Success Through Collaboration: What the Players of World of Warcraft Can Teach Us About Knowledge Production and Sharing in Virtual Communities

Tammy Ann Whynot

Authors

Tammy Ann Whynot Master of Library and Information Science Candidate, 2012; Dalhousie University

Keywords:

Virtual Communities, Knowledge Production, Social Capital, Social Exchange, Social Orientation, World of Warcraft, Social Networks

Abstract

As of October 1, 2010, 12 million subscribers around the world play massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft (WoW). Outside of the formal framework of the game, players have established a flourishing network for the creation and sharing of knowledge. Motivations for playing the game may appear obvious—as a game, it is a form of recreation or entertainment—but why do players step outside the game world to participate in knowledge production? To this end, theories of social capital, social exchange, and social orientation offer insight and explanation. Using the WoW community as a case study, this paper illustrates how virtual communities produce and exchange knowledge through strong, voluntary, social bonds. It is also demonstrated that as a result of these activities, broader goals are met and success is achieved.

Author Biography

Tammy Ann Whynot, Master of Library and Information Science Candidate, 2012; Dalhousie University

Tammy Whynot is an MLIS candidate at Dalhousie University, in her first year of study. She is a graduate of Dalhousie University with a BA in Political Science and Comparative Religion, and St. Mary’s University with a BA in Asian Studies. She is an avid reader, gamer, and participant in online social networks, with an interest in how these activities intersect to result in the sharing of information and creation of knowledge. She currently resides in Halifax with her cat, She-Ra.

References

Achievement. (2010). In Wowwiki. Retrieved from http://www.wowwiki.com/Achievement Ardichvili, A. (2008). Learning and knowledge sharing in virtual communities of practice: Motivators, barriers, and enablers. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 10(4), 541-554. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1523422308319536" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1523422308319536</a> Blizzard Entertainment. (2010a, October 07). World of Warcraft subscriber base reaches 12 million worldwide. Retrieved from http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/press/pressreleases.html?101007 Blizzard Entertainment. (2010b). World of Warcraft. Retrieved from http://us.battle.net/wow/en/ Bates. M. J. (2005). Information and knowledge: An evolutionary framework for information science. Information Research, 10(4), paper 239. Retrieved from http://InformationR.net/ir/10-4/paper239.html Chen, M. (2008). Communication, coordination, and camaraderie in World of Warcraft. Games and Culture, 4(1), 47-73. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1555412008325478" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1555412008325478</a> Chu, K.-M. (2009). A study of members' helping behaviours in online community. Internet Research, 19(3), 279-292. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/10662240910965351" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/10662240910965351</a> Chiu, C. M., Hsu, M. H., & Wang, E. T. G. (2006). Understanding knowledge sharing in virtual communities: An integration of social capital and social cognitive theories. Decision Support Systems, 42(3), 1872-1888. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2006.04.001" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2006.04.001</a> Choo, C. W. (1998). The management of learning—organizations as knowledge-creating enterprises. In The Knowing organization. How organizations use information to construct meaning, create knowledge, and make decisions. (pp. 105-153). New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. Cyr, S., & Choo, C.W. (2010). The individual and social dynamics of knowledge sharing - an exploratory study. Journal of Documentation, 66(6). <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00220411011087832" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00220411011087832</a> Dragon Kill Points. (2010). In Wowwiki. Retrieved from http://www.wowwiki.com/DKP Elitist Jerks. (2010a). Forum Rules. Retrieved from http://elitistjerks.com/misc.php?do=cfrules Elitist Jerks. (2010b). Forums. Retrieved from http://elitistjerks.com/forums.php Fitch, D. (2007). Wherefore Wikis? Journal of Technology in Human Services, 25(4), 79-85. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J017v25n04_05" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J017v25n04_05</a> Dalhousie Journal of Interdisciplinary Management – Volume 7 – Fall 2011 13 Golub, A. (2010). Being in the World (Of Warcraft): Raiding, realism, and knowledge production in a massively multiplayer online game. Anthropological Quarterly, 83(1), 17-45. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/anq.0.0110" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/anq.0.0110</a> Hersberger, J. A., Murray, A. L., & Rioux, K.S. (2007). Examining information exchange and virtual communities: An emergent framework. Online Information Review, 31(2), 135-147. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14684520710747194" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14684520710747194</a> Leeroy Jenkins. (2010). In Wowwiki. Retrieved from http://www.wowwiki.com/Leeroy_Jenkins_(video) Putzke, J., Fischbach, K., Schoder, D., & Gloor, P. (2010). The evolution of interaction networks in massively multiplayer online games. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 11(2), 69-94. Raban, D. R., & Rafaeli, S. (2007). Investigating ownership and the willingness to share information online. Computers in Human Behavior, 23(5), 2367. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2006.03.013" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2006.03.013</a> Shivel, G. (2010). World of Warcraft: The Murloc is the message. Symploke, 17, 1, 205-213. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/sym.2009.0026" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/sym.2009.0026</a> Statistics. (2010) In Wowwiki. Retrieved from http://www.wowwiki.com/Special:Statistics Withers, C. (2010, December 07). World of Warcraft gets facelift in —Cataclysm?. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from http://www.theglobeandmail.com Yang, S. C., & Farn, C. K. (2009). Social capital, behavioural control, and tacit knowledge sharing—A multi-informant design. International Journal of Information Management, 29(3), 210-218. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2008.09.002" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2008.09.002</a> World of Warcraft Terminology. (2010). In Wowwiki. Retrieved from http://www.wowwiki.com/Acronym Wowhead. (2010). What is Wowhead? Retrieved from http://www.wowhead.com/aboutus Wowwiki: About. (2010) In Wowwiki. Retrieved from http://www.wowwiki.com/WoWWiki:About

Success Through Collaboration: What the Players of World of Warcraft Can Teach Us About Knowledge Production and Sharing in Virtual Communities

Authors

Keywords:

Abstract

Author Biography

Tammy Ann Whynot, Master of Library and Information Science Candidate, 2012; Dalhousie University

References

Downloads

Published

Issue

Section

License