1. Virtual Communities Fromtribes to e-tribes MKTG 6226 FSocial Media For Marketing and Management January 24, 2011 Pauline MUNIER

2. Whatis a tribe ? “A tribe is any group of people, large or small, who are connected to one another, a leader, and an idea.” (Godins, 2008) Historicallybased on kinship, now on cultural interests and social affiliations (Kozinets, 1999)  people gatherbecause of similarlifestyle and consumptionactivities, or more powerfullyshared passions The stronger the emotionalload, the tighter the tribe

3. Why do people decide to jointribes? Need to communicate and sharewith people: socializing“For millions of years, humans have been seeking out tribes, be they religious, ethnic, economic, political, or even musical (think of the Deadheads). It's our nature.” (Seth Godins, 2008) Leadership aspirations Satisfaction and self-accomplishment (doingsomething for the community) Experiencingdifferentsides of theirpersonality Search for information Search for support Etc.

4. Typology of tribes In function of theirlink to the marketplace, tribescanbedivided in 4 themes (Cova, Kozinets & Shankar, 2007): Activators Double Agents Plunderers Entrepreneurs

5. E-Tribes or Virtual Communities Online groups of people who share social interactions based on common interests, behaviors, practices and rules“Social aggregationsthatemergefrom the net whenenough people carry on […] public discussions long enough, withsufficienthuman feeling, to formwebs of personalrelationships in cyberspace” (Howard Rheingold, 1993) Differenceswithtribes : No geographicalboundaries or time limitations Quicker and more convenient No physicalencounters , fewer face-to-face interactions Level of commitment Process of integrationinto the community

6. The consumptionknowledgegrows as group standards are integrated and as social tiesdevelopbetween the members of the community

7. Virtual Communities of Consumption Many e-tribal topics deal withconsumption and marketing interests (Kozinets, 1997-1998) and gather brand-enthusiasts, regularconsumers of specificproductcategories… Communitymemberscanbedivided in 4 groups according to boththeirinterest in the consumptionactivity and theirinvolvement in discussions and practices: Tourists Minglers Devotees Insiders

8. Communal Interactions : Orientations & Objectives People don’tjoin e-tribes for the samereasons, thereforetheydon’tshare the same intentions whileinteracting and communicating. Motivations are eitherpersonally or sociallymotivated, and either short-term or long-termintended  4 modes of interactions are used : Informational mode (tourists & devotees) Relational mode (minglers & insiders) Recreational mode (minglers & tourists) Transformational mode (insiders & devotees)

10. Differentforms of Virtual Communities According to their social structure and theirpurpose, wecandistinguish 4 main types : Dungeons (MUD) : game-playing/fantasyrole-playing in a structuredrecreational mode Rooms (IRC) : chat rooms Rings & Lists: gathering of relatedhomepages & e-mail mailing lists Boards : interest-specific message boards and forums