When considering a definition of online identity, the first important thing I realized both from the readings and earlier assignments is how distinctly it is shaped by the site or community a person is interacting in. Any definition of the term that doesn’t take into account how users identify themselves in a particular online environment really isn’t complete. For the INFP forum, some the usual aspects of online identity, such as the choice of avatar and username, or a certain kind and amount of information displayed in a user profile page, clearly play a role in people finding and sharing an identity. But in addition, there are also some factors that seem more unique to this community and the theme it’s built around, a very specific type of personality that many of the users clearly identify with. It’s not surprising that the along with an avatar and some basic statistic (such as gender and number of posts), the forum gives users a choice to display their MBTI or other personality type, a piece of information that definitely has special meaning in this environment, and that the large majority of users (including many new posters) supply.
Another interesting aspect is the fact that the site allows users to upload an avatar (which is shown with every post or comment a user makes) and a separate picture that is only shown on the profile page. Many forum members use this feature to allow a piece of their offline identity merge with their online identity, by displaying some kind of public image (art, animals, celebrities etc.) as their avatar and a private picture of themselves on their profile, where it is likely seen only by others who for whatever reason are interested in finding out more about them. Features such as this remind me of both Hodkinson’s description of Goths using Livejournal as a community space, and Ploderer’s description of BodySpace as a passion-centric social network. Both make connections between their users’ offline lives and online activities, although the INPF forum resembles the functions of BodySpace more closely in that it doesn’t seem to use connections made online to carry over into an offline community such as the Goth subculture.
An example of a member's avatar and personality type info appearing with every post/comment.
Part of the same member's profile page.
Part of the same member's profile page.Includes personal image, information, tab for visitor messages etc.
Visitor messages: another part of social identity expression
"thanks" tagging in action
Compared to the other examples from our readings, the way this forum serves as a space to find emotional support as well as information and personal advice from a group who has something in common, most closely resembles Ploderer’s examination of passion-centric social networks. One major difference is that the level of that passion probably varies to a greater degree than in a place such as BodySpace... so while some INFP forum users are certainly deeply involved with the idea of personalities and obviously put a lot of thought in the ways their personality type affects their thinking, behavior, and life, there are also others who may simply be curious about the concept or just want to get some additional information, for example after taking a personality test and finding out their own type. But the essential connection between real life (offline) experiences and online interactions based on trust and sharing definitely play a major role in both communities, dissimilar as the overall topics (personality types versus bodybuilding) may be.
So two important ways in which members of the INFP community shape their online identity is by stating their personality type, and by providing information (through images or text) and seeking interactions that connects their online presence to their offline identity. This actually in a way contrasts Wellman et al.’s idea of networked individualism because individuals can feel as part of a group that lies outside the traditional units of family or work. By providing separate forums for each personality type and allowing members to identify themselves by their types, the Personality Café site encourages a sense of common bonds that go beyond just a random interest such as desire for information or a shared hobby. A personality type isn’t something one chooses, and for many members of the forum it’s an important part of who they are as a person and how they express themselves both online and offline. At the same time one could make the argument that such a community is simply one of Wellmann et al.’s many sub-networks each individual navigates in an exceedingly complex world that isn’t tied to any one group identity. I think that both can apply to the INFP forum, at least partially depending on the each user’s motivation for being part of the community and the extend to which members appropriate the forum either as an information tool or as a social support network or something that combines aspects of both.
Scenario #1: The newbie (sunny day)
A very common situation on the INFP forum is the arrival of a new member looking for advice or support. Considering that introversion is a common trait among many (although not all) people coming to the forum, it’s not surprising to see that rather than just jumping into conversations or making their own introductory posts, many new users approach the community more cautiously. Which is probably a good reason for a thread title ”NEWBIES INFP and the rest of them ARE ALL HERE FOR YOU, Friends every where” being displayed prominently and permanently near the top of the forum.
Scenario #1: The newbie (sunny day)
A very common situation on the INFP forum is the arrival of a new member looking for advice or support. Considering that introversion is a common trait among many (although not all) people coming to the forum, it’s not surprising to see that rather than just jumping into conversations or making their own introductory posts, many new users approach the community more cautiously. Which is probably a good reason for a thread title ”NEWBIES INFP and the rest of them ARE ALL HERE FOR YOU, Friends every where” being displayed prominently and permanently near the top of the forum.
