Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Collaboration on Social Network Sites: Amateurs, Professionals and Celebrities

  • Published:
Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Amateurs are found in arts, sports, or entertainment, where they are linked with professional counterparts and inspired by celebrities. Despite the growing number of CSCW studies in amateur and professional domains, little is known about how technologies facilitate collaboration between these groups. Drawing from a 1.5-year field study in the domain of bodybuilding, this paper describes the collaboration between and within amateurs, professionals, and celebrities on social network sites. Social network sites help individuals to improve their performance in competitions, extend their support network, and gain recognition for their achievements. The findings show that amateurs benefit the most from online collaboration, whereas collaboration shifts from social network sites to offline settings as individuals develop further in their professional careers. This shift from online to offline settings constitutes a novel finding, which extends previous work on social network sites that has looked at groups of amateurs and professionals in isolation. As a contribution to practice, we highlight design factors that address this shift to offline settings and foster collaboration between and within groups.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. We use the term ‘bodybuilding show’ as an umbrella term for physique, figure and fitness competitions. Men usually compete in physique competitions where they are judged by muscle size, symmetry and proportion. Some women also compete in physique competitions, but most women compete in figure or fitness competitions that emphasize a “feminine shape and proportion, while retaining a trained look” (NABBA 2009, online).

  2. http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/

  3. Bodybuilding.com lists famous bodybuilders who have a profile on BodySpace on http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bodyspaceprofiles.htm.

References

  • Ashkanasy, S., Vetere, F., Davis, H., & Shanks, G. (2009). Finding the other 5%: Understanding the role of social networking technologies in building personal networks for young adults with cancer. In I. Wagner, H. Tellioglu, E. Balka, C. Simone, & L. Ciolfi (Eds.), Proceedings of the European Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (ECSCW 2009), Vienna, Austria, September 7–11, 2009 (pp. 105–122). London: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bardzell, J. (2007). Creativity in amateur multimedia: Popular culture, critical theory, and HCI. Human Technology, 3(1), 12–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baym, N. K. (2007). The new shape of online community: The example of Swedish independent music fandom. First Monday, 12(8). Retrieved from: http://131.193.153.231/www/issues/issue12_8/baym/.

