new member to join one house instead of another. However, soon after joining, members' common ground grows beyond just similar perspectives by extending to shared experiences, knowledge, and struggles. Creating this common ground in the pledging process is key in developing the group identity. This group dynamic enforces the notion that by joining together members reap social capital benefits like:
According to Hawthornwaite's definitions, fraternities create the perfect scenario for a network to become a community. They have the "strong ties" and frequent interaction of the 70 or so undergrad brothers to provide norms and trust. Which are then combined with the "weak ties" of the fraternal alumni who provide information regarding new opportunities (especially in the job market).
Hawthornwaite states:
In fact, in many ways this is exactly what a fraternity does. It allows individuals to consolidate resources in an effort to produce more social capital. The fact that members refer to each other as brothers is in no way insignificant. In many ways a fraternity is very much like an actual family. There are the strong ties of an immediate family, because you live in the same house and frequently interact, but also the weak ties of a more distant relative you only see during the holidays (or alumni weekend) who provides you with opportunity information.
While the "weak ties" created by a fraternity were in existence long before the development of the internet, CMC has drastically multiplied the number of "weak ties" one is able to keep open. CMC has also made the altruistic acts of older brothers much easier to execute. Multiple times a week a graduated brother will send out job openings through our email listserve. Other alumni have been more than willing to help mentor undergrads through email and IM communications. It is even common for a younger brother to email their resume as an attachment to an alumni, requesting their help in editing it. All of these acts which enrich the social capital of the community would be significantly more difficult without CMC.
The notion of generalized reciprocity becomes very important when examining fraternities. Without, what Haythornwaite refers to as, "altruistic" acts, members would not be able to achieve more social capital than they would through pairwise interaction. The act of providing assistance without requiring immediate payback sits at the very backbone of the brotherhood. The alumni who pulls strings to get me a job probably expects very little from me in return. However, the expectation is that I will in turn "pay it forward" in a few years and help another fraternity brother get a job.
In more ways than one fraternities are networks that thrive as actual communities by using Haythornwaite's notions of general reciprocity and social capital.
For the people who do enter the Greek system it is often the initial similarity in perspectives that allows a potential new member to join one house instead of another. However, soon after joining, members' common ground grows beyond just similar perspectives by extending to shared experiences, knowledge, and struggles. Creating this common ground in the pledging process is key in developing the group identity. This group dynamic enforces the notion that by joining together members reap social capital benefits like:
"...the ability to trust network members, to have a
common language and to depend on network-
based mechanisms to manage behaviours."
According to Hawthornwaite's definitions, fraternities create the perfect scenario for a network to become a community. They have the "strong ties" and frequent interaction of the 70 or so undergrad brothers to provide norms and trust. Which are then combined with the "weak ties" of the fraternal alumni who provide information regarding new opportunities (especially in the job market).
Hawthornwaite states:
"...from a network perspective,
a well-working community of practice shows
a set of actors interacting in such a way as to
create social capital."
In fact, in many ways this is exactly what a fraternity does. It allows individuals to consolidate resources in an effort to produce more social capital. The fact that members refer to each other as brothers is in no way insignificant. In many ways a fraternity is very much like an actual family. There are the strong ties of an immediate family, because you live in the same house and frequently interact, but also the weak ties of a more distant relative you only see during the holidays (or alumni weekend) who provides you with opportunity information.
While the "weak ties" created by a fraternity were in existence long before the development of the internet, CMC has drastically multiplied the number of "weak ties" one is able to keep open. CMC has also made the altruistic acts of older brothers much easier to execute. Multiple times a week a graduated brother will send out job openings through our email listserve. Other alumni have been more than willing to help mentor undergrads through email and IM communications. It is even common for a younger brother to email their resume as an attachment to an alumni, requesting their help in editing it. All of these acts which enrich the social capital of the community would be significantly more difficult without CMC.
The notion of generalized reciprocity becomes very important when examining fraternities. Without, what Haythornwaite refers to as, "altruistic" acts, members would not be able to achieve more social capital than they would through pairwise interaction. The act of providing assistance without requiring immediate payback sits at the very backbone of the brotherhood. The alumni who pulls strings to get me a job probably expects very little from me in return. However, the expectation is that I will in turn "pay it forward" in a few years and help another fraternity brother get a job.
In more ways than one fraternities are networks that thrive as actual communities by using Haythornwaite's notions of general reciprocity and social capital.
A.7.1. A Rams Fan No Matter What
An online community that I am part of is fans of the St. Louis Rams on the website: http://www.footballsfuture.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=35
According to Haythornwaite, there are properties that a community must exhibit. The community must have strong interpersonal ties, a shared focus/common purpose, common language and identity, and there must be common ground and reciprocity. The Rams forum, I believe, exhibits all these properties. Although we are very unfamiliar with each other in the physical aspect, we have talked about the Rams for so long, it's almost like we know which guy is going to provide what information and can almost predict what each other is going to say about each topic. Of course we all have a shared focus and common purpose. Our focus is to provide our head coach, which he will probably never read, our assessment of the previous game and express our agreement or lack there of with the playcalling, especially when they lose, which they've been doing a lot of this year. Our purpose is to inform each other of the lastest news and injury updates and to talk back and forth what we thought about the previous game or season. We all have a common identity; that is that we are all Rams fans and we bleed gold and blue. I do believe we have some common language also. Torry Holt, our star wide-reciever, is known as "Big Game" Holt. Steven Jackson, who is our pro-bowl running back, can often be seen referred to as "Action" Jackson. Will Witherspoon, our fast middle linebacker, is often called "Spoon". We all have common ground as we are all fans of football in general, especially of the Rams. Many members share even more common ground as they live in the St. Louis area. There is also reciprocity because we inform each other on the latest news and updates from local newspapers and radio stations.
I'm not sure there is as much online/offline synergy in this community as there would be in a FTF community. A FTF community has the communication distributed in reality and more than likely they have shared information that allows for CMC also. In the Rams forum, there are usernames, but you can't really find specific information for people, therefore is no means to reach them in the real world.
Comments
1. https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2015420513633824972&postID=1216543008658929884
2. https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2015420513633824972&postID=187927128760594600
According to Haythornwaite, there are properties that a community must exhibit. The community must have strong interpersonal ties, a shared focus/common purpose, common language and identity, and there must be common ground and reciprocity. The Rams forum, I believe, exhibits all these properties. Although we are very unfamiliar with each other in the physical aspect, we have talked about the Rams for so long, it's almost like we know which guy is going to provide what information and can almost predict what each other is going to say about each topic. Of course we all have a shared focus and common purpose. Our focus is to provide our head coach, which he will probably never read, our assessment of the previous game and express our agreement or lack there of with the playcalling, especially when they lose, which they've been doing a lot of this year. Our purpose is to inform each other of the lastest news and injury updates and to talk back and forth what we thought about the previous game or season. We all have a common identity; that is that we are all Rams fans and we bleed gold and blue. I do believe we have some common language also. Torry Holt, our star wide-reciever, is known as "Big Game" Holt. Steven Jackson, who is our pro-bowl running back, can often be seen referred to as "Action" Jackson. Will Witherspoon, our fast middle linebacker, is often called "Spoon". We all have common ground as we are all fans of football in general, especially of the Rams. Many members share even more common ground as they live in the St. Louis area. There is also reciprocity because we inform each other on the latest news and updates from local newspapers and radio stations.
I'm not sure there is as much online/offline synergy in this community as there would be in a FTF community. A FTF community has the communication distributed in reality and more than likely they have shared information that allows for CMC also. In the Rams forum, there are usernames, but you can't really find specific information for people, therefore is no means to reach them in the real world.
