What role are you playing in the Internet community?
This week reading discussed the system structure of Technology-mediated social participation. Author categorized all the users into four parts: readers, contributors, collaborators and leaders. The number of people decreases as the level of authority increases. The author also listed explicitly for each category what motivates them to choose the role they play and the value they create for the Internet community as a whole.
It is very interesting to see that in a virtual world, humanity is still the main driver for us when we make our decision. Intrigued by our own curiosity or encouraged by friends, we browse and read content that is relevant to us. The desire of standing out and being recognized triggers us to write or upload content. A sense of empathy and altruism play as a big factor that pushes us to develop a welcoming and trusty atmosphere. Finally, the higher visibility and mentorship make certain people natural leaders, who synthesize discussions and arguments, solve problems, and deal with conflicts between contributors.
You may not be aware of the role you play or you play multiple roles across different online platforms, but as long as it is a social environment, other roles are needed to maintain it as a healthy community.
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