A sample from the Newbie thread.
This also shows the "thanks " hearts tag feature.
This also shows the "thanks " hearts tag feature.
New member Maru arrives at the forum looking for support and advice on how to better deal with criticism in his everyday life, something that he feels his introversion leads him to struggle with.
Maru sees the Newbie sticky posts and leaves a short comment introducing himself.
Several members reply welcoming Maru, some visit her profile to find out more about him and one leaves a “welcome” visitor message on his profile wall.
Maru feels encouraged by the warm welcome and decides to make his own post detailing his problems and feelings, and directly asking for advice and other members’ experiences.
Several members reply with encouraging messages, others relate their own feelings in similar situations, some even tag Maru’s post with a “thanks” heart.
Maru starts feeling more comfortable, replying to some of the comments and getting into conversations with other members.
Scenario #2: About you and me (sunny day)
There are many threads on the forum that continue to accumulate comments and offer easy opportunities for even the most introverted member to add their two cents, feel closer to other members (by discovering similar interests, tastes, situation etc.), and generally feel as part of the community.
User Jim posts a new thread asking members what song describes their current feelings.
User NotABricklayer replies with a youtube link.
User Monty says that he writes his own songs and posts a few lines of lyrics.
User Christine posts a video and explains how it reflects her feelings
UserGreenMan tags the thread with a “thank you” heart and comments how fascinating it is.
Users continue replying with video links or song lyrics, some explaining their choices, others leaving comments on particular songs or that they enjoy the thread in general, keeping the thread running and alive for weeks or even longer.
Scenario #3: Nothing to say (rainy day)
The INFP forum is a very active place, and it’s rare to see posts with very few or even no responses, but many of them seem to follow a similar pattern that doesn’t give members enough incentive to become involved enough to respond. The users who post this type of content (ranging from newcomers to moderately experienced members) seem to look for communication rather than information or support, and this is where the usually very helpful and open network of the community fails to respond, as there is no clearly visible need for help, nor do these posts encourage a general sharing of interests or experiences.
User Sam posts a short observation about introversion without relating it to herself or a particular person, situation, or experience.
User Dean replies with a short comment agreeing with the sentiment.
The thread goes silent.
These examples show some of the ways that members of the INFP forum express their online identity. A majority of the interactions in this community depend on users willing to share not only information or interests but personal experiences and feelings. The most visible part of this openness is reflected by members revealing personal information (including pictures) in their profiles, acting as signals of a user’s reliability and trustworthiness (Donath). But actions such as offering advice or support, leaving visitor messages, or tagging posts with “thanks” are just as important in acquiring a level of trust within the community, and are therefore another part of members’ online identity. These actions also tend to lead to users “friending” one another, which strengthens the community itself by creating closer ties between its members.
Unlike social networking sites such as Myspace, where users’ interests are a major part of creating online identities to the point of being fashioned as signs of belonging to a group rather than describing actual taste (as described by Liu), personal preferences are only of secondary importance in the INFP forum. They can serve as a starting point to explore another user’s profile and maybe friend them, but they don’t usually influence the majority of interactions in the community, which largely depend on a sense of sharing based on the INFP personality type, regardless of the otherwise different tastes of individual members.
Maru sees the Newbie sticky posts and leaves a short comment introducing himself.
Several members reply welcoming Maru, some visit her profile to find out more about him and one leaves a “welcome” visitor message on his profile wall.
Maru feels encouraged by the warm welcome and decides to make his own post detailing his problems and feelings, and directly asking for advice and other members’ experiences.
Several members reply with encouraging messages, others relate their own feelings in similar situations, some even tag Maru’s post with a “thanks” heart.
Maru starts feeling more comfortable, replying to some of the comments and getting into conversations with other members.
Scenario #2: About you and me (sunny day)
There are many threads on the forum that continue to accumulate comments and offer easy opportunities for even the most introverted member to add their two cents, feel closer to other members (by discovering similar interests, tastes, situation etc.), and generally feel as part of the community.