  • Baym, N. K., & Burnett, R. (2009). Amateur experts: International fan labour in Swedish independent music. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 12(5), 433–449.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beer, D. (2008). Making friends with Jarvis Cocker: Music culture in the context of web 2.0. Cultural Sociology, 2(2), 222–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Binder, J., Howes, A., & Sutcliffe, A. (2009). The problem of conflicting social spheres: Effects of network structure on experienced tension in social network sites. In D. Olsen & R. Arthur (Eds.), Proceedings of the Conference on Human Factors in Computing (CHI 2009), Boston, MA, April 4–9, 2009 (pp. 965–974). New York: ACM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bogdan, C., & Bowers, J. (2007). Tuning in: Challenging design for communities through a field study of radio amateurs. In C. Steinfield, B. Pentland, M. Ackerman, & N. Contractor (Eds.), Proceedings of the Communities and Technologies Conference (C&T 2007), Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, June 28–30, 2007 (pp. 439–461). London: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bogdan, C., & Mayer, R. (2009). Makumba: The role of the technology for the sustainability of amateur programming practice and community. In J. Carroll (Ed.), Proceedings of the Communities and Technologies Conference (C&T 2009), University Park, PA, June 25–27, 2009 (pp. 205–214). New York: ACM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyd, D. (2008). Why youth (heart) social network sites: The role of networked publics in teenage social life. In D. Buckingham (Ed.), Youth, identity, and digital media (pp. 119–142). Cambridge: MIT.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyd, D., & Ellison, N. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), 210–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, G., Howe, T., Ihbe, M., Prakash, A., & Borders, K. (2008). Social networks and context-aware spam. In B. Begole & D. McDonald (Eds.), Proceedings of the Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW 2008), San Diego, CA, November 8–12, 2008 (pp. 403–412). New York: ACM.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bruckman, A. (2002). Studying the amateur artist: A perspective on disguising data collected inhuman subjects research on the Internet. Ethics and Information Technology, 4(3), 217–231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burke, M., Marlow, C., & Lento, T. (2009). Feed me: Motivating newcomer contribution in social network sites. In D. Olsen & R. Arthur (Eds.), Proceedings of the Conference on Human Factors in Computing (CHI 2009), Boston, MA, April 4–9, 2009 (pp. 945–954). New York: ACM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Butler, B., Joyce, E., & Pike, J. (2008). Don’t look now, but we’ve created a bureaucracy: The nature and roles of policies and rules in Wikipedia. In M. Czerwinski & A. Lund (Eds.), Proceedings of the Conference on Human Factors in Computing (CHI 2008), Florence, Italy, April 5–10, 2008 (pp. 1101–1110). New York: ACM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, J., Geyer, W., Dugan, C., Muller, M., & Guy, I. (2009). Make new friends, but keep the old: Recommending people on social networking sites. In D. Olsen & R. Arthur (Eds.), Proceedings of the Conference on Human Factors in Computing (CHI 2009), Boston, MA, April 4–9, 2009 (pp. 201–210). New York: ACM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, E., Teasley, S. D., & Ackerman, M. S. (2009). Contribution, commercialization & audience: Understanding participation in an online creative community. In S. Teasley & E. Havn (Eds.), Proceedings of the Conference on Supporting Group Work (GROUP 2009), Sanibel Island, FL, May 10–13, 2009 (pp. 41–50). New York: ACM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crossley, N. (2006). In the gym: Motives, meaning and moral careers. Body Society, 12(3), 23–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, S. B., & Moar, M. (2005). The amateur creator. In E. Edmonds (Ed.), Proceedings of the Conference on Creativity & Cognition (C&C 2005), London, UK, April 12–15, 2005 (pp. 158–165). New York: ACM.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • DiMicco, J., Millen, D. R., Geyer, W., Dugan, C., Brownholtz, B., & Muller, M. (2008). Motivations for social networking at work. In B. Begole & D. McDonald (Eds.), Proceedings of the Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW 2008), San Diego, CA, November 8–12, 2008 (pp. 711–720). New York: ACM.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Donath, J. (2007). Signals in social supernets. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), 231–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ducheneaut, N., Moore, R., & Nickell, E. (2007). Virtual “third places”: A case study of sociability in massively multiplayer games. Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), 16(1), 129–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellison, N. B., Lampe, C., & Steinfield, C. (2009). Social network sites and society: Current trends and future possibilities. Interactions, 16(1), 6–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emmett, A. (2008). Networking news. American Journalism Review, 30(6), 40–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ess, C., & AoIR Ethics Working Committee (2002). Ethical decision-making and Internet research: Recommendations from the AoIR ethics working committee: Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR). Retrieved from: http://www.aoir.org/reports/ethics.pdf.

  • Gilbert, E., Karahalios, K., & Sandvig, C. (2008). The network in the garden: An empirical analysis of social media in rural life. In M. Czerwinski & A. Lund (Eds.), Proceedings of the Conference on Human Factors in Computing (CHI 2008), Florence, Italy, April 5–10, 2008 (pp. 1603–1612). New York: ACM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. Garden City: Doubleday.

    Google Scholar 

  • Granovetter, M. S. (1973). The strength of weak ties. The American Journal of Sociology, 78(6), 1360–1380.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grinter, R. E. (2005). Words about images: Coordinating community in amateur photography. Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), 14(2), 161–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hookway, N. (2008). ‘Entering the blogosphere’: Some strategies for using blogs in social research. Qualitative Research, 8(1), 91–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hotten, J. (2004). Muscle: A writer’s trip through a sport with no boundaries. London: Yellow Jersey Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howe, J. (2005). The hit factory. Wired, 11, 11. Retrieved from: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.11/myspace.html.