Comments
1. https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2015420513633824972&postID=1216543008658929884
2. https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2015420513633824972&postID=187927128760594600
Assignment 7- Facebook Stalking My "Friend"
For my assignment this week, I decided to pick one of my Facebook friends that I have little to no contact with and know very little about. All of the people I met during orientation and never spoke to again and people that I have met randomly at parties only to never see again were all fair game. I’m sure everyone is friends with someone who meets these criteria. I selected my subject, let’s call him Derek, based on the fact that he had a lot of information on his profile that could be examined based on the Brunswikian Lens Model.
According to the Brunswikian Lens Model, observers judge people based on “personality byproducts” that they generate during their day-to-day activities. When these personality cues are accurate representations of that person, the cues are said to have validity. Using a particular personality cue to make a judgment about someone is called cue utilization. When a cue is utilized and valid, functional achievement is said to occur and the impression formed of the target should be accurate. It is difficult for me to assess the level of functional achievement in this case, because I have no way of knowing if the information available on Derek’s profile is an accurate representation of his actual personality.
Derek has a lot of information on his profile that links him to both the environment around him and his internal environment. While it is hard to determine exactly which information is self-directed, I think in part the information about his religious beliefs can be considered a self-directed identity claim. Derek takes pride in his strong faith. He has an application on his profile that features a different bible passage everyday. Reading these passages most likely reinforces Derek’s belief in God and strengthens his faith. Derek’s about me section has information that can be considered other directed identity claims. He lists various adjectives to describe himself and encourages people to talk to him to get to know him better. Based on his profile, it seems like Derek is extremely extroverted. Also, the fact that Derek has so many friends leads me to believe that he is at least moderately agreeable as well.
In terms of behaviors that might reveal aspects of Derek’s personality, Derek’s news feed shows that he has recently become Facebook friends with several different people, providing evidence of interior behavioral residue. In addition, Derek has many pictures of him engaging in various activities with his friends and lists many club and organizations he is a part of on his campus. Based on his willingness to share information about himself and get to know other people, I would say that Derek seems to be open to new experiences. While it is difficult to make an accurate judgment, Derek seems to be extremely involved on campus and motivated, leading me to believe that he is conscientious. Based on the limited information available on his profile, I do not think that I can accurately judge Derek’s neuroticism. He describes himself as being both “relaxed” and “uptight and histrionic” at the same time. While I am sure both are probably true at different times, given the little that I know of him, I don’t think I can make a judgment as to whether or not he is generally neurotic. Seeing how difficult it can be to accurately assess one’s personality based only a Facebook profile makes the fact that Facebook often serves as the sole basis of impression formation all the more troubling.
7.1. Ewww, That’s Grossest Thing I have Ever Seen!!!! Let’s Send it to the List Serve! Frat Life 4 ever!!!!!!
I, Mathew Robert Birnbaum, pledge myself to the brotherhood of (Insert Fraternity Here) and thus will join in a lifelong fraternal bond with my fellow brethren to uphold honor, truth, friendship, loyalty, etc. etc. This is the jargon used in most of the ancient rituals and documents concerning fraternities. However, the fathers and founders of these fraternities did not foresee the advent of the internet and CMC and its effect on the fraternal system.
I am in a fraternity here on campus and we exhibit many Social Network Analysis (SNA) properties. In the purest form, Fraternities would display the utopic Gemeinschaft perspective of community, where there are strong interpersonal ties, shared focus, common purpose, identity, etc. Although this is all still true today, I would be lying if I didn’t mention that there are some minor elements in today’s frat world that are in agreement with the alternate community perspective, Gesellschaft—primarily the high exposure to pornography part. We all know that frat guys are notorious for their crude taste and crazy “hi jinks.” CMC and the internet have only been able to increase this level of crudity and help facilitate the transfer and sharing of lewd material due to the increased connectedness. This is epitomized in the fraternity list serve; a domain where no girl shall try to enter for her mind may explode due to the immaturity and utter chaos she will encounter. Here is a link of a video of an actual reaction to a video sent around god knows how many fraternity list serves NOTE: the actual video is far to heinous to EVER be shown anywhere near a blog linked to academia
http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1781182/
Now some of you may say, “Hey Matt, this has nothing to do with SNA!” And to you I say “you’re DEAD wrong; it has everything to do with SNA!” Haythornwaite defines communities as having social networks (list serves, etc.), common ground (a love for disgusting humor, including disgusting videos), and lastly, reciprocity, one of the more important aspects in my opinion. I believe, and hope to god that my fellow fraternal brethren share in my belief, that it is our DUTY—and an honor—to continuously send each other more and more hilariously, inappropriate material over the list serve. If I send one gross email one week, I sure as heck expect a fellow brethren to reciprocate and do the honors the following week, sending an even more inappropriate email with our without attached videos, drawings, photos, etc. It is our fraternal obligations.
On a more serious note, as a fraternity, we do accomplish more than just grossing the living hell out of each other each week. We perform community service, have intellectual discussions, and form meaningful friendships that will hopefully last a lifetime. We incur strong ties with one another and additionally, weaker ties due to mutual friends, which are likely to aid us in finding jobs after college. One of the benefits of being in a fraternity in general is the notion of Social Capital and increasing your social association. Different that human capital—ones skills, knowledge, judgment, etc.—social capital refers to one’s value in relation to the access to social networks and resources they provide. Haythornwaite discusses in his paper on pg.130 whether our communities benefit from the current interaction between FTF and CMC and is there this notion of online/offline synergies. In the case of my fraternity, I feel there is most definitely evidence of these synergies. Even though I chose to describe some of the more amusing and inappropriate aspects of the fraternity list serve, this type of CMC greatly increases the connectedness and level of cohesion in a fraternity. For example, although some brothers go abroad for a semester, or even a year, they are still connected to the fraternity via the list serve and even send updates and photos over the list serve about their current experiences abroad. Additionally, Facebook also touches upon the notion of online/offline synergies by helping a fraternity stay connected through news feeds and updated photos—even for those brothers who are abroad or have recently graduated. I just hope one day I will able to afford to send my children to a prestigious university where they too can bask in the offensive, inappropriate glory that is…the Fraternity List Serve, DA NA NAAAAAAA.
I am in a fraternity here on campus and we exhibit many Social Network Analysis (SNA) properties. In the purest form, Fraternities would display the utopic Gemeinschaft perspective of community, where there are strong interpersonal ties, shared focus, common purpose, identity, etc. Although this is all still true today, I would be lying if I didn’t mention that there are some minor elements in today’s frat world that are in agreement with the alternate community perspective, Gesellschaft—primarily the high exposure to pornography part. We all know that frat guys are notorious for their crude taste and crazy “hi jinks.” CMC and the internet have only been able to increase this level of crudity and help facilitate the transfer and sharing of lewd material due to the increased connectedness. This is epitomized in the fraternity list serve; a domain where no girl shall try to enter for her mind may explode due to the immaturity and utter chaos she will encounter. Here is a link of a video of an actual reaction to a video sent around god knows how many fraternity list serves NOTE: the actual video is far to heinous to EVER be shown anywhere near a blog linked to academia
http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1781182/
Now some of you may say, “Hey Matt, this has nothing to do with SNA!” And to you I say “you’re DEAD wrong; it has everything to do with SNA!” Haythornwaite defines communities as having social networks (list serves, etc.), common ground (a love for disgusting humor, including disgusting videos), and lastly, reciprocity, one of the more important aspects in my opinion. I believe, and hope to god that my fellow fraternal brethren share in my belief, that it is our DUTY—and an honor—to continuously send each other more and more hilariously, inappropriate material over the list serve. If I send one gross email one week, I sure as heck expect a fellow brethren to reciprocate and do the honors the following week, sending an even more inappropriate email with our without attached videos, drawings, photos, etc. It is our fraternal obligations.
