Communications and Media

Ritu Argawan and Meng Mas study entitled Through a Glass Darkly Information Technology Design Identity Verification and Knowledge Contribution on Online Communities explored the effectiveness of knowledge contribution that is encouraged on online communities and how the exchange is aided by the presence of different technological advancements in identity confirmation. For this study, the authors surveyed at least 650 members of two online communities one was an emotional-support community while the other was a common-interest community on the web. The study produced significant results on the research gap regarding the usage of information technology (IT) for communication and knowledge contribution purposes on online communities. The concept of identity verification in the online setting was also given thorough importance by producing a quantitative analysis. The formation of identity in the online world significantly affects the communication process of people and the level of possible knowledge contribution that could exist in this type of community.

The goal of the authors in this study is to explore and define the role of technology as a key factor for an online community in its objective of facilitating knowledge contribution. The study recognized that there are several reasons that affect how people participate in online communities and so the authors made use of different IT artifacts such as virtual copresence, persistent labeling, self presentation, and deep profiling to measure the reliability of their interaction with other people (Argawal and Ma, 2007, p. 43). These artifacts are deemed important in enhancing identity verification of people and in effect contributing to the satisfaction of the members in their participation on online communities and affecting their process of knowledge contribution. The hypotheses of the research study is built around the question of how these four artifacts significantly affects the perceive identification verification of people online and how they direct and indirectly affects the communication process of the community. Participants believe that the effective establishment of their online identity relates significantly to knowledge contribution in the community, increasing the recognition and self-worth that the person enjoys. Argawal and Ma (2007) believe that voluntary knowledge contribution is promoted between strangers through the help of technology-mediated communication (p. 42). There are certain reasons why people are gathered together on one community online and this study verifies if members of the communities really find their participation helpful and beneficial for them in sharing and receiving knowledge from their chosen community.

In Argawal and Mas study (2007), technology is the foundation and medium through which community members interact and therefore it is a significant factor that affects how the communication in the community flows (p. 43). Technology was a central concern in the study and the authors attempted to measure quantitatively the impact of using information technology innovation for the communication process and identity verification in community infrastructure designs. The world that is created with the help of technology has several different rules in the offline world. Therefore, communication in communities online would be different because of the medium that is used in it. As the theory of media ecology dictates, the medium used for communication is as vital as the content being communicated (Levinson, 2000).

The truth is, communication by technology is very challenging and does not always guarantee effective social interaction because crucial and important  contextual cues such as body language and physical surroundings cannot easily and conveniently be realized through computer channels (Argawal, 2007, p. 43).

Communication process is already complicated in its own sense already. The introduction of technology therefore added further complications as communication evolves along with the innovations of media that could be utilized by people. By exploring and empirically testing the communication of people in the structure of online communities, the authors of this study provided a theoretical explanation on what features of technology can help motivate knowledge contribution in the online setting.

As the study proved, one of the vital things needed in online communities is the credibility of the identity of the participants. Online communities are mostly popular because they provide support, encourage similar interests, or promote friendship across the land. The study emphasized that for a community to work effectively, identity verification is important to maintain the smooth interaction and willingness to open up and share in the community. In the study, identity is used to define more than the name of the person. Individuals can choose not to reveal their real name or assume different roles in their online world. Rather, identity takes into consideration an individuals personality, social background and roles, and value systems (Argawal and Ma, 2007, p. 59). These things are often regarded more important than an individuals real name. The establishment of satisfaction and mutual trust is not reliant on the real name of the people they interact with in online communities. Rather, the openness and honesty on personality is regarded more important. The study proved that when understanding has already been established and participants are satisfied with the amount of introduction they received from their co-participants, they could at once share a part of themselves to them and take part in the exchange of knowledge and personal experiences. The figures presented by the study show that three out of four artifacts used in the testing model are often employed.

Most importantly, the authors of this study also added the significant limitations of this study and included a discussion on what are the possible contributions and implications of their theory. The authors recognized that because they have only surveyed two, highly-centralized, online communities, the results of the study may not apply to some designs of online communities. Other than this, there still other more limitations on this study that can be addressed in future researches. Argawal and Ma (2007) included possible future researches for communication and what other possible aspects of technological advancements could change the process of communicating of online and offline (p. 61). The possibilities of more related studies are bountiful as the culture IT continues to grow and expand.

As the study concludes, Through a Glass Darkly successfully achieved its goal of providing significant and timely results about the interpersonal communication process that occurs abundantly on online communication. The study highlighted, through the theoretical model employed by the authors, the importance effects of technological advancements and how they computer-mediated communication affects the exchange of communication in online communities. This gives emphasis on the evolvement of media ecology and verifies how the medium is significant in delivering messages. And lastly, the authors of the study were able to provide strong empirical discussion that concerns the importance of identity verification and satisfaction for knowledge contribution in online exchanges.