Virtual Community to Promote Real Collaboration
In 1993, Howard Rheingold coined the term virtual community when he described a “computerized counterculture” of meaningful relationships formed among people whose only or primary interaction was online. In his book The Virtual Community, he observed, “The fact that we need computer networks to recapture the sense of cooperative spirit that so many people seemed to lose when we gained all this technology is a painful irony” (Rheingold, 2000). Ironic or not, today technology-supported community and collaboration are increasingly used within organizations, and between organizations and their customers.
What does virtual community mean in an era of social networking? While each kind of social networking or online collaboration technology allows for a different style of individual or group interaction, file or information sharing and network-building, there are some common principles. Virtual Community is an online space that:
1. Is interactive: Members can communicate with one another using synchronous or asynchronous technology.
2. Is self-directed: Community members determine focus and scope of discussion– sometimes with the aid of a facilitator.
3. Is dynamic: The site engages and reflects the interests of the members, who contribute content to the community.
4. Is purposeful: The online community fulfills a shared purpose, common interest or need among its members.
Online community can complement geographic community, or create a place where people from diverse geographic areas or offices can converse about a shared issue. In some communities the same members interact over time and develop working or social relationships, while others include people who interact to simply get an answer to a specific question or to respond to a time-limited issue. Some communities are open to anyone; others screen levels of access with password-protected areas, so confidential information is available only to those with access. Online communities can be:
- Open to all: Anyone can log on and participate in a community that exists on the public web, and membership is usually open. These communities can operate as a marketing or promotional tool to extend information dissemination and exchange to include the broader public.
- Open to people inside the organization: Intranets, internal social networks or communities are designed to facilitate knowledge sharing within an organization. For organizations that operate in multiple locations, this can amount to a virtual office where employees. These communities might provide opportunities to comment on current projects, or to participate in collaborative decision-making. They operate behind the company firewall– access is limited and the site is secure.
- Open to people outside the organization: Extranet communities are designed to strengthen relationships with others including friends, partners, vendors, alumni or customers. Sometimes all access is limited to members who are registered and have a password. In other cases anyone can read materials but only people who merit a password can post and participate in discussions. Alternatively, different levels of access to information or participation may depend on the relationship to the organization.
When online consumers chat and post product reviews, their interaction is considered a form of virtual community. By creating an environment where customers can exchange ideas with one another, online retailers hope to increase loyalty– and loyal customers tell their friends and return to buy more products. The goals—and potential– are different when social networking tools are used within a company.
A recent study (2009) from the Human Capital Institute (HCI) found that chat/IM and communities of practice were the most common tools with 54% of survey respondents. Over 30% also reported using blogs, wikis, or threaded discussions (Schweyer, 2009). Interestingly, when HCI surveyed people of different generations, they found that while some prefer one tool over another, very similar preferences were indicated by “Boomer” and “Millenial” workers. Over 70% in each group preferred to learn from others on the web instead of using other training methods, and about a third selected communities of practice as the way to do it. Perhaps not surprisingly then, companies in the study reported connecting and engaging employees, and faster and more effective knowledge transfer as the benefits identified by companies in the study. Given this level of popularity, it is important to note that “best practices in using these tools within organizations for business purposes have yet to be established. There is no generally accepted model for their implementation or standard set of metrics for measuring ROI. Nor is it clear who should oversee them within organizations” (Schweyer, 2009 p. 1). This lack of clear standards, expectations or oversight may be the reason why many in the study indicated that security and monitoring are their top concern.
One way to address the need for standards and expectations is to generate them from within the community. In their 2004 book Learning To Fly: Practical Knowledge Management from Leading And Learning Organisations Chris Collison and Geoff Parcell suggest that communities of practice draft a “charter” collectively. A charter may include the rationale and scope for the network, description of the key roles (facilitator, sponsor etc.), expectations in terms of people’s time commitment, a “code of conduct” or norms for how members will work together (Collison & Parcell, 2004).
Technologies keep changing and the devices we use to connect with them are increasingly varied and mobile. Behind each monitor, whether 2” or 20”, is a person with knowledge to share, decisions to make, and questions they hope to answer. In response, within and beyond organizations, virtual communities will continue change shape and evolve. Use the comment area to share your thoughts and experiences. How are you building cooperative ways to share, learn and interact with others in your company, or in your personal and social life?
Collison, C., & Parcell, G. (2004). Learning to fly: Practical knowledge management from leading and learning organizations (Second ed.). West Sussex: Wiley.
Rheingold, H. (2000). The virtual community: Homesteading on the electronic frontier (Second ed.). Cambridge: MIT Press.
Schweyer, A. (2009). Leveraging social networking & Web 2.0 collaboration tools in enterprises. Washington, DC: Human Capital Institute.
