research-article

Lend me sugar, I am your neighbor!: a content analysis of online forums for local communities

Authors:

Claudia López,

Rosta FarzanAuthors Info & Claims

C&T '15: Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Communities and Technologies

Pages 59 - 67

https://doi.org/10.1145/2768545.2768558

Published: 27 June 2015 Publication History

Abstract

A variety of online tools have grown as platforms to encourage community development among neighbors. In a study of 22 online forums for local communities, we explored how the content shared on these systems reflects their contribution to their goal of community development and, at the same time, how it affects their sustainability as information systems. Our results show that local forums are primarily used to mobilize resources from local residents. Many mobilization requests seem to rely on users' offline connections, which considerably change the patterns of users' interaction online. These characteristics speak to how the interplay of offline and online connections introduce new challenges and opportunities to maintain thriving online platforms for local communities. Our paper reports on these issues and discusses their implications for the development and study of participatory technologies for community development.

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Cited By

Tao RAubin Le Quéré MFarzan RLópez CCardoso Llach DQuercia DMustafa MNiu SWong-Villacrés M(2024)The Neighborhood Prism: How Localized Social Networks Reflect Offline DemographicsCompanion Publication of the 2024 Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing10.1145/3678884.3681870(323-329)Online publication date: 11-Nov-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3678884.3681870
Choksi MAubin Le Quéré MLloyd TTao RGrimmelmann JNaaman M(2024)Under the (neighbor)hood: Hyperlocal Surveillance on NextdoorProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3641967(1-22)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3613904.3641967
Makkonen JHartikainen MNygren RVäänänen K(2023)User Perceptions of Help Posts in Commu Help Exchange ApplicationProceedings of the 26th International Academic Mindtrek Conference10.1145/3616961.3617809(329-333)Online publication date: 3-Oct-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3616961.3617809
Show More Cited By

Index Terms

Lend me sugar, I am your neighbor!: a content analysis of online forums for local communities
1. Human-centered computing
  1. Human computer interaction (HCI)
    1. Interaction paradigms
      1. Web-based interaction

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cover image ACM Other conferences

C&T '15: Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Communities and Technologies

June 2015

167 pages

ISBN:9781450334600

DOI:10.1145/2768545

Conference Chair:
Gabriela Avram
University of Limerick, Ireland
,
Program Chairs:
Fiorella De Cindio
University of Milano, Italy
,
Volkmar Pipek
University of Siegen, Germany

Copyright © 2015 ACM.

Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 27 June 2015

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C&T '15

C&T '15: Communities and Technologies 2015

June 27 - 30, 2015

Limerick, Ireland

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Cited By

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https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3678884.3681870
Choksi MAubin Le Quéré MLloyd TTao RGrimmelmann JNaaman M(2024)Under the (neighbor)hood: Hyperlocal Surveillance on NextdoorProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3641967(1-22)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3613904.3641967
Makkonen JHartikainen MNygren RVäänänen K(2023)User Perceptions of Help Posts in Commu Help Exchange ApplicationProceedings of the 26th International Academic Mindtrek Conference10.1145/3616961.3617809(329-333)Online publication date: 3-Oct-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3616961.3617809
Guilliams ARubens UBanneux FChapeau PMarée R(2023)Shareish (Share & Cherish): an open-source, map-based, web platform to foster mutual aidProceedings of the 11th International Conference on Communities and Technologies10.1145/3593743.3593790(238-251)Online publication date: 29-May-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3593743.3593790
Robaeyst BBaccarne BMeulenaere JMechant P(2022)Online Neighborhood Networks: The Relationship Between Online Communication Practices and Neighborhood DynamicsMedia and Communication10.17645/mac.v10i2.512910:2(108-118)Online publication date: 26-May-2022
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Kurtenbach SKüchler ARees Y(2022)Digitalisierung und nachbarschaftlicher Zusammenhalt im ländlichen RaumRaumforschung und Raumordnung | Spatial Research and Planning10.14512/rur.10880:3(329-343)Online publication date: 30-Jun-2022
https://doi.org/10.14512/rur.108
De Meulenaere JCourtois CWalrave MPauwels LHardyns WPonnet K(2022)Exploring the User Base of Online Neighborhood Networks: Determinants of Online Neighborhood Network Membership and UsesJournal of Urban Technology10.1080/10630732.2022.210021130:3(47-62)Online publication date: 2-Nov-2022
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Miller RRichter FTheodori MGollner M(2022)Professional wildfire mitigation competency: a potential policy gapInternational Journal of Wildland Fire10.1071/WF2201231:7(651-657)Online publication date: 13-Jul-2022
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De Meulenaere JBaccarne BCourtois CPonnet K(2021)The development and psychometric testing of the expressive and instrumental Online Neighborhood Network Uses Scale (ONNUS)Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace10.5817/CP2021-3-815:3Online publication date: 24-Aug-2021
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Mukhtar MSingh AArnesen ESrivastava S(2021)Conceptualizing Hyperlocal Information Systems for Developing CountriesProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/34795095:CSCW2(1-26)Online publication date: 18-Oct-2021
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