Short answer
Designers should consider a multi-platform strategy for online communities, assigning specific roles and engagement types to each platform to optimize knowledge creation and innovation.
- Field
- Innovation & Design
- Source
- Warwick Research Archive Portal (University of Warwick) (2019)
- Method
- Online Ethnography and Interviews
- Evidence
- Strong effect
By strategically orchestrating user engagement and content across different social media platforms, online communities can foster deeper knowledge development and drive innovation. This innovation & design research insight is drawn from a 2019 study published in Warwick Research Archive Portal (University of Warwick). Using Online ethnography and interviews, researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Designers should consider a multi-platform strategy for online communities, assigning specific roles and engagement types to each platform to optimize knowledge creation and innovation.
Strategic Platform Orchestration Drives Collective Knowledge Development for Innovative Outcomes
By strategically orchestrating user engagement and content across different social media platforms, online communities can foster deeper knowledge development and drive innovation.
Warwick Research Archive Portal (University of Warwick) · 2019
Key Findings
- 01Online communities employ orchestration practices, including profiling platforms and users, to manage knowledge development across multiple social media channels.
- 02Strategic platform use, such as initiating discussions on Twitter and shifting to ideation on Facebook and Instagram, facilitates different segments of the community to engage in profound knowledge development.
- 03Negotiated dynamics between users and moderators on each platform lead to interdependent knowledge that contributes to innovative outcomes.
Application
Design takeaway
Designers should consider a multi-platform strategy for online communities, assigning specific roles and engagement types to each platform to optimize knowledge creation and innovation.
How to apply
When designing an online community or platform, consider how different social media channels can be used in sequence to guide users through idea generation, refinement, and development.
Project actions
- 01Consider how your design project could utilize multiple digital platforms to achieve different goals within a collaborative process.
- 02Map out the user journey and identify which platforms are best suited for each stage of knowledge development or idea generation.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Employs a mixed-methods approach combining ethnography and interviews for rich data.
- +Provides empirical evidence for the fluidity of online communities across platforms.
Limitations
The specific platforms and the nature of the community studied might influence the results. Generalizing these findings requires careful consideration of the target audience and context.
Reliability & validity
The qualitative nature of ethnography and interviews provides rich insights but may limit generalizability. Triangulation of data sources (observations and interviews) enhances validity. Reliability would depend on consistent application of the observed orchestration practices.
Think critically
To what extent does the 'orchestration' described in this study require active moderation versus emergent community self-organization?
Design Principles
"Leverage platform diversity to orchestrate staged knowledge development, moving from broad engagement to focused ideation."
Understanding how to leverage the unique strengths of various digital platforms is crucial for design projects aiming to foster collaboration and generate novel ideas. This approach allows for tailored engagement, moving from broad awareness to in-depth ideation, ultimately enhancing the quality and impact of collective output.
What This Means for Your Design
To get the best ideas from a group online, use different social media sites for different things. Start broad on one site, then get more specific on others to help people develop ideas better.
How to use in your project
- 1.Reference this study when discussing strategies for online collaboration, community building, or leveraging digital tools for innovation in your design project.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
Paragraph starter
This research highlights the importance of strategic platform orchestration in online communities for fostering collective knowledge development and driving innovation. By profiling platforms and users, communities can effectively guide engagement across multiple social media channels, moving from broad discussion to in-depth ideation, ultimately enhancing the quality of contributions and leading to novel outcomes.
Source
Warwick Research Archive Portal (University of Warwick)
Orchestrating knowledge development in an online community across social media platforms
journal · 2019
View sourceQuestions About This Research
- What does the research say about strategic platform orchestration drives collective knowledge development for innovative outcomes?
- Designers should consider a multi-platform strategy for online communities, assigning specific roles and engagement types to each platform to optimize knowledge creation and innovation. Evidence: Warwick Research Archive Portal (University of Warwick) (2019).
- Why does "Strategic Platform Orchestration Drives Collective Knowledge Development for Innovative Outcomes" matter for design?
- Understanding how to leverage the unique strengths of various digital platforms is crucial for design projects aiming to foster collaboration and generate novel ideas. This approach allows for tailored engagement, moving from broad awareness to in-depth ideation, ultimately enhancing the quality and impact of collective output.
- How can designers apply this research?
- Designers should consider a multi-platform strategy for online communities, assigning specific roles and engagement types to each platform to optimize knowledge creation and innovation.
- What were the main findings?
- Online communities employ orchestration practices, including profiling platforms and users, to manage knowledge development across multiple social media channels.. Strategic platform use, such as initiating discussions on Twitter and shifting to ideation on Facebook and Instagram, facilitates different segments of the community to engage in profound knowledge development.. Negotiated dynamics between users and moderators on each platform lead to interdependent knowledge that contributes to innovative outcomes.
- What research method was used?
- Online Ethnography and Interviews.
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Strong effect, based on a 2019 journal from Warwick Research Archive Portal (University of Warwick).
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- When designing an online community or platform, consider how different social media channels can be used in sequence to guide users through idea generation, refinement, and development.
- What are the limitations?
- The study is specific to a media firm in Saudi Arabia, and findings may not be universally applicable to all types of online communities or cultural contexts.