User Jim posts a new thread asking members what song describes their current feelings.
User NotABricklayer replies with a youtube link.
User Monty says that he writes his own songs and posts a few lines of lyrics.
User Christine posts a video and explains how it reflects her feelings
UserGreenMan tags the thread with a “thank you” heart and comments how fascinating it is.
Users continue replying with video links or song lyrics, some explaining their choices, others leaving comments on particular songs or that they enjoy the thread in general, keeping the thread running and alive for weeks or even longer.
Scenario #3: Nothing to say (rainy day)
The INFP forum is a very active place, and it’s rare to see posts with very few or even no responses, but many of them seem to follow a similar pattern that doesn’t give members enough incentive to become involved enough to respond. The users who post this type of content (ranging from newcomers to moderately experienced members) seem to look for communication rather than information or support, and this is where the usually very helpful and open network of the community fails to respond, as there is no clearly visible need for help, nor do these posts encourage a general sharing of interests or experiences.
User Sam posts a short observation about introversion without relating it to herself or a particular person, situation, or experience.
User Dean replies with a short comment agreeing with the sentiment.
The thread goes silent.
These examples show some of the ways that members of the INFP forum express their online identity. A majority of the interactions in this community depend on users willing to share not only information or interests but personal experiences and feelings. The most visible part of this openness is reflected by members revealing personal information (including pictures) in their profiles, acting as signals of a user’s reliability and trustworthiness (Donath). But actions such as offering advice or support, leaving visitor messages, or tagging posts with “thanks” are just as important in acquiring a level of trust within the community, and are therefore another part of members’ online identity. These actions also tend to lead to users “friending” one another, which strengthens the community itself by creating closer ties between its members.
Unlike social networking sites such as Myspace, where users’ interests are a major part of creating online identities to the point of being fashioned as signs of belonging to a group rather than describing actual taste (as described by Liu), personal preferences are only of secondary importance in the INFP forum. They can serve as a starting point to explore another user’s profile and maybe friend them, but they don’t usually influence the majority of interactions in the community, which largely depend on a sense of sharing based on the INFP personality type, regardless of the otherwise different tastes of individual members.
Visitor messages: another part of social identity expression
"thanks" tagging in action
Fascinating look at an online community that's new to me! The "thanks" tagging aspect of the website looks like a fantastic way to create weak social bonds which can strengthen over time. Interesting read! I look forward to seeing how your final project on introversion and online behavior shapes up!
ReplyDelete(I took a free Meyers-Briggs test after reading your post and found out I'm an ENTP. Haha.)
Terrific post! It is very interesting that people are so willing to “publicly” provide their MBTI profile. I wonder how many people see this as a private piece of information. Or, do people think that it is not too private due to MBTI not being used as a typical identifier (e.g. gender, age, location, etc.). I also find it interesting that you felt that people connect their off-line lives with their on-line lives by providing avatars; I never really thought of it this way. One other way that I considered the personalization of an avatar is to be able to shape your on-line identity, as opposed to bringing your offline identity into the on-line environment. I am also interested in how the OC broke the community up by MBTI profile, as it is creating a more homogenous environment. Do you think this promotes discussion? When considering the INFP forum, I cannot help but wonder how similar it is to specialized sites (i.e. Bodyspace), as the body builders indicated that as certain type of person would be a body builder. Would this be similar to compartmentalizing the community into their respective MBTI?
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love that you brought up Myers-Brigg in this entry. Pop psychology is great! Do you keep up with the Enneagram as well?
ReplyDeleteHmm... I don't think that people see the MBTI as being very private information. I heard of one professor who actually requests that his students write their MBTI type on the papers they turn in, so that 'he knows what he's dealing with.' I think for a lot of people, their types are a marker of pride, because oftentimes the descriptions tend to be written in a language that makes people feel good. For example, a judge who scores as ISTJ and reads her description may think "Yeah, they nailed it right on the head. I am very precise and I embrace truth and honesty." I think the INFPs also get a flattering profile, being described along the lines of gifted artists.
