TY - CONF T1 - Virtual Gifts and Guanxi: Supporting Social Exchange in a Chinese Online Community T2 - Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Computer–Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW’11) Y1 - 2011 A1 - Jiang Yang A1 - Mark S. Ackerman A1 - Lada A. Adamic KW - Chinese culture KW - gift KW - guanxi KW - inter-cultural studies KW - online community KW - reciprocity KW - social exchange KW - social interactions KW - virtual points AB -

Significant cultural differences persist between East and West. Software systems that have been proven to operate efficiently within one culture can fail in the context of the other, especially if they are intended to support rich social interactions. In this paper we demonstrate how a virtual currency system, not unlike ones employed by many US-based websites, evolved within a thriving Chinese online forum into an essential medium for extremely diverse and culturally specific social exchange activities. The social interactions reflect the traditional Chinese idea of guanxi, or interpersonal influence and connectedness, while at the same time incorporating the norms of a new generation of Internet users.

JF - Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Computer–Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW’11) UR - Complete ER -