Title: Knowledge communication in rate.ee, a web picture-rating community

Authors: Anni Oja, Jaak Simm

Addresses: Department of Philology, Tallinn University, Narva mnt 29, 10120 Tallinn, Estonia. ' Sugiyama's Lab, Computer Science Department, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2–12–1 Ookayama, Meguro-ko, Tokyo, 152–8550, W8-74 Japan

Abstract: This study analyses the knowledge communication processes in the rate.ee web portal in the contexts of knowledge communication and cultural communication. The primary domains where the members of rate.ee participate in knowledge communication are technical and social communication skills, cultural knowledge (like language, norms, values) and specific domains of interest. The users are highly motivated not only to exchange knowledge, but mainly to promote themselves, develop relations with others, develop social networks and design their identities. The knowledge communication processes in such a situation are more complex and less conventional than in task-oriented groups. In the case of this large social community, the communicators and their background, the cultural reality and the technical possibilities of the environment may play an even more important role than the knowledge itself.

Keywords: knowledge communication; web based communities; culture; picture rating; online communities; virtual communities; web portals; cultural communication.

DOI: 10.1504/IJWBC.2008.019554

International Journal of Web Based Communities, 2008 Vol.4 No.4, pp.523 - 538

Published online: 16 Jul 2008 *

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