On a more serious note, as a fraternity, we do accomplish more than just grossing the living hell out of each other each week. We perform community service, have intellectual discussions, and form meaningful friendships that will hopefully last a lifetime. We incur strong ties with one another and additionally, weaker ties due to mutual friends, which are likely to aid us in finding jobs after college. One of the benefits of being in a fraternity in general is the notion of Social Capital and increasing your social association. Different that human capital—ones skills, knowledge, judgment, etc.—social capital refers to one’s value in relation to the access to social networks and resources they provide. Haythornwaite discusses in his paper on pg.130 whether our communities benefit from the current interaction between FTF and CMC and is there this notion of online/offline synergies. In the case of my fraternity, I feel there is most definitely evidence of these synergies. Even though I chose to describe some of the more amusing and inappropriate aspects of the fraternity list serve, this type of CMC greatly increases the connectedness and level of cohesion in a fraternity. For example, although some brothers go abroad for a semester, or even a year, they are still connected to the fraternity via the list serve and even send updates and photos over the list serve about their current experiences abroad. Additionally, Facebook also touches upon the notion of online/offline synergies by helping a fraternity stay connected through news feeds and updated photos—even for those brothers who are abroad or have recently graduated. I just hope one day I will able to afford to send my children to a prestigious university where they too can bask in the offensive, inappropriate glory that is…the Fraternity List Serve, DA NA NAAAAAAA.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Assignment#7 Opt.1 - SNA on Ohayo
Although I have never been to
On Ohayo, the administrators created several forums about studying abroad in
As Haythornthwaite said, Ohayo was consisted of actors who were interest in
There were both strong ties and weak ties among community members. As SIP supports members who had spent lots of time in one forum had exchanged enough amount of personal information about other members, so they were able to form a detailed impression of others as if they met FtF. Members with strong ties usually talked or left messages to each other for at least every one or two days. Frequent contact resulted in higher proximity. Usually for people who used Ohayo as an information source rather than a networking source, weak ties seemed to be common. As an advantage of online community, people from all around the world who could read Korean (The website was in Korean.) would come by and look for information or provide an answer for the questions. People from different background usually did not a lot in common. Due to this less overlap in human capital, members were able to help each other with their experience or knowledge.
For someone who is searching for information about
Assignment 7.1: The Helpdesk likes to Help..desks?
Aside from Facebook and classes, the one other thing that takes up a large amount of my time is working for the CIT Helpdesk. What I've discovered over the years is that it isn't just a simple place to work - it is an actual tightly knit community which I will prove using various concepts from lecture.
The best way to describe the Helpdesk is through the Gemeinschaft concept. The "strong interpersonal ties" develop from working together several hours a week and relying on each other in times of trouble. Experience levels vary greatly at CIT so that new hires might end up sitting next to others who have been working there for 3 years. At first it can be hard to start a strong tie there, but when a very angry customer calls you and the more experienced consultant helps you out that creates an instant relationship that can last for a very long time. Such situations are very frequent.
When you are hired, you are subscribed to a myriad of email lists and we also have an internal blog page where people can post things. This gives everyone more avenues of communication, thus bringing people even closer together due to the many intersections of online and real life identities. You might discuss something via an email list only to talk about the same subject FTF at work tomorrow with somebody who did not take part in the email exchange. This is a great example of online/offline synergies.
The common purposes (or shared focus) that bind us together are love of technology and a want to help others. When you apply for a job at the Helpdesk those are really the two things we look for. Loving new technology is of course a very broad term - following the releases of new car engines is different from checking up on the latest ipod model. However in both examples there is quite a bit of common ground which is a deep interest in something that constantly changes. When you bring both of those people together, the conversations might not start off well at first, but eventually the two will connect about things like which new cars have built in ipod docks. This is largely what happens at the Helpdesk. People that love different forms of technology come together to help others with their problems, and in the process develop relationships through such communication. We also place above all the desire to help people on this campus. Thus we will talk about the person that called us who was very nice and friendly and we will appreciate it. But we will also bad mouth the person that was rude for no reason even though we try our best to keep our composure and be very nice about it. This is the focus of the Helpdesk and the reason why the word Help is in the name. It is as I discovered a very strong common interest. Because it's so broad, you can find many people that share it and variety is the spice of life.
And of course we have our own language and identity. Everyone likes to wear the red cit shirts, and everyone likes to "show off" their knowledge of Cornell services and use acronyms that only we would know. For example, many Helpdesk workers joke with their friends by threatening to cancel their ResNet subscription. This is something we can do but of course it's a violation of multiple policies. In any case, it is a joke that we "own" because nobody else can do that which makes it part of our own language.
Finally, there are currently over 60 student employees at the Helpdesk and there is some turn around rate every semester. This means that there is now a very large number of ex-Helpdesk employees (some of whom are still subscribed to several elists) with which other Helpdeskers have instant weak ties to. This is great for finding jobs, getting deals on stuff and so forth. This is the social network aspect of the Helpdesk. And of course for reciprocity, we help each other with many technological problems. Even aside from that, a great example is how we can post our shifts if we are sick and ask others to pick them up. Many people will offer cookies, cakes, money, etc to have somebody pick up a shift that they cannot make. Others will offer to pick up another shift in the future for that person. This goes on every day and builds trust.
#7.1: A Community of People Who Walk Backwards
One community that I am involved in on campus is Campus Information and Visitor Relations (CIVR); in simpler terms, I am a Cornell tour guide. Just a few weeks ago, I was hired as a new tour guide, and I have observed many things about my work environment that have tied in with the social network analysis (SNA).
Under SNA, Haythornwaite emphasizes the importance of examining what is exchanged, communicated, and shared by individuals in a community. Members of CIVR, the actors in the network, interact with each other while working at the front desk of Day Hall and in the calling center, where we field phone calls. Tour guides discuss work issues during staff meetings in an effort to improve the CIVR program. Tour guides often use CIVR-related words such as “R-Sched” and “Colts” while talking to each other, which many members outside of the community do not understand. This common language helps foster a sense of community because it gives a sense of exclusivity. Also, tour guides often talk about things that are not work-related in order to get to know each other better and form a closer community.
Haythornwaite defines a community as having “strong bonds (ties), co-orientation to a common viewpoint and engagement in a common purpose.” The CIVR community embodies all of those features. Tour guides forge strong ties by working together regularly and socializing with each other while working. Since tour guides see each other often, they form strong friendships, and many tour guides have similar groups of friends. Tour guides also have the common ground of wanting to present Cornell in a positive manner. All tour guides try to inspire interest in the university by encouraging prospective students to appreciate Cornell’s unique aspects. This common goal fosters a sense of purpose for the CIVR community and brings its members closer together.
Reciprocity is also present in CIVR. Sometimes, a tour guide cannot show up for a shift because of an academic commitment, such as a prelim. CIVR has an online scheduling system where the tour guide can leave the shift open for someone else to take. Anybody who wants to fill in for the shift can claim it through the online system. Thus, people constantly do favors for others by taking on shifts that others cannot do. The system works very well because tour guides are usually willing to take on extra shifts for each other. The reciprocity establishes a sense of trust, a value that Haythornwaite views as important for a community.
An online/offline synergy also exists for the CIVR community. Tour guides regularly work in a FtF environment while conducting tours, helping people at the front desk, and attending staff meetings. However, tour guides also maintain communication through CMC. One CMC-based mode of communication is the scheduling program mentioned earlier. Another is the CIVR list serve. Communicating through the list serve allows people like our director to easily relay work-related information and reminders. If our director were restricted to only FtF communication, she would not be able to communicate with all of the tour guides efficiently. Indeed, Haythornwaite describes CMC communication as being “a low-level connector among community members, particularly among those who might not otherwise come in contact.” Haythornwaite also states that “online communications extend rather than replace face-to-face communications.” Instead of having CMC replace FtF communication completely, CMC has acted as a complement to FtF communication by allowing tour guides to spread messages to the whole community more easily.
