Do Social Bots Dream of Electric Sheep? A Categorisation of Social Media Bot Accounts

So-called 'social bots' have garnered a lot of attention lately. Previous research showed that they attempted to influence political events such as the Brexit referendum and the US presidential elections. It remains, however, somewhat unclear what exactly can be understood by the term 'social bot'. This paper addresses the need to better understand the intentions of bots on social media and to develop a shared understanding of how 'social' bots differ from other types of bots. We thus describe a systematic review of publications that researched bot accounts on social media. Based on the results of this literature review, we propose a scheme for categorising bot accounts on social media sites. Our scheme groups bot accounts by two dimensions - Imitation of human behaviour and Intent.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Proceedings of the Australasian Conference on Information Systems, 201

You Watch, You Give, and You Engage: A Study of Live Streaming Practices in China

Despite gaining traction in North America, live streaming has not reached the popularity it has in China, where livestreaming has a tremendous impact on the social behaviors of users. To better understand this socio-technological phenomenon, we conducted a mixed methods study of live streaming practices in China. We present the results of an online survey of 527 live streaming users, focusing on their broadcasting or viewing practices and the experiences they find most engaging. We also interviewed 14 active users to explore their motivations and experiences. Our data revealed the different categories of content that was broadcasted and how varying aspects of this content engaged viewers. We also gained insight into the role reward systems and fan group-chat play in engaging users, while also finding evidence that both viewers and streamers desire deeper channels and mechanisms for interaction in addition to the commenting, gifting, and fan groups that are available today.Comment: Published at ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2018). Please cite the CHI versio

Driving Live Streaming Commitment with Goal Incentives Based on Viewer Reciprocity: A Quasi-Natural Experiment

Driving streaming commitment from individual streamers is critical to the sustainable growth of live streaming platforms, and platform operators tend to apply incentives to motivate streamers for such voluntary content contributions. However, most monetary incentives have an unintended impact on reducing the intrinsic motivation of streamers, resulting in fewer efforts and less commitment to streaming productions. This study explores the effect of a novel goal incentive design based on viewer reciprocal support. Leveraging a quasi-natural experiment, we estimate the causal impact of the incentive scheme using the combination of a coarsened exact matching (CEM) approach with the difference-in-differences (DID) model. Our results confirm that the goal incentive based on viewer reciprocal support could positively drive streamers’ efforts in live streaming. This paper contributes to the literature on driving user generated content in emerging digital platforms and offers important implications for streaming platform operators

Turning Chatters into Donators: An Investigation of Topic-Based Bullet Screen Mode on a Livestreaming Platform Short Paper

Despite the importance of social interaction in virtual communities, scant research has investigated the outcomes of social interaction features. Our study aims to investigate the business value of social interaction features in the context of livestreaming platforms. Specifically, we investigate the effect of the activation of topic-based bullet screen mode – an interactive feature which allows the streamers to set a theme or topic for the viewers to send bullet screen comments about. Our results from the regression discontinuity estimation suggest that the activation of the topic-based bullet screen mode yields an immediate decrease in viewers\u27 chat interaction, which challenges the conventional wisdom social interaction features is a panacea for boosting increased user engagement. Nevertheless, we observe a compensatory effect whereby the decrease in chat interaction was accompanied by a surge in gift donations. This counterintuitive finding highlights the intricate interplay between social interaction features, user motivations, and platform affordances