  • Humphreys, L. (2007). Mobile social networks and social practice: A case study of Dodgeball. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), 341–360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joinson, A. N. (2008). Looking at, looking up or keeping up with people?: Motives and use of Facebook. In M. Czerwinski & A. Lund (Eds.), Proceedings of the Conference on Human Factors in Computing (CHI 2008), Florence, Italy, April 5–10, 2008 (pp. 1027–1036). New York: ACM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kittur, A., & Kraut, R. E. (2008). Harnessing the wisdom of crowds in Wikipedia: Quality through coordination. In B. Begole & D. McDonald (Eds.), Proceedings of the Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW 2008), San Diego, CA, November 8–12, 2008 (pp. 37–46). New York: ACM.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kittur, A., Chi, E. H., & Suh, B. (2008). Crowdsourcing user studies with Mechanical Turk. In M. Czerwinski & A. Lund (Eds.), Proceedings of the Conference on Human Factors in Computing (CHI 2008), Florence, Italy, April 5–10, 2008 (pp. 453–456). New York: ACM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klein, A. M. (1993). Little big men: Bodybuilding subculture and gender construction. Albany: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krasnova, H., Günther, O., Spiekermann, S., & Koroleva, K. (2009). Privacy concerns and identity in online social networks. Identity in the Information Society, 2(1), 39–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lampe, C. A., & Ellison, N. (2010). Student athletes on Facebook. In K. Inkpen & C. Gutwin (Eds.), Proceedings of the Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW 2010), Savannah, GA, February 6–10, 2010 (pp. 193–196). New York: ACM.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Lampe, C. A., Ellison, N. B., & Steinfield, C. (2006). A face(book) in the crowd: Social searching vs. social browsing. In P. Hinds & D. Martin (Eds.), Proceedings of the Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW 2006), Banff, Canada, November 4–8, 2006 (pp. 167–170). New York: ACM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lampe, C. A., Ellison, N. B., & Steinfield, C. (2008). Changes in use and perception of Facebook. In B. Begole & D. McDonald (Eds.), Proceedings of the Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW 2008), San Diego, CA, November 8–12, 2008 (pp. 721–730). New York: ACM.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, K., Kaufman, J., & Christakis, N. (2008). The taste for privacy: An analysis of college student privacy settings in an online social network. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 14(1), 79–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luther, K., & Bruckman, A. (2008). Leadership in online creative collaboration. In B. Begole & D. McDonald (Eds.), Proceedings of the Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW 2008), San Diego, CA, November 8–12, 2008 (pp. 343–352). New York: ACM.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, D., O’Neill, J., & Randall, D. (2009). ‘Talking about (my) generation’: Creativity, practice, technology & talk. In I. Wagner, H. Tellioglu, E. Balka, C. Simone, & L. Ciolfi (Eds.), Proceedings of the European Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (ECSCW 2009), Vienna, Austria, September 7–11, 2009 (pp. 171–190). London: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, A. D., & Edwards, W. K. (2007). Give and take: A study of consumer photo-sharing culture and practice. In M. B. Rosson & D. Gilmore (Eds.), Proceedings of the Conference on Human Factors in Computing (CHI 2007), San Jose, CA, April 28 to May 3, 2007 (pp. 347–356). New York: ACM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Monaghan, L. F. (2001). Bodybuilding, drugs, and risk. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • NABBA (2009). NABBA Rules. Retrieved from: http://www.nabba.co.uk/aboutus/rules.html.

  • Neuman, W. L. (2006). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches (6th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nov, O. (2007). What motivates Wikipedians? Communications of the ACM, 50(11), 60–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oldenburg, R. (1989). The great good place: Cafes, coffee shops, community centers, beauty parlors, general stores, bars, hangouts and how they get you through the day. New York: Paragon Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ploderer, B., Howard, S., & Thomas, P. (2008). Being online, living offline: The influence of social ties over the appropriation of social network sites. In B. Begole & D. McDonald (Eds.), Proceedings of the Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW 2008), San Diego, CA, November 8–12, 2008 (pp. 333–342). New York: ACM.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Probert, A. (2007). The fine line: An insight into ‘risky’ practices of male and female competitive bodybuilders. Annals of Leisure Research, 9(3–4), 272–290.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skeels, M. M., & Grudin, J. (2009). When social networks cross boundaries: A case study of workplace use of Facebook and LinkedIn. In S. Teasley & E. Havn (Eds.), Proceedings of the Conference on Supporting Group Work (GROUP 2009), Sanibel Island, FL, May 10–13, 2009 (pp. 95–104). New York: ACM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, D., & Hale, B. (2005). Exercise-dependence in bodybuilders: Antecedents and reliability of measurement. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 45(3), 401–409.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stebbins, R. A. (1979). Amateurs: On the margin between work and leisure. Beverly Hills: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stebbins, R. A. (1992). Amateurs, professionals and serious leisure. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stebbins, R. A. (2007). Serious leisure: A perspective for our time. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinfield, C., DiMicco, J. M., Ellison, N. B., & Lampe, C. (2009). Bowling online: Social networking and social capital within the organization. In J. Carroll (Ed.), Proceedings of the Communities and Technologies Conference (C&T 2009), University Park, PA, June 25–27, 2009 (pp. 245–254). New York: ACM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinkuehler, C. A., & Williams, D. (2006). Where everybody knows your (screen) name: Online games as “third places”. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11(4), 885–909.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suhr, H. C. (2009). Underpinning the paradoxes in the artistic fields of MySpace: The problematization of values and popularity in convergence culture. New Media Society, 11(1–2), 179–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Torrey, C., Churchill, E. F., & McDonald, D. W. (2009). Learning how: The search for craft knowledge on the internet. In D. Olsen & R. Arthur (Eds.), Proceedings of the Conference on Human Factors in Computing (CHI 2009), Boston, MA, April 4–9, 2009 (pp. 1371–1380). New York: ACM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turkle, S. (1995). Life on the screen: Identity in the age of the internet. New York: Simon & Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van House, N. A. (2007). Flickr and public image-sharing: Distant closeness and photo exhibition. In M. B. Rosson & D. Gilmore (Eds.), Extended Abstracts of the Conference on Human Factors in Computing (CHI 2007), San Jose, CA, April 28 to May 3, 2007 (pp. 2717–2722). New York: ACM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vyas, D., Heylen, D., Nijholt, A., & Veer, G. (2009). Collaborative practices that support creativity in design. In I. Wagner, H. Tellioglu, E. Balka, C. Simone, & L. Ciolfi (Eds.), Proceedings of the European Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (ECSCW 2009), Vienna, Austria, September 7–11, 2009 (pp. 151–170). London: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolke, D., & Sapouna, M. (2008). Big men feeling small: Childhood bullying experience, muscle dysmorphia and other mental health problems in bodybuilders. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 9(5), 595–604.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the participants of our study for sharing their experiences and insights with us. We are grateful to Paul Dourish and Peter Wright for their support during the field study and the analysis, and to the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments on this article.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Information Systems, The University of Melbourne, 111 Barry Street, Carlton, Victoria, 3010, Australia

    Bernd Ploderer, Steve Howard & Peter Thomas

Authors
  1. Bernd Ploderer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Steve Howard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Peter Thomas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bernd Ploderer.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ploderer, B., Howard, S. & Thomas, P. Collaboration on Social Network Sites: Amateurs, Professionals and Celebrities. Comput Supported Coop Work 19, 419–455 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10606-010-9112-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10606-010-9112-0

Key words

Search

Navigation