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Under SNA, Haythornwaite emphasizes the importance of examining what is exchanged, communicated, and shared by individuals in a community. Members of CIVR, the actors in the network, interact with each other while working at the front desk of Day Hall and in the calling center, where we field phone calls. Tour guides discuss work issues during staff meetings in an effort to improve the CIVR program. Tour guides often use CIVR-related words such as “R-Sched” and “Colts” while talking to each other, which many members outside of the community do not understand. This common language helps foster a sense of community because it gives a sense of exclusivity. Also, tour guides often talk about things that are not work-related in order to get to know each other better and form a closer community.
Haythornwaite defines a community as having “strong bonds (ties), co-orientation to a common viewpoint and engagement in a common purpose.” The CIVR community embodies all of those features. Tour guides forge strong ties by working together regularly and socializing with each other while working. Since tour guides see each other often, they form strong friendships, and many tour guides have similar groups of friends. Tour guides also have the common ground of wanting to present Cornell in a positive manner. All tour guides try to inspire interest in the university by encouraging prospective students to appreciate Cornell’s unique aspects. This common goal fosters a sense of purpose for the CIVR community and brings its members closer together.
Reciprocity is also present in CIVR. Sometimes, a tour guide cannot show up for a shift because of an academic commitment, such as a prelim. CIVR has an online scheduling system where the tour guide can leave the shift open for someone else to take. Anybody who wants to fill in for the shift can claim it through the online system. Thus, people constantly do favors for others by taking on shifts that others cannot do. The system works very well because tour guides are usually willing to take on extra shifts for each other. The reciprocity establishes a sense of trust, a value that Haythornwaite views as important for a community.
An online/offline synergy also exists for the CIVR community. Tour guides regularly work in a FtF environment while conducting tours, helping people at the front desk, and attending staff meetings. However, tour guides also maintain communication through CMC. One CMC-based mode of communication is the scheduling program mentioned earlier. Another is the CIVR list serve. Communicating through the list serve allows people like our director to easily relay work-related information and reminders. If our director were restricted to only FtF communication, she would not be able to communicate with all of the tour guides efficiently. Indeed, Haythornwaite describes CMC communication as being “a low-level connector among community members, particularly among those who might not otherwise come in contact.” Haythornwaite also states that “online communications extend rather than replace face-to-face communications.” Instead of having CMC replace FtF communication completely, CMC has acted as a complement to FtF communication by allowing tour guides to spread messages to the whole community more easily.
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7.1: The big, BIG, BIGGG Red.
A community that I am a part of here at Cornell is the varsity softball team. Here’s a look into why Cornell Softball can be considered a community (according to Haythornwaite’s guidelines):
Strong interpersonal ties:
You can’t spell “interpersonal” without some of the letters from “team”, clearly there’s a connection there. Our team is very close. We spend at least 3 hours per day together at practice during the week, and on MWF we lift for an additional hour. Sometimes on the weekends, we have doubleheaders that can last up to 6 hours. Did I mention that this is just in the fall, our OFF-SEASON? In the spring (our actual season) it picks up two-fold. During these long, grueling hours on the field and weight room, we learn to love each other.
Shared focus, common purpose:
Our coach instills in our minds from day one that we play to win. So our focus is always on winning games, and possibly winning the coveted Ivy Championship and a berth into the NCAA Softball Tournament. No pressure, right? Also, it is stressed that we need to be physically fit to play. Our coach is constantly reminding us while we struggle through our abdominals circuit at lift or while we fight to get that last bench rep, “We’re getting faster, stronger, and better every day”. Kind of like that Kanye West song. But not really.
Common language and identity:
Common phrases often heard leaving the mouths of CU softballers (besides curse-words):
1. “We’re huge!” Taken out of context it can mean many things, but to us it just reminds us that our bench maxes are higher than other women’s teams SQUAT maxes. Ouch.
2. “PPE!” Acronym for “piss-poor effort”. An example would be the Yankees this season. Yeah, I said it.
3. “HPP” Acronym for “high-pants Patty”. Some girls on the team pull their pants a little TOO high, and we like to remind them of that fact.
4. In-game quotes such as, “Yah Red!” or “Yah shooter” (“shooter” referring to the pitcher, fyi). Basically anything that goes, “Yah [name/word]”.
5. “The blue coolerrrr!!!” This refers to our favorite team cooler in which we store our food during games. The blue cooler is a God among men.
Social Networks, common ground, reciprocity:
We have strong social networks (with other teams, alums, coaches), which could pay off in the long run when we need jobs. We obviously share common ground with each other (we’re all on the same team). Reciprocity is present because we support each other 100%, and have high expectations of our teammates.
Now that I’ve convinced you that CU softball is an amazing community, please come to our games. We actually WIN and it’s FREE! You’ll have a great time watching us crush our opponents and watchig us be huge. Promise.
Strong interpersonal ties:
You can’t spell “interpersonal” without some of the letters from “team”, clearly there’s a connection there. Our team is very close. We spend at least 3 hours per day together at practice during the week, and on MWF we lift for an additional hour. Sometimes on the weekends, we have doubleheaders that can last up to 6 hours. Did I mention that this is just in the fall, our OFF-SEASON? In the spring (our actual season) it picks up two-fold. During these long, grueling hours on the field and weight room, we learn to love each other.
Shared focus, common purpose:
Our coach instills in our minds from day one that we play to win. So our focus is always on winning games, and possibly winning the coveted Ivy Championship and a berth into the NCAA Softball Tournament. No pressure, right? Also, it is stressed that we need to be physically fit to play. Our coach is constantly reminding us while we struggle through our abdominals circuit at lift or while we fight to get that last bench rep, “We’re getting faster, stronger, and better every day”. Kind of like that Kanye West song. But not really.
Common language and identity:
Common phrases often heard leaving the mouths of CU softballers (besides curse-words):
1. “We’re huge!” Taken out of context it can mean many things, but to us it just reminds us that our bench maxes are higher than other women’s teams SQUAT maxes. Ouch.
2. “PPE!” Acronym for “piss-poor effort”. An example would be the Yankees this season. Yeah, I said it.
3. “HPP” Acronym for “high-pants Patty”. Some girls on the team pull their pants a little TOO high, and we like to remind them of that fact.
4. In-game quotes such as, “Yah Red!” or “Yah shooter” (“shooter” referring to the pitcher, fyi). Basically anything that goes, “Yah [name/word]”.
5. “The blue coolerrrr!!!” This refers to our favorite team cooler in which we store our food during games. The blue cooler is a God among men.
The blue cooler himself.
Social Networks, common ground, reciprocity:
We have strong social networks (with other teams, alums, coaches), which could pay off in the long run when we need jobs. We obviously share common ground with each other (we’re all on the same team). Reciprocity is present because we support each other 100%, and have high expectations of our teammates.
Now that I’ve convinced you that CU softball is an amazing community, please come to our games. We actually WIN and it’s FREE! You’ll have a great time watching us crush our opponents and watchig us be huge. Promise.
Assgn.7 Opt.1- A Community of Brothers
Without communities in our everyday lives, our social interactions with others would be very basic and wouldn’t develop into deep meaningful relationships. Communities do not necessarily have to exist soley in person but can exist online as well. The world online is taking on a whole new perspective and its interactions and ideals are becoming very similar with those of the FtF world. Being part of a fraternity has given me a new family and a new online community. I communicate with hundreds of my brothers in my frat through our Facebook group. Once you cross, you enter this group on Facebook and begin interacting with the hundreds of brothers all over the nation. We can each write about our lives, experiences, thoughts or even just to have a basic conversation. Pictures can be exchanged and new relationships can be formed.
