Abstract
Blogging communities have developed in two ways. First, through this proliferation of blogs, individuals with like interests have found each other and built online connections. Second, people with real-life connections have realized the potential of blogging technology to facilitate collaboration and have purposefully created blogs to support their efforts. This article provides an overview of how blogging communities of practice are defined, have developed, and have come to use the tools for e-collaboration.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Insider Trajectory: A community of practice trajectory in which one is a full, participating member of a community of practice, familiar with the norms and expectations, and engaged in community maintenance.
Comment: A message left in response to a blog post.
Inbound Trajectory: A community of practice trajectory in which a person is becoming an increasingly involved member of a community of practice, learning about the norms and expectations.
Outbound Trajectory: A community of practice trajectory in which a member prepares to diminish or end participation. This trajectory is often characterized by passing on responsibilities and knowledge to those who will continue in the community.
Blogging: An act of posting entries to one’s blog.
E-Collaboration Technologies: Electronic technologies that enable collaboration among individuals engaged in a common task.
Boundary Trajectory: A community of practice trajectory in which a member of one community of practice offers insight and expertise to another related community of practice.
Blog: Short for weblog, a frequently updated Web site containing date-stamped entries posted in reverse chronological order, often consisting of ideas, brief essays, photos, and hyperlinks to other Web sources, and allowing users to post comments.
Legitimate Peripheral Participation: The act of observing a community without necessarily engaging in active participation for the purposes of learning about norms and expectations as well as determining whether one wishes to become a member.
Community Of Practice: A group of people who create a community around a shared practice. Members of a community of practice engage in social learning, sharing knowledge, experiences, and reflections.
Peripheral Trajectory: A community of practice trajectory in which a person tends to mostly observe, learning about community norms and expectations while determining whether to make a greater investment in the community.
Blogger: A person who maintains a blog.
Reciprocal Link: When two bloggers provide hyperlinks to each other’s blogs on their own blogs as part of a mutual exchange.