Image usage and tacit knowledge sharing in online communities

Abstract

Over the past few years, online communities have gained their popularity among internet users. Many people join these communities to share experiences and ask for advices [1]. Since "sharing one's original experience is the fundamental source of tacit knowledge" [2, p.670], it is possible that online community users from all over the world are sharing their tacit knowledge while they are revealing their personal experiences and advices in their discussion threads. Moreover, since many online communities allow their users to embed images within their messages, it is interesting to find out