TY - CONF T1 - Activity lifespan: An analysis of user survival patterns in online knowledge sharing communities T2 - International Conference on Weblogs and Social Media (ICWSM’10) Y1 - 2010 A1 - Jiang Yang A1 - Wei, Xiao A1 - Mark S. Ackerman A1 - Lada A. Adamic KW - community evolution KW - e-communities KW - intercultural KW - online communities KW - Q&A KW - QA communities KW - survival analysis AB -

Retaining participation is crucial for information services, online knowledge sharing services among them. We present the first comprehensive analysis of users’ activity lifespan across three predominant online knowledge sharing communities. Extending previous work focusing on initial interactions of new users, we use survival analysis to quantify participation patterns that can be used to predict individual lifespan over the long term. We discuss how cross site differences in user participation and the underlying factors can be related to differences in system design and culture. We conduct a longitudinal comparison of the communities’ evolvement between two distinct stages, the initial days just after the site launch and one year later. We also observe that sub communities corresponding to different topics differ in their ability to sustain users. All results reveal the complexity and diversity in users’ engagement to a site and design implications are discussed.

JF - International Conference on Weblogs and Social Media (ICWSM’10) UR - Complete ER -