You might be interested in what this guy did. As an informal project, he classified blogs according to their MBTI type, without even meeting their authors, basing it on the content alone:
http://outsidemybrainagain.blogspot.com/2008/05/blogs-listed-by-meyers-briggs-typology.html
I like the point you mentioned at the end of the post: trust and sharing plays an important role in online interactions. By extension, trust and sharing is also crucial to shaping online identity. The sunny scenarios you gave are two examples of the weak ties as social support (#1) and information sharing (#2). The first scenario recalled my memory of our week one readings and assignment: the murderer’s extreme opinions and an anxious mother’s twitter made people thought she’s going to abuse her child. The mother’s inappropriate post caused the police to drop by and prevent potential tragedy from happening. However, the murderer’s extreme opinions seemed not to draw much attention and be stopped. The mother’s case can be viewed as a sunny scenario, while the murderer’s case a rainy scenario.
ReplyDeleteThe second scenario shows that people were revealing their tastes and interests when sharing information. For example, user Monty posted the songs and the lyrics he wrote. This action enabled other users to judge what kind of person he is. Even though users were under the same thread, they tended to provide different information. It describes what Liu (2007) said—It may be desirable to avoid identification with a group, such as one's circle of friends, in order to express differentiation. The feeling of being unique is theoretically believed to be an important factor to make people contribute more to the online community (Ling, 2005, session 3 reading). In your scenario, it works.
I'm curious of the INFP site is viewed as an alternative to a support group or if there is more to it then that. I guess I was confused as to if this is meant to be an alternative to Facebook. I know very little about psychology so I guess the need for an SNS like this is lost on me. I think this also comes from the fact that I reserve very little time in my life for computing. Maybe that means I'm not an introvert? How often do users on these sites log in? Once a day? Only when they are seeking information?
ReplyDeleteFirst off thanks for your explanation of Personality Cafe and this forum- I'm guessing you are working with the other student in our class for your final project who blogged on this same SNS? Seems like an novel topic & interesting project.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Philip on this one though -- and I mentinoed this on the other student's (I closed the window & don't remember who it was) blog -- is this social network more of a 'facebook' type about forming relationships or more of a 'bodysculpt' type about making connectinos w/ pp who share a passion? I just don't really get what the draw is to the SNS - your examples suggest that it is like a support group - do certain personality types need more support than others? Thanks for sharing ---
Thanks a lot for the comments everyone!
ReplyDelete@GabrielW: I love it that you actually took the test... an extroverted Thinker definitely sounds like you :) And I totally agree, the "thanks" feature is really useful... it reminds me a little of "liking" on Facebook, gives you a chance to show the poster you were interested in what they had to say even when you don't feel like writing an actual comment for whatever reason. And it's used a lot on the INFP forum it seems, even posts with few replies often have a bunch of "thanks".
@mbco: I'm not sure about the personality type info being something private, it seems that usually the people who are interested in that kind of thing actually enjoy sharing that information (not just on this forum but in unrelated communities such as Facebook etc.) So it's maybe less about revealing something personal than displaying a feeling of connection with others who share the same characteristics.
As for breaking up the community into different forums, promoting discussion is certainly one good reason. But I can also imagine that it makes members feel more comfortable to freely post their thoughts and feelings knowing that their audience is made up of like-minded people who very likely won't judge them for things that might come across as weird in some of the other forums. At the same time, jumping between forums seems pretty common. So keeping communities separate actually encourages user participation in two ways, one by giving members a safe, trusted environment within their group, and at the same time making users curious about other groups. I guess that makes it a little different from BodySpace, which is a very homogeneous community. Interest in personality types in general may initially bring users to the Personality Cafe site, but I think it's the feeling of belonging to a particular personality type that makes users become really involved in "their" type community.
@Nana: I'm not as good with the Enneagram, always mix up my type numbers! INFP is a good and easy fit for me so I love the MBTI :) I guess that's an example of seeing one's type as a marker of pride... you're definitely spot on with that observation, I think that's what it is to most of the people not just on the INFP forum but on the whole site in general. And that's really the glue of those communities. Unless you not just agree with but really like what your MBTI type says about you, you probably wouldn't become a member of a forum dedicated to it. At least from what I've see there seems to be no one completely unsatisfied with their type... although lots of the discussion centers around dealing with the challenges of being an INFP (or any other type).
And thanks a lot for that link, that sounds really interesting, I'll definitely check it out!
What an insightful post. I was thinking about your rainy day situation, I think you are absolutely right. For a person who identifies her/himself as as an introvert to step out and try to interact, then get no response seems like a very rainy/gloomy situation indeed.
ReplyDeleteI thought about a community for people who are willing to define themselves by their Myers-Briggs type, but figured I was getting too meta. This is a great example of a site that is both welcoming and supportive for INFPs, but I wonder if it has a strict range of acceptable behaviors that for some people might border on the oppressive. For example, is it okay to interact with self-promotion or dissent, or are those seen as "non-INFP" and discouraged or removed?
ReplyDeleteThank you for introducing the INFP forum and the Myers-Brigs Type Indicator, which are totally new to me. I wonder what type of personality mine would be by the MBTI assessment. Since the types are decided by choosing preferences in answer to questions, I agree that the forum is much like the bodybuilding site (a passion-centric social network site), where people have the same interest and this enables them to interact more. I also like your scenarios for learning what intrigues people about giving emotional support. For example, users need to share their feelings and experiences in detail with active users, which is unique in this kind of forum. If I were a member of the forum, I wouldn’t give advice as there are so many similar posts asking for help.
ReplyDeleteSorry for taking so long to reply!
ReplyDelete@Bug: Thank you for bringing up the session one examples, your rainy and sunny day scenarios show how much of an impact these interaction can actually have beyond the environment they occur in. And your second observation is right too of course, people's responses to even simple questions often convey very different amounts and kinds of information, some of which can offer a closer look at the poster's identity.
@Philip: I'm not sure if you could compare the site to a support group. While part of the interaction definitely serves to offer emotional support and advice to other members, the forum is also a place to discover different personality types in a safe setting that makes even those who are usually not comfortable in putting themselves or their opinions out there (which is a common trait among INFPs). These are probably the kind of people who would think twice about posting their thoughts or questions in a very open setting like Facebook, not wanting to reveal too much of themselves or being judged by others. I'd imagine usage for most members would be similar to a site like BodySpace, which regular users visiting at least often enough to feel part of the community, probably daily. Unlike Facebook or Twitter communities likes this one are probably far more attractive and useful to people who do spend at least a moderate amount of time online each day not just to post a quick status update but to have some real interaction with others that either replaces or is in addition to offline interactions. (although I believe there are people using Facebook in this way too, especially those who get very involved in games or other features on the site... for Twitter this seems less likely, but I'm not sure)
@Chris: I think this is definitely more of a passion-centric community. It's less about maintaining existing relationship (like Facebook) than interacting with people with similar interests. I think part of what makes the forum successful is that it offers a trusted environment for the more reluctant personality types to speak up and have interactions with other types as well, but the interaction itself seems really similar to places such as BodySpace. I haven't looked at any of the other type forum, so I'm not sure of some need more support than others, but in general it's probably true that the eight introverted types need some kind of encouragement to participate rather than just lurk, and providing a community that reflects that need definitely helps.
@Mernie: I think this is a very common scenario for introverts in more general communities such as Facebook, which is why they may be more comfortable in a place like the INFP forum that's usually more welcoming. Figuring out the best way to communicate with people can be a frustrating experience.
ReplyDelete@Dr. Gazan: I'm not sure about posts being removed, and I did not come across any kind of open criticism of any type of content, but I could definitely imagine a kind of passive discouragement such as ignoring posts that don't fall within certain rules of behavior. Although posts by non-INFP members of other forums seem to generally attract many comments, which still leaves the possibility of censoring content posted by self-proclaimed INFPs which strays too far from what is "normal" for that personality type. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll definitely keep that in mind when looking at interaction on the forum.
@Song: If you're really interested in finding out your type, it's very easy, just googling MBTI would probably lead you to some quick and easy tests (although the more comprehensive one are usually more accurate in determining your type, especially if you don't swing too far to any extreme). I agree with you too that this kind of forum isn't for everyone... many people would not feel comfortable sharing that kind of personal information (feelings and experiences) with relative strangers, and yet other would probably see it as a waste of time. But for those who enjoy both giving and receiving support and advice that way it's really a pretty nice place.