Activity lifespan: An analysis of user survival patterns in online knowledge sharing communities

TitleActivity lifespan: An analysis of user survival patterns in online knowledge sharing communities
Publication TypeConference Paper
Year of Publication2010
AuthorsYang, J, Wei, X, Ackerman, MS, Adamic, LA
Conference NameInternational Conference on Weblogs and Social Media (ICWSM’10)
Date Published05/2010
Keywordscommunity evolution, e-communities, intercultural, online communities, Q&A, QA communities, survival analysis
Abstract

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.

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