HOW OFFLINE GATHERINGS AFFECT ONLINE COMMUNITIES

Abstract

This paper builds on past studies of virtual community by illuminating the effect of offline gatherings (‘meetups’) on physically dispersed virtual communities. Although research to date has examined the way in which online interaction affects offline community, the question of how offline interaction affects online community has largely been ignored. On the one hand, these offline gatherings may provide individual benefits for members as the development of relationships strengthens social ties, leading to the creation of bonding social capital. However, these gatherings do not necessarily benefit the community at large as the resources found in weak ties may be sacrificed as attendees favour interaction with one another to the detriment of those that do not attend meetups. Non-obtrusive analysis of over eight years of user activity from a large, active online community suggests that the development of multiplex relationships – relationships maintained both online and offline – enhances attendees’ engagement with the online community as a whole, strengthens ties to other attendees, and contributes to the creation of bonding social capital. However, weak ties with non-attendees dissolve and bridging social capital is sacrificed as those who meet offline favour interaction with other attendees.

Keywords:

• computer-mediated-communication
• virtual community
• social networks
• face-to-face interaction
• social capital

Acknowledgements

I extend my appreciation to Keith Hampton and the editors of this special issue for their insightful comments. I also wish to thank Thomas Lee and Christina Holland for lending their technical expertise, and Josh Millard for his logistical assistance.

Notes

The type of gatherings of interest here should not be confused with offline meetings arranged through websites such as Meetup.com. Sites such as these primarily facilitate offline interaction and may have limited online channels for interaction. The goal is find people to establish offline groups, not to interact virtually.

The self-selected nature of the sample should call into question the validity of these findings. That being said, this survey is the only one of its kind conducted on the MetaFilter community.

It is not assumed that one who has abandoned a contributor role is no longer visiting the site. These members may very well continue to exist as ‘lurkers’, those who visit the site and read others’ contributions without actively participating. However, these members have abandoned the community in the sense that they no longer interact with other users on the site.