This week focused on the difference between what constitutes a network or a community. After my explorations, I've settled on the following definitions:
Network - A group of people connected through a chain of common interests/themes.
Community - People you know who share a common interest/theme.
Lurker - Someone on social media that acts more as an observer than a participant.
Freeloader - An even more negative reference to a social media lurker.
I think that in the common vernacular there is little differentiation between the use of the term network vs. community, though I think the nuances are important when you are analyzing social media in terms of its utility and effects on the individual and society. A true community is going to provide a much deeper and more valuable space to someone than a network if they are looking to develop their identity or find friendship. A network will be more useful if you are trying to reach far and make connections with those who may help you if you are job searching or looking for information on a shared interest.
I definitely do my fair share of lurking. I window shop and scroll through feeds without sharing or commenting and learn from what is posted. However I am much more active in my communities of friends and co-workers that I am for my networks. When I am active on most social media, I tend to act with the interest of my communities in mind rather that those who are networked in, though now that I've typed that I think I consider acquaintances (people I know, but I am not close with) as networks rather than communities...which goes against the definitions I provided earlier.
PS. I think that Lurker and Freeloader are really harsh terms to refer to people who are coming into contact with the information that was chosen to be made public.
When the title of your entry came across my RSS feed, I thought, "Oh no! My lurking tendencies have been revealed! :) Seriously though, I was very interested in what you had to say. I agree Lurker and Freeloaders are very negative sounding terms. I also share your thoughts on communities being deeper than networks. Though at any given moment, my interactions may be similar, there is a difference. I feel like I know the people in my community. I know about the people in my networks.
ReplyDeleteI like that description! Much more succinct than mine! I know my community. I know ABOUT my platform. Thanks for the support and feel free to lurk anytime. Lol!
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