Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Oct 31;15(10):e248.
doi: 10.2196/jmir.2796.

Enabling community through social media

Anatoliy Gruzd  1 , Caroline Haythornthwaite
Affiliations

Enabling community through social media

Anatoliy Gruzd et al. J Med Internet Res. .

Abstract

Background: Social network analysis provides a perspective and method for inquiring into the structures that comprise online groups and communities. Traces from interaction via social media provide the opportunity for understanding how a community is formed and maintained online.

Objective: The paper aims to demonstrate how social network analysis provides a vocabulary and set of techniques for examining interaction patterns via social media. Using the case of the #hcsmca online discussion forum, this paper highlights what has been and can be gained by approaching online community from a social network perspective, as well as providing an inside look at the structure of the #hcsmca community.

Methods: Social network analysis was used to examine structures in a 1-month sample of Twitter messages with the hashtag #hcsmca (3871 tweets, 486 unique posters), which is the tag associated with the social media-supported group Health Care Social Media Canada. Network connections were considered present if the individual was mentioned, replied to, or had a post retweeted.

Results: Network analyses revealed patterns of interaction that characterized the community as comprising one component, with a set of core participants prominent in the network due to their connections with others. Analysis showed the social media health content providers were the most influential group based on in-degree centrality. However, there was no preferential attachment among people in the same professional group, indicating that the formation of connections among community members was not constrained by professional status.

Conclusions: Network analysis and visualizations provide techniques and a vocabulary for understanding online interaction, as well as insights that can help in understanding what, and who, comprises and sustains a network, and whether community emerges from a network of online interactions.

Keywords: Twitter; information and communication technology; online community; online social networks; social media.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Number of #hcsmca tweets over the studied period.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Twitter communication network among #hcsmca participants.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Top 10 most active posters.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Twitter communication network on #hcsmca colored by professional roles, nodes sized by in-degree centrality.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Wenger E, McDermott RA, Snyder WM. Cultivating communities of practice: a guide to managing knowledge. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School Press; 2002.
    1. Rubenstein E. ‘It's a microcosm of life': weaving a web of information and support in an online breast cancer community. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois; 2011.
    1. Moorhead SA, Hazlett DE, Harrison L, Carroll JK, Irwin A, Hoving C. A new dimension of health care: systematic review of the uses, benefits, and limitations of social media for health communication. J Med Internet Res. 2013 Apr;15(4):e85. doi: 10.2196/jmir.1933. http://www.jmir.org/2013/4/e85/ - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rubenstein EL. Proceedings of the ASIST 2012 Annual Meeting. 2013. Jan 24, [2013-10-29]. “Things my doctor never told me”: Bridging information gaps in an online community https://www.asis.org/asist2012/proceedings/Submissions/126.pdf.
    1. Setoyama Y, Yamazaki Y, Namayama K. Benefits of peer support in online Japanese breast cancer communities: differences between lurkers and posters. J Med Internet Res. 2011;13(4):e122. doi: 10.2196/jmir.1696. http://www.jmir.org/2011/4/e122/ - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources