Collaborative Communities and You

Image by MesserWoland

Via Wikimedia Commons Community of Practice Picture

A key function of collaborating is the ability to learn from your community. Every person is a part of a community. These communities may be based on where you live, the school you attend, your workplace, or even a hobby of yours. Communities of practice are one type of community. 

First, I asked myself, what do I consider a community of practice? Researching a little deeper, I found this video, explaining what a community of practice is. 

This week, the University of Arizona class, “Collaborating in Online Communities,” read an excerpt from Etienne Wenger, Richard Arnold McDermott, William Snyder’s book, titled Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge. Page 4 (see link) states, “Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis.” 

I think it is important to recognize that you can be a part of more than one community of practice. Personally, I am a part of a pageant community of practice, a dance community of practice, a religious community of practice, as well as a community of practice here on campus. I am continually collaborating both online and in person to gain knowledge, practice,  answer questions and receive answers, as well as act in a supporting role in these communities.

Communities of practice are sustained by people devoted to their work, seeking further knowledge. They give users a chance to share their knowledge and practices with which they are currently or previously engaged in. To be a successful community of practice, you need to collaborate with your fellow members. 

- Hannah Leigh Johnson

Opening Up

Image by Masur
Via Wikimedia Commons Collaboration Photo

In a class titled, “Collaborating in Online Communities,” it came as no surprise when the first reading asked what collaboration is. To collaborate, one must have the intention to be open to other ideas and concepts, as well as having an open platform for the world to be able to contribute to your work. 

In everyday life, I find myself stalking my friends on social media and personal blogs, commenting on their posts and seeing who they tagged in photos to further contribute to their pages. Although, sometimes the page they tagged is “private,” where I then have to either request to follow or not contribute at all. Personally, I feel that if I have to request to follow your page, you are not open for others to contribute to your work. While some may argue this setting is for security and privacy (see video: Social Media: A Loss of Privacy?), others, like myself, may view this as a media turn off, as I can no longer be a part of what is happening around me without permission. 

In The Social Media Reader by Michael Mandiberg, it states, “Terms like “sharing,” “openness,” “user-generated content,” and “participation” have become so ubiquitous that too often they tend to be conflated and misused.” (Link: What is Collaboration Anyway?). 

I agree with the statement Mandiberg wrote. I believe people only have one definition of the word openness. This is the complete opposite of any definition that exists, as you must be open to more than one definition. How would you define openness in terms of collaboration and media? 

- Hannah Leigh Johnson