Haythornwaite would describe this community with the Gemeinschaft method. Our community is based on strong interpersonal ties, a shared focus, common language and identity. Being all part of the same fraternity forms strong ties within ourselves. We are brothers regardless of where we are from or what chapter we are from. Some ties may be stronger with brothers that are closer and have the opportunity of having FtF interactions with. The distant brothers although distant, will still form ties but they will be seen as weak ties. We don’t get to interact or contact each other much but the tie is still there. If I ever needed anything I would not think twice about asking because I know they would be there. In some cases it is better to have weaker ties with members because those of us with strong ties all share the same resources and ideals with each other. A brother with a weak tie can offer something new that we may not have the exposure to. That gives us a sense of reciprocity in the online community. Anyone can post something and get feedback back from all brothers. This gives a bigger sense of brotherhood and makes us one big unit. Everyone shares a common identity. We are all brothers of the same organization and proudly wear Greek letters to state it. Our purpose is clearly the same as we all pledged the same morals and ideals.
I believe that CMC affects our community but in a positive way. Because of distance and personal lives, members will go on without the opportunity of meeting brothers from all over the nation. This Facebook group helps introduce new brothers to each other and keep contact between those who know each other. The constant communication and interaction with each other keeps the morale, sense of brotherhood and unity up. CMC helps establish the community and builds ties similar to those seen in FtF interactions. In fact, CMC helps to build FtF interactions as well further building and solidifying the community.
Comments:
http://comm245green.blogspot.com/2007/10/71_omg_lets_go_shoppingggg.html
http://comm245green.blogspot.com/2007/10/community_that_i_am_part_of_here_at.html
Haythornwaite would describe this community with the Gemeinschaft method. Our community is based on strong interpersonal ties, a shared focus, common language and identity. Being all part of the same fraternity forms strong ties within ourselves. We are brothers regardless of where we are from or what chapter we are from. Some ties may be stronger with brothers that are closer and have the opportunity of having FtF interactions with. The distant brothers although distant, will still form ties but they will be seen as weak ties. We don’t get to interact or contact each other much but the tie is still there. If I ever needed anything I would not think twice about asking because I know they would be there. In some cases it is better to have weaker ties with members because those of us with strong ties all share the same resources and ideals with each other. A brother with a weak tie can offer something new that we may not have the exposure to. That gives us a sense of reciprocity in the online community. Anyone can post something and get feedback back from all brothers. This gives a bigger sense of brotherhood and makes us one big unit. Everyone shares a common identity. We are all brothers of the same organization and proudly wear Greek letters to state it. Our purpose is clearly the same as we all pledged the same morals and ideals.
I believe that CMC affects our community but in a positive way. Because of distance and personal lives, members will go on without the opportunity of meeting brothers from all over the nation. This Facebook group helps introduce new brothers to each other and keep contact between those who know each other. The constant communication and interaction with each other keeps the morale, sense of brotherhood and unity up. CMC helps establish the community and builds ties similar to those seen in FtF interactions. In fact, CMC helps to build FtF interactions as well further building and solidifying the community.
Comments:
http://comm245green.blogspot.com/2007/10/71_omg_lets_go_shoppingggg.html
http://comm245green.blogspot.com/2007/10/community_that_i_am_part_of_here_at.html
#7 option 1: Circles of Friends
The Social Network Analysis (SNA) claims that the foundation of a community is not the geographic location, but rather the shared interactions between people. This redefinition of a community allows one to form communities’ offline, as well as online. Further, communities that use both FtF and CMC communication have stronger bonds than communities that use just one communication media (online/offline synergy). This is defiantly true in my community of friends. I communicate with my inner circle of four friends through all sorts of media (FtF, phone, AIM, facebook and e-mail). This multiple communication media approach allows my friends and I to communicate with each even during summer vacation when we are not in the same geographic location. This liberation from geographic constraints describes the utopic view of community. In contrast, I communicate with my outer circle of friends through a fewer number of media; and as predicted by the SNA I have weaker bonds with these outer circle of friends.
My relationship with my inner circle is strong because we tell each other everything. We always know what is going on in each others lives and are involved in many shared activities. We often sign up for the same volunteer activities such as Judy’s Day and Into the Streets (common ground). Further, we know many of the same people which helps us stay connected. We often engage in reciprocal self-disclosure and we know that what is said between us, stays between us. Trust is a major component of our relationship. My inner circle of friends would be considered a gemeinschaft community where the foundation lies in our strong interpersonal ties, and shared focus, language and identity. Our shared language can be seen in our ability to finish each other’s sentences and the fact that we have inside jokes that can not be understood by outsiders. Certain words have different meanings to us than they would have to others as a result of our shared experiences.
In contrast, I have weak ties with my outer circle of friends who I do not share my daily experiences with, yet they are useful for finding out new and different information that I would not know otherwise. For example, my weak tie Tiffany, knows a lot about the medical school application process since she is currently in the middle of it. However, my stronger tie friends know the same information as me (and thus not as much help) in regards to the med school process since we are all the same age. Consequently, when I have med school questions, Tiffany is the one that answers them for me.
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My relationship with my inner circle is strong because we tell each other everything. We always know what is going on in each others lives and are involved in many shared activities. We often sign up for the same volunteer activities such as Judy’s Day and Into the Streets (common ground). Further, we know many of the same people which helps us stay connected. We often engage in reciprocal self-disclosure and we know that what is said between us, stays between us. Trust is a major component of our relationship. My inner circle of friends would be considered a gemeinschaft community where the foundation lies in our strong interpersonal ties, and shared focus, language and identity. Our shared language can be seen in our ability to finish each other’s sentences and the fact that we have inside jokes that can not be understood by outsiders. Certain words have different meanings to us than they would have to others as a result of our shared experiences.
In contrast, I have weak ties with my outer circle of friends who I do not share my daily experiences with, yet they are useful for finding out new and different information that I would not know otherwise. For example, my weak tie Tiffany, knows a lot about the medical school application process since she is currently in the middle of it. However, my stronger tie friends know the same information as me (and thus not as much help) in regards to the med school process since we are all the same age. Consequently, when I have med school questions, Tiffany is the one that answers them for me.
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Assignment 7, Option 1: I'm Nothing Without You!
The dimensions of the relation among core members suggests that Fanclub is a “community of practice”: the mutual engagement of members, the shared endeavor (promoting music), and the shared routines, concepts of music, and manners are considered by Wenger to define this type of community (1998). Core members participate in several modes of interaction, including email, telephony, face-to-face discussion, and text-messaging; engagement via multiple modes of communication suggests stronger ties between core members, a concept summarized in the term media multiplexity (Haythornthwaite and Wellman 1998). The synergy between CMC and offline meetings is vital for the participation of members on various levels: actively, in the booking/promoting process, or passively, in attending the concert (or attending the Facebook event). Both core and peripheral members are united most basically by common ground—the group was born out of and continues to exist because of its members’ appreciation of experimental, alternative, and independent music.
Reciprocity, a necessary glue for healthy interpersonal communities, is exhibited on the personal level and macroscopically on the network level. The officers ask of members to be diligent in responding to emails requesting help during concerts or in the process of booking bands. In return for their investments—time commitment in response to officers’ requests—diligent members enjoy an appreciation for their skills and a satisfaction from their sense of belonging. The sum of personal reactions creates social capital shared by the greater network, “beyond those obtained from pairwise interactions”; this capital (e.g., live music) is shared by all members and weak social ties related to the Fanclub Collective (Haythornwaite 2007). Peripheral members and weak social ties also participate in reciprocity: in return for the services or money, they enjoy exciting music in the
“Bridging ties between subgroups” is vital to the maintenance of the Fanclub community because of Fanclub's reliance on school funding, and community attendance and participation (Haythornwaite 2007). The network would simply collapse without the weak social ties’ and peripheral members’ drive for reciprocity.
Would you like to reciprocate?
SIC ALPS will play a devilish show this Saturday, Oct 27th, @ NO RADIO RECORDS.
Weather or not.....Spelling Mistake? No.