Knowledge And Relational Competences In Virtual Organisations

Purpose: The purpose is to identify the impact of knowledge and building relational competences on the process of creating virtual organizations (VOs).Methodology: The study included companies operating in Poland. The data was collected through personal interviews. A personal interview questionnaire was used as a research tool. The questions about the value of knowledge in VOs were constructed in a way that reflected the nature of VOs. The study was conducted in 2018.Findings: The study’s findings indicate that one of the main drivers of collaboration inside a VO is the desire to learn new things through learning with partners. The growth of human resources, the exchange of experience, and the learning of new knowledge are the three most significant advantages of collaboration in a VO, in addition to the financial gains. In the process of developing a VO, relational competences are built with the use of appropriate knowledge resources, which also have an impact on the effectiveness of collaboration. Reflection on shared learning occurs in a company’s future relationships with the environment. The competitive position is improved through expanded knowledge resources and improved relational competencies. The greatest enabling and restricting factors for the creation of VOs are knowledge and experience, respectively.Originality/value: The study’s empirical findings support the idea that having access to the right knowledge resources is essential for developing relational competences throughout the virtual organization of economic activity.Keywords: virtual organisation, knowledge, cooperation, relational competencesPaper type: Research paperCel: Celem jest próba zidentyfikowania wpływu wiedzy i budowania kompetencji relacyjnych na proces tworzenia VO. Metodologia: Badaniem objęto firmy działające w Polsce. Dane zostały zebrane w wywiadach osobistych, a narzędziem badawczym był kwestionariusz wywiadu osobistego. Pytania odnoszące się do znaczenia wiedzy w VO zostały zaprojektowane tak, aby odzwierciedlały naturę VO. Badanie przeprowadzono w 2018 roku. Wnioski: Wyniki badania pokazują, że zdobywanie nowej wiedzy poprzez uczenie się wśród partnerów jest jedną z wiodących motywacji do współpracy w ramach VO. Oprócz korzyści finansowych najważniejszymi zaletami współpracy w VO są: zdobywanie nowej wiedzy, wymiana doświadczeń oraz rozwój zasobów ludzkich. Odpowiednie zasoby wiedzy odgrywają decydującą rolę w budowaniu kompetencji relacyjnych w procesie tworzenia VO; wpływają również na efektywność współpracy. Uczenie się od siebie nawzajem znajduje odzwierciedlenie w przyszłych relacjach przedsiębiorstwa z otoczeniem. Zwiększone zasoby wiedzy i wzmocnione kompetencje relacyjne poprawiają pozycję konkurencyjną. Posiadanie wiedzy i doświadczenia jest najbardziej korzystnym czynnikiem przy tworzeniu VO, podczas gdy ich brak jest czynnikiem najbardziej ograniczającym. Oryginalność/wartość: Wyniki badania potwierdzają empirycznie, że odpowiednie zasoby wiedzy są kluczowym elementem budowania kompetencji relacyjnych w procesie wirtualnej organizacji działalności gospodarczej. Słowa kluczowe: organizacja wirtualna; wiedza; współpraca, kompetencje relacyjne Rodzaj papieru: Artykuł badawcz

