C2 - Online Communities Flashcards
What is an online community?
“An online community is a group of people who communicate over the Internet about common interests. We use a wide variety of different online services to form and participate in these online communities…”
Social media
⚫ Social media sites like Facebook are used to share content and communicate with others. A key part of this is creating groups, often based around to locations events or hobbies, to communicate news and stories with others who share interests
Social Media Advantages
👍 The ability to interact/communicate with customers (1) by commenting/responding to reviews/feedback (1) which will promote sales/build up customer relations/allow businesses to improve their services (1)
👍 The owner could create a ‘group’ (for buyers and sellers of memorabilia) (1) which could lead to increased sales/contributions of memorabilia for his business (1)
👍 Can (post) comments/share photographs/videos of the products / text giving details of the products (1) which would be beneficial for individual items like memorabilia/constantly changing ‘one off’ stock/giving provenance/validity to the products (1)
👍 Can target specific demographics / can use hash tags (1) which will lead to a higher percentage of completed sales (1)
👍 Can post positive reviews/suggested improvements for the business (1) which may encourage potential customers to look at his website/buy products (1)
👍Social networking sites offer measurability, such as statistics on how many times an advert/post has been viewed, shared or commented on (1) which will allow the business to monitor customer opinion and inform future actions/purchases of new stock (1)
Disadvantages of Social Media
👎The nature of the business means that stock is constantly changing (1) uploading new photos/information/videos can be time consuming (1)
👎Customers may post negative comments/or write comments about issues encountered that could be visible to everyone (1) this could impact on the business if not dealt with quickly/effectively / requires constant monitoring of the pages (1)
👎Can become costly over time if used on a cost per click basis (1) and this may not be reflected in increased sales (1)
👎Must be proactive in maintaining page / must ensure it is up to date (1) to attract/maintain customer interest/ ensure maximising exposure/effectiveness (1)
Good user experience with social media
⚫ The nature of the business means that stock is constantly changing (1) uploading new photos/information/videos can be time consuming (1)
⚫ Customers may post negative comments/or write comments about issues encountered that could be visible to everyone (1) this could impact on the business if not dealt with quickly/effectively / requires constant monitoring of the pages (1)
⚫ Can become costly over time if used on a cost per click basis (1) and this may not be reflected in increased sales (1)
⚫ Must be proactive in maintaining page / must ensure it is up to date (1) to attract/maintain customer interest/ ensure maximising exposure/effectiveness (1)
The online community must be set up so that social media has
⚫ A moderating team that oversees that ‘rules of behavior’ are set and adhered to
⚫ Users are aware of what is/isn’t acceptable to post to avoid any offence / inappropriate material being posted
⚫ The privacy of users is given high priority. Need to consider who is going to be given access. Can be ‘closed group’ or extended so that anyone can access
⚫ Users are aware of potential dangers of using social media
Blog
⚫ Blogs, microblogs and vlogs let people regularly share information such as news and opinions with others on a topic of interest’s
⚫ others can comment on the videos or blog posts to create a dialogue between people with shared interests
Setting up Blog
- 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠
Choose a blog name(1)
Choose a domain extension (1)
Design blog layout (1)
Write post (1)
Publish blog (1)
Promote blog (1)
- 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠
Choose a host (1)
Register a domain (through the hosting company) (1)
Install blogging software (1)
Choose a theme (1)
Write a post (1)
Advantages of Blogs
👍Easy to upload photographs (1) to gain feedback from viewers (1)
👍Can set up initial thread (1) which will allow viewers to feedback in a time structured manner (1)
👍Can add hashtags (1) which will increase visibility of the posts to the target audience (1)
👍Blogs are always sorted chronologically (1) so that viewers logging onto the system always see the most recent blog first (1)
👍Can be used to advertise other services (1) which will attract users from a wide geographical area (1)
WiKi
⚫ Wikis are created and maintained by online communities. group of people with shared interests add and edit content on a site to ensure the information is up to date and accurate
⚫ For example you can find dedicated wiki for most popular video games movies and tv shows
Advantages of Wiki
👍Can set up the system to only accept invited participants (1) ensures that the group have control over contributions (1)
👍Editable/ customizable/ upload documents (e.g. spreadsheets / calendars / images / videos / web links) (1) by only the members of the group (1)
👍Simultaneously sharing of documents (1) everyone see the same document (1)
👍Ease of use (1) don’t require advanced editing skills / knowledge of computer programming (1)
👍Simple to navigate (1) can include section tabs / links between multiple pages (1)
👍Generally unlimited size (1) group can create complex wikis (1)
👍WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) (1) all of the group see the same page (1)
👍Version control (1) users can refer back to previous versions/ can recover previous edited information/ data (1)
Disadvantages of Wiki
👎Tracking changes can be difficult (1) may be difficult to quickly identify content to be updated (1)
👎Not all edits will be agreeable (1) need to establish a protocol for accepting changes (1)
👎Open to spam / vandalism (1) if not managed properly (1)
👎Unreliable information (1) if not verified/ validated (for accuracy) (1)
👎Limited formatting options (1) which may be detrimental to the overall output (1)
👎The software may be difficult for non-technical users (1) which means all members of the groups may not be able to contribute (1)
Chatroom/Instant messaging
⚫ A Chatroom is a website where users can communicate by posting short text messages
⚫ Instant messaging also lets users write a short text messages but directly to a person or selected group this method is more private
Instant Messages - Advantage
👍It is time saving / provides real time communication
👍Send images and videos to clients/individuals
👍Notification alert when a message has been received
👍Send content using a mobile device
👍Chat Rooms - Advantages
👍Can set up a video chat room to offer tips (1)
Podcast
⚫ Podcast are audio files posted to the internet for download they are normally produced as a series on particular topic
