Micro-blogging and Online Community

• Main Author: Lorna-Jane Richardson
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of York 2015-05-01
• Series: Internet Archaeology
• Subjects: online; community; relationships; weak ties; social capital
• Online Access: http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue39/2/index.html

The dominance of social media technologies on the Internet has located virtual communities around the use of proprietary social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, although the situation, location and definition of any online community are constantly evolving. Belonging to a number of these online communities, through social networking sites or forums is becoming a normal practice among Internet users. Yet much of the academic analysis of these online communities and networks takes place in isolation from the activities of the community itself in real life. This abstracts the community ties that people also hold offline with their online networks and does not consider the relationships and interactions that may also exist offline. This article will explore the experiences of archaeologists using the micro-blogging platform Twitter, and explore how the format and communication supported by Twitter creates a sense of community online and offline, and support professional and personal networking, using the concepts of weak ties and social capital.