As a freshman at Cornell I chose to major in the the field of Earth and Atmospheric sciences where I becaming a member of EAS as well as AMS ( the American Meteorological Society). The basis of my entrance was common interest in the weather that we experience day in and day out. This is all beside the point as I recently switched into Communications. Why do I discuss the current switch? I do this because immediately following my transfer I felt as if I had left a group that had been so much a part of my life as a freshman in college. However, to my suprise it was easy to get deeply involved in the Communication community at a much quicker rate than I had even hoped.
In one of my classes this semester, Psychology of Social Computing, we have started to discuss what the true definition of a community is and how one places themself in a given group. In looking at my current switch I have clearly joined another community.
I recently took on the job of VP Communications for the Sports Marketing Group, more commonly known as SMG. This group, while originally I saw as quite small, has proved to be one of the more extensive communities on campus. Our main job being to increase revenue for the athletic office but more importantly increase attendance at sporting events in hopes of creating a greater support system for our players. SMG fits Haythornthwaite's definition of community in that it clearly is a group of individuals in which relationships "crisscross and reinforce oine another and also it involves a level of commitment to similar values etc(127)." The SMG participants all value the athletic experience in college and understand that their individual effort may go unrecognized. It is this element of "not needing to be praised" that enables the group to work so well.
The SMG social network is comprised of actors who are students, ithaca businesses, and staff at the school; in addition one could say that the teams themselves are also a part of this group. For the group to function we rely on a cohesive communication network. The elements that allow actors to work with one another isknow as " relations" (Haythornwaite, 126). An example of this is that Ithaca businesses rely on the student promotional ideas in order to get their business logo and name out to the public. The relationship is recipricated in that the students rely on these business to fund the promotions. Additionally the athletic staff and teams rely on the students to increase attendence and the students thus hope the teams will increase victory percentage. As you can see here this group relies heaviliy on the idea of reciprocity. Additionally each relationship represents a strong tie. These ties also provide evidence of social capital within the group. Each actor must be able to rely on the other and trust that the network will work and as Haythornwaite posits " social capital benefits include the ability to trust network members, to have a common language and to depend on network based mechanisms to manage behavior. (129)
Expanding on the element of ties within this community, the students on the executive board have extremely strong ties in that they meet twice a week face-to-face as well as communicate all week by email. Etzioni and Etzoni comment " communities that combine both f2f and CMC systems would be able to bond better and shre values more effectively than communities that rely upon only one or the other mode of communication (Haythornwaite, 131)" We see clear support for this statement in the SMG. From here the ties weaken as the students rarely meet face-to-face with the sponsors and only are in close contact with one or two of the athletic staff members who then talk to others. As far as the teams go, ties between the teams and SMG differ significantly. Certain teams have made the effort to come to meetings and give their input on what they would like seen done at the games. Interestingly enough this has greatly affected the attendence and attention paid at these games. One example of this is the Men's soccer team who have gone out of their way to make their games a "bigger deal" this year. In order to do this they have created a group/community of their own known as "Ezra's Army." http://cornell.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5910801641
Their goal here being to make people feel closer to the team (have a stronger tie, a more emotional attachment).
The SMG is composed of some synergies as the online interaction we have with our weaker ties allows our group to have more relevance and significance as well as provides us a way to connect with these people. SMG is what Haythornwaite would consider a Gemeinschaft in that it is based on a) strong interpersonal ties, b) shared focus & common purpose, 3) common language an identity, yet one could say that the weak ties students have with the Ithaca business sector would be classified as a Gesellschaft as we are not really connected, don't have a shared purpose (SMG- increase attendence and revenue for sports management, Businesses- increase revenue and awareness for themselves). Additionally these business aren't necessarily committed to the SMG. They could go many other places to promote themselves.
All in all the SMG is representative of many aspects of Haythornwaite's definition of community. We can draw on many different individual relationships within the group and create a parallel with different elements of a community.
In one of my classes this semester, Psychology of Social Computing, we have started to discuss what the true definition of a community is and how one places themself in a given group. In looking at my current switch I have clearly joined another community.
I recently took on the job of VP Communications for the Sports Marketing Group, more commonly known as SMG. This group, while originally I saw as quite small, has proved to be one of the more extensive communities on campus. Our main job being to increase revenue for the athletic office but more importantly increase attendance at sporting events in hopes of creating a greater support system for our players. SMG fits Haythornthwaite's definition of community in that it clearly is a group of individuals in which relationships "crisscross and reinforce oine another and also it involves a level of commitment to similar values etc(127)." The SMG participants all value the athletic experience in college and understand that their individual effort may go unrecognized. It is this element of "not needing to be praised" that enables the group to work so well.
The SMG social network is comprised of actors who are students, ithaca businesses, and staff at the school; in addition one could say that the teams themselves are also a part of this group. For the group to function we rely on a cohesive communication network. The elements that allow actors to work with one another isknow as " relations" (Haythornwaite, 126). An example of this is that Ithaca businesses rely on the student promotional ideas in order to get their business logo and name out to the public. The relationship is recipricated in that the students rely on these business to fund the promotions. Additionally the athletic staff and teams rely on the students to increase attendence and the students thus hope the teams will increase victory percentage. As you can see here this group relies heaviliy on the idea of reciprocity. Additionally each relationship represents a strong tie. These ties also provide evidence of social capital within the group. Each actor must be able to rely on the other and trust that the network will work and as Haythornwaite posits " social capital benefits include the ability to trust network members, to have a common language and to depend on network based mechanisms to manage behavior. (129)
Expanding on the element of ties within this community, the students on the executive board have extremely strong ties in that they meet twice a week face-to-face as well as communicate all week by email. Etzioni and Etzoni comment " communities that combine both f2f and CMC systems would be able to bond better and shre values more effectively than communities that rely upon only one or the other mode of communication (Haythornwaite, 131)" We see clear support for this statement in the SMG. From here the ties weaken as the students rarely meet face-to-face with the sponsors and only are in close contact with one or two of the athletic staff members who then talk to others. As far as the teams go, ties between the teams and SMG differ significantly. Certain teams have made the effort to come to meetings and give their input on what they would like seen done at the games. Interestingly enough this has greatly affected the attendence and attention paid at these games. One example of this is the Men's soccer team who have gone out of their way to make their games a "bigger deal" this year. In order to do this they have created a group/community of their own known as "Ezra's Army." http://cornell.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5910801641
Their goal here being to make people feel closer to the team (have a stronger tie, a more emotional attachment).
The SMG is composed of some synergies as the online interaction we have with our weaker ties allows our group to have more relevance and significance as well as provides us a way to connect with these people. SMG is what Haythornwaite would consider a Gemeinschaft in that it is based on a) strong interpersonal ties, b) shared focus & common purpose, 3) common language an identity, yet one could say that the weak ties students have with the Ithaca business sector would be classified as a Gesellschaft as we are not really connected, don't have a shared purpose (SMG- increase attendence and revenue for sports management, Businesses- increase revenue and awareness for themselves). Additionally these business aren't necessarily committed to the SMG. They could go many other places to promote themselves.
All in all the SMG is representative of many aspects of Haythornwaite's definition of community. We can draw on many different individual relationships within the group and create a parallel with different elements of a community.
7.1 SWIB: Bet You Can't Guess What It Stands For
As Haythornthwaite describes in his paper, a community is made up of a web of affect-laden relationships that encompasses a group of individuals; they are relationships that crisscross and reinforce one another, which reinforces bonding among members. In addition, a community requires commitment to a set of shared values, mores and culture. The Social Network Analysis (SNA) can be used to examine what makes up a community and how its members interact by studying elements of social capital, which include, common ground, reciprocity and networking.
One community I decided to join upon my arrival to Cornell was the Society for Women in Business (SWIB). As it states on the website, it is a community that provides a positive networking and social environment for aspiring business professionals by having members participate in business-oriented meetings, events, panel discussions and philanthropy. The members meet every other Wednesday at 5:30 PM and also attend various company sponsored events (Lehman Brothers, Price Waterhouse Cooper, Goldman Sachs etc).