A expressão de aborrecimento e solidão indesejada no Twitch

The consumption of streaming content on social networks has increased among young audiences, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic began, promoting the emergence of new parasocial relationships. The literature points to boredom and unwanted loneliness as the main drivers of this behavior. No study has investigated the expression of boredom and unwanted loneliness on Twitch to determine if they encourage the consumption of streaming content. This study analyzes the expressions of boredom and unwanted loneliness of users consuming streaming content on Twitch to ascertain to which extent they are the main motivations depending on the context and conclude implications for practice. A mixed methodology was used, guided by virtual ethnography, to respond to the double qualitative-quantitative approach of the research. It has been applied to six communities of Spanish-speaking streamers on Twitch, with different audience levels, taking 3 streamings per streamer as case studies, broadcast from December 2021 to January 2022. The results were obtained using ethnographic observation and content analysis techniques. They suggest that boredom and unwanted loneliness are states that motivate the consumption of streaming content on Twitch. Their presence is more visible in small communities, and their nature differs depending on each community. Streamers should pay attention to their audience to relieve their boredom and unwanted loneliness, and to help detect possible maladaptive behaviors motivated by these states.El consumo de contenido en streaming en redes sociales ha aumentado entre el público joven, especialmente desde que comenzó la pandemia por COVID-19, facilitando la generación de nuevas relaciones parasociales. La literatura apunta al aburrimiento y la soledad no deseada como los principales impulsores de este comportamiento. Ningún trabajo ha explorado la expresión de estos estados en la plataforma Twitch para determinar si incitan al consumo de contenido en streaming. Este estudio analiza las expresiones del aburrimiento y la soledad no deseada de los usuarios durante el consumo de contenido en streaming en Twitch para esclarecer si son las principales causas que lo motivan, comprender su naturaleza y establecer implicaciones prácticas. El método empleado es de tipo mixto, guiado por la etnografía virtual, para responder al doble enfoque cualitativo-cuantitativo de la investigación. Se ha aplicado sobre seis comunidades de streamers hispanohablantes con distintos niveles de audiencia, tomando como casos 3 streamings por streamer, emitidos de diciembre de 2021 a enero de 2022. Los resultados se han obtenido a partir de técnicas de observación etnográfica y análisis de contenido. Estos indican que el aburrimiento y la soledad no deseada son estados que motivan el consumo de contenido en streaming en Twitch. Su expresión es más visible en comunidades reducidas y de distinta naturaleza en función de cada comunidad. Los streamers deben prestar atención a su audiencia para satisfacer sus necesidades de mitigación del aburrimiento y la soledad no deseada y para ayudar a detectar posibles conductas desadaptativas motivadas por estos estados.O consumo de conteúdos de streaming nas redes sociais aumentou entre o público jovem, especialmente desde o início da pandemia COVID-19, promovendo o surgimento de novas relações parassociais. A literatura aponta o aborrecimento e a solidão indesejada como os principais motores deste comportamento. Nenhum estudo investigou a expressão do aborrecimento e da solidão indesejada no Twitch para determinar se estes encorajam o consumo de conteúdos de streaming. Este estudo analisa as expressões de aborrecimento e de solidão indesejada dos utilizadores que consomem conteúdos de streaming no Twitch para determinar até que ponto estas são as principais motivações, dependendo do contexto, e concluir quais são as implicações para a prática. Foi utilizada uma metodologia mista, orientada pela etnografia virtual, para responder à dupla abordagem qualitativa-quantitativa da investigação. Foi aplicada a seis comunidades de streamers de língua espanhola no Twitch, com diferentes níveis de audiência, tomando 3 streamings por streamer como estudos de caso, transmitidos de Dezembro de 2021 a Janeiro de 2022. Os resultados foram obtidos utilizando técnicas de observação etnográfica e de análise de conteúdos. Estes sugerem que o aborrecimento e a solidão indesejada são estados que motivam o consumo de conteúdos de streaming no Twitch. A sua presença é mais visível em pequenas comunidades, e a sua natureza difere dependendo de cada comunidade. Os streamers devem prestar atenção ao seu público para aliviar o seu aborrecimento e a sua solidão indesejada e para ajudar a detectar possíveis comportamentos mal-adaptados motivados por estes estados

The Gamification of Crowdsourcing Systems: Empirical Investigations and Design

Recent developments in modern information and communication technologies have spawned two rising phenomena, gamification and crowdsourcing, which are increasingly being combined into gamified crowdsourcing systems. While a growing number of organizations employ crowdsourcing as a way to outsource tasks related to the inventing, producing, funding, or distributing of their products and services to the crowd – a large group of people reachable via the internet – crowdsourcing initiatives become enriched with design features from games to motivate the crowd to participate in these efforts. From a practical perspective, this combination seems intuitively appealing, since using gamification in crowdsourcing systems promises to increase motivations, participation and output quality, as well as to replace traditionally used financial incentives. However, people in large groups all have individual interests and motivations, which makes it complex to design gamification approaches for crowds. Further, crowdsourcing systems exist in various forms and are used for various tasks and problems, thus requiring different incentive mechanisms for different crowdsourcing types. The lack of a coherent understanding of the different facets of gamified crowdsourcing systems and the lack of knowledge about the motivational and behavioral effects of applying various types of gamification features in different crowdsourcing systems inhibit us from designing solutions that harness gamification’s full potential. Further, previous research canonically uses competitive gamification, although crowdsourcing systems often strive to produce cooperative outcomes. However, the potentially relevant field of cooperative gamification has to date barely been explored. With a specific focus on these shortcomings, this dissertation presents several studies to advance the understanding of using gamification in crowdsourcing systems