Introduction to Social Networking and Communities Minitrack

This minitrack has been ongoing under various titles since 2003. Over those years, our emphasis has continued to be on exploring how social media - internet, email, twitter, blogs, social networking, and more - affect the development and support of community-based endeavors. We consider community quite broadly to include work and learning groups, as well as more general social collectives. The empirical and theoretical papers that make up this minitrack address online communities of practice, inquiry, and interest relating to political, educational, business, social, and/or gaming pursuits, with attention to how online community building and management contribute to success in the digital economy and society. While the focus is primarily directed to online communities, papers also address the important interplay between online and offline worlds. The minitrack continues to attract a lot of interest and this year nine papers were selected following peer review of 21 submissions (43% acceptance rate). Papers this year examine issues of psychology and behavior, e.g., in papers on addiction, flaming, and unfriending, Crossover effects between the online and offline worlds, e.g., for those out of work, and those in academia, Learning and information exchange online, And effects and results of in-world, in-community online behavior.