Haythornthwaite states, “social network analysis focuses on what is happening between people, within collectives and across boundaries, in order to find what kind of collective exists” (pg 124-125). We can describe social networks as a network that is comprised of as actors (e-board, faculty advisor, undergraduate members, Johnson School’s Women’s Management Council) tied together by various relationships. A social network is formed when these ties intertwine with one another. We delineate strong ties from weak ties by how frequent interaction is (high for strong, low for weak) and how much common ground (high for strong, low for weak).
Common ground is a major factor in this community since SWIB is a club based off of all the members having the same future interest of going into business and being successful women. Strong ties are strongest when we connect with those who are most similar to us and have very similar aspirations. All the members of the SWIB community, have similar interests however, some of the ties within members can be stronger than others due to differences in common ground. Business is a very broad field and has so many different areas. As a result, a member who sees herself going into investment banking may have stronger ties with members who also want a career in Ibanking, than with members who want to go into other fields like, entrepreneurship.
Reciprocity also plays a major role in strengthening our community’s ties. When people have strong ties and belong to the same community, members have a tendency to ask for and receive help and information from one another. Generalized reciprocity is when members “may give help to one person without receiving anything in return; instead the return may be in the way the actor who received help in turn give help” (pg 127). In the SWIB community, members inform other members of future events, job opportunities, and how to succeed. We have panel discussions led by experienced members to help inexperienced members prepare for interviews and jobs. In addition, as a result of our extensive network to a variety of companies, we update one another regarding job openings and information sessions. This sharing of information is often done with little to no return (generalized reciprocity). Much of the community is based on this, simply sharing the experience and information we know to help others be successful, and often get nothing in return.
There are two different types of ties within this social network. The majority of ties within the SWIB community, most of the members all know each other from attending meetings together and attending the same events. They are constantly in contact with one another, updating each other on upcoming events and opportunities. The members of SWIB are all very similar; they all attend Cornell, have similar interests, take similar classes, have similar majors and have similar aspirations. However, there are also weak ties, many of the members are not in frequent contact with the other members. They are often off doing their own thing, not interacting with fellow SWIB members. Because of these weak ties, our club members are able to connect to unique resources and have more job opportunities. As a result of these two types of ties both operating within our community, we are able to foster a variety of resources while still maintaining close relationships with our fellow members.
The SWIB community utilizes both FtF and CMC interactions to maximize group membership and strengthen our ties with one another. As Etzioni and Etzioni’s study suggests, “ communities that combine both f2f and CMC systems would be able to bond better and share values more efficiently than communities that rely upon only one or th other mode of communication” (pg 131). The SWIB community keeps its members informed of events and opportunities through a variety of methods: e-mail (our listserve swib-l@cornell.edu), a Facebook Group , and our SWIB Website. The members are able to stay up to date with future events by simply checking their e-mail or the website. The Facebook Group also keeps members informed because it is updated every few weeks and sends out messages before every major event to remind members. By having FtF meetings/events in addition to the on-line communication, it really helps to establish a sense of community among the members. When members cannot attend a meeting/event they are still updated on what went on and are able to form a dependency on one another, and CMC helps to facilitate this relationship. The SWIB community started out in 2000 and has been able to grow into the club that it is as a result of both online (Facebook, listserve, Website) and offline (weekly meetings and events) synergies.
7.1 Juggling a Social Network
I initially joined the Cornell Juggling Club purely so I could learn how to juggle. Two and a half years later, I am still a member (not because I am any good at juggling!) but mostly because of the close ties I have formed with other members.
The Cornell Juggling Club is an eclectic community; it is composed of beginners, juggling experts, students, and older adults. People with more experience bring individual skills and techniques to meetings. Those who have no idea what they are doing bring an eagerness to learn. The value of the community as a whole far exceeds that of individual jugglers, and besides, it's not nearly as much fun to juggle by yourself.
Every year, we host the Cornell Jugglest fest , a weekend long extravaganza that takes months of preparation. Last year I actively participated with the executive board in planning for the festival, and strong ties within the executive board and very active group members easily formed. The club also has many weak ties with the juggling community beyong Ithaca, and through these weak ties we were able to bring fun, new performers to the festival that we would never otherwise see at weekly club meetings.
The common ground that exists between jugglers is an appreciation for juggling and performing. The idea of generalized reciprocity within this community, according to Hawthornthwaite, is necessary to "sustain the overall community." Jugglers are completely willing to share their talents by teaching others new skills without necessailry experiencing any immediate self benefits.
CMC has greatly enhanced the connections that exist between the juggling community here on campus and beyond. Through e-mail, the members of the Cornell Juggling Club are able to plan for the festival more efficiently, share ideas, and spread the word when meetings will take place. I individually interacted with others who are on the same committee for the festival through e-mail and IMs.
But CMC plays an even greater role in the juggling community as a whole. Juggling forums demonstrate how members of this community interact without being in the same physical space. Jugglers share tricks online, post show reviews, and discuss the World Juggling Federation championships. I haven't yet reaching this level of CMC with fellow jugglers, but from my observations, it definitely enhances the shared interest of the juggling community at Cornell and has more personally connected individual juggling communities from all over the world.
more photos!
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The Cornell Juggling Club is an eclectic community; it is composed of beginners, juggling experts, students, and older adults. People with more experience bring individual skills and techniques to meetings. Those who have no idea what they are doing bring an eagerness to learn. The value of the community as a whole far exceeds that of individual jugglers, and besides, it's not nearly as much fun to juggle by yourself.
Every year, we host the Cornell Jugglest fest , a weekend long extravaganza that takes months of preparation. Last year I actively participated with the executive board in planning for the festival, and strong ties within the executive board and very active group members easily formed. The club also has many weak ties with the juggling community beyong Ithaca, and through these weak ties we were able to bring fun, new performers to the festival that we would never otherwise see at weekly club meetings.
The common ground that exists between jugglers is an appreciation for juggling and performing. The idea of generalized reciprocity within this community, according to Hawthornthwaite, is necessary to "sustain the overall community." Jugglers are completely willing to share their talents by teaching others new skills without necessailry experiencing any immediate self benefits.
CMC has greatly enhanced the connections that exist between the juggling community here on campus and beyond. Through e-mail, the members of the Cornell Juggling Club are able to plan for the festival more efficiently, share ideas, and spread the word when meetings will take place. I individually interacted with others who are on the same committee for the festival through e-mail and IMs.
But CMC plays an even greater role in the juggling community as a whole. Juggling forums demonstrate how members of this community interact without being in the same physical space. Jugglers share tricks online, post show reviews, and discuss the World Juggling Federation championships. I haven't yet reaching this level of CMC with fellow jugglers, but from my observations, it definitely enhances the shared interest of the juggling community at Cornell and has more personally connected individual juggling communities from all over the world.
more photos!
Comment 1
Comment 2
My boyfriend, Jim Halpern- Assignment 7
Mike’s facebook picture is the epitome of who he is. In it, he is wearing an oversized suit coat he purchased from the Salvation Army with a tie haphazardly hanging from his white dress shirt. His legs are spread apart, and he is slouching, in true Jim Halpern from The Office, form. He is gazing upwards, or off in space, and his hands are clasped, trying to give the allusion that he is somewhat put together, or just content with his lackadaisical appearance. Mike LaLonde, to the “t”.
Using the Brunswikian Lens Model, Mike’s facebook profile truly reflects his personality. The cue validity throughout his profile, leads to an internal, accurate characterization, while the cue utilization (cues we use), lead to very similar impressions.
Through the four mechanisms that link individuals to the environment, Mike establishes personal and other identity, in addition to interior and exterior behavior residue. Self-directed identity claims remind us who we are as individuals. In Mike’s facebook profile he has several inside jokes with himself and unique people. In his interests, for example, Mike includes “the question game,” a silly thing Mike and I do together where we can only ask each other questions until someone loses or accidentally says something not in question form. While some people might view this insertion as an indication that Mike is sarcastic and funny, it actually holds some inward meaning for him, beyond what a casual viewer might interpret.
In other-directed identity claims, Mike utilizes the “relationship status” as an indicator of who he is to the facebook community and who I am. Because Mike and I are dating, Mike thought it would be a good idea to include the “In a relationship” answer, as a public announcement. I was quite content with leaving it blank, but Mike persevered and convinced me that “otherwise people might hit on me and have an excuse.”
As far as interior behavioral residue, Mike has removed the newsfeed from his features, so it is hard to track all his facebook routines. However, one can tell what quizzes he’s taken recently on facebook and changes he has made to his fantasy football squad. Mike also has included quotes from the show, the Office on his facebook account, so one can view whenever he changes those. Because Mike has eliminated his normal facebook feed, one can assume that he is slightly introverted, or private. This assumption would be totally validated and accurate.
Finally, Mike’s exterior behavioral residue is evident through his “about me” section. Here is lists the activities he is involved in, such as intramural soccer and habitat for humanity. However, because Mike has a slightly sarcastic tone throughout his profile, it would be difficult to judge whether Mike is trustworthy with those claims or not. The connotations of his previous statements could lead to the impression that Mike is slightly disagreeable and negative. In addition, the idea that Mike is introverted would be affirmed again because there are no pictures of him, other than his one profile picture (and previous profile pictures). One can also tell that Mike is an avid watcher and fan of The Office, through his exterior behavior residue.
Throughout Mike’s profile and using the Brunswikian Model, one can conclude that Mike’s personality is slightly negative, and that he is an introvert. In those assessments, one would be correct (according to me…). One could also claim (using
The NYCKI Board
One major attribute of human beings is our ability to form social bonds and communities with one another. While some in the past have been skeptical about the existence of communities in the online world, there are an increasingly vast number of examples that show that communities do in fact exist online. However, given the nature of CMC, we need to take a new perspective to learn about and study these online communities. The Social Network Approach (SNA) proposed by Haythornthwaite offers an interesting lens to study online communities through.
One community that I am involved in is the District Board for New York District Circle K (NYCKI). Circle K is an international organization for college students that allows them to perform community service, develop their leadership skills, and make lifelong friendships. Because there are members on this board from all across New York State we often have to rely on CMC to communicate with one another. We utilize a GoogleGroup as our main source of communication with each other and also use individual e-mails, phone calls, and instant messaging.
In taking a SNA to analyzing the NYCKI District Board it’s important to first identify a few of the terms that Haythornthwaite has established. First, since it is my social network, I would be considered the “ego” and at the center of the network. In addition to myself there are a number of other “actors” in the social network (the other members of the district board) that all have “ties” with me and each other.
There are two different types of ties within this social network. First, a vast majority of these ties are strong ties. Everyone on the district board knows each other on some level and has communicated with each other. The reason these ties are considered strong is because we’re all college students in Circle K and have a lot in common in that regard. We also have access to similar resources based on our positions on the board and our age. I am in almost daily communication with these strong ties. In addition to the strong ties that exist in my social network are a few weak ties. These are relationships that I have with members on the Kiwanis District Board (the organization that sponsors Circle K) because I am serving as the Governor of the NYCKI District Board. I do not talk to these individuals nearly as much and only one other person has some occasional contact with these individuals as well. I am considerably different from these members because they are considerably older than I am. However, they have many resources in the form of past experience, project ideas, and projects that we can do together that are a great asset to the NYCKI District Board.
As I’ve mentioned previously, there is a great deal of common ground between the members of this network because of a similar passion that we all share for Circle K and the ideals that our organization represents. In addition to this common ground is a great deal of reciprocity. We are all working together as one unit to achieve a set of goals that we have set for the clubs in New York this year, and this can only be achieved through our cooperation and working together, mainly in an online setting due to geographical constraints. The combination of this network, common ground, and reciprocity all leads to social capital that we all get out of being a member of the NYCKI District Board whether it’s through personal development, developing leadership skills, a resume booster, or even a job lead.
Finally, the NYCKI Board does have the opportunity to meet face to face periodically throughout the year at board meetings and other district events. In her article Haythornthwaite sites Etzioni and Etzioni as saying “communities that combine both f2f and CMC systems would be able to bond better and share values more effectively than communities that rely upon only one or the other mode of communication”. My experience with being a member of the NYCKI District Board has exemplified this quote from Etzioni and Etzioni. Through our almost daily communication in CMC and periodic face to face interactions the other members of the NYCKI District Board have become some of my closest friends. We’ve had the opportunity to learn a lot about each other, serve together, bond, and actually work in a way that is congruent with our shared values.
Comments:
http://comm245green.blogspot.com/2007/10/71-community-of-people-who-walk.html
http://comm245green.blogspot.com/2007/10/7-option-1-circles-of-friends.html
One community that I am involved in is the District Board for New York District Circle K (NYCKI). Circle K is an international organization for college students that allows them to perform community service, develop their leadership skills, and make lifelong friendships. Because there are members on this board from all across New York State we often have to rely on CMC to communicate with one another. We utilize a GoogleGroup as our main source of communication with each other and also use individual e-mails, phone calls, and instant messaging.
In taking a SNA to analyzing the NYCKI District Board it’s important to first identify a few of the terms that Haythornthwaite has established. First, since it is my social network, I would be considered the “ego” and at the center of the network. In addition to myself there are a number of other “actors” in the social network (the other members of the district board) that all have “ties” with me and each other.
There are two different types of ties within this social network. First, a vast majority of these ties are strong ties. Everyone on the district board knows each other on some level and has communicated with each other. The reason these ties are considered strong is because we’re all college students in Circle K and have a lot in common in that regard. We also have access to similar resources based on our positions on the board and our age. I am in almost daily communication with these strong ties. In addition to the strong ties that exist in my social network are a few weak ties. These are relationships that I have with members on the Kiwanis District Board (the organization that sponsors Circle K) because I am serving as the Governor of the NYCKI District Board. I do not talk to these individuals nearly as much and only one other person has some occasional contact with these individuals as well. I am considerably different from these members because they are considerably older than I am. However, they have many resources in the form of past experience, project ideas, and projects that we can do together that are a great asset to the NYCKI District Board.
As I’ve mentioned previously, there is a great deal of common ground between the members of this network because of a similar passion that we all share for Circle K and the ideals that our organization represents. In addition to this common ground is a great deal of reciprocity. We are all working together as one unit to achieve a set of goals that we have set for the clubs in New York this year, and this can only be achieved through our cooperation and working together, mainly in an online setting due to geographical constraints. The combination of this network, common ground, and reciprocity all leads to social capital that we all get out of being a member of the NYCKI District Board whether it’s through personal development, developing leadership skills, a resume booster, or even a job lead.
Finally, the NYCKI Board does have the opportunity to meet face to face periodically throughout the year at board meetings and other district events. In her article Haythornthwaite sites Etzioni and Etzioni as saying “communities that combine both f2f and CMC systems would be able to bond better and share values more effectively than communities that rely upon only one or the other mode of communication”. My experience with being a member of the NYCKI District Board has exemplified this quote from Etzioni and Etzioni. Through our almost daily communication in CMC and periodic face to face interactions the other members of the NYCKI District Board have become some of my closest friends. We’ve had the opportunity to learn a lot about each other, serve together, bond, and actually work in a way that is congruent with our shared values.
Comments:
http://comm245green.blogspot.com/2007/10/71-community-of-people-who-walk.html
http://comm245green.blogspot.com/2007/10/7-option-1-circles-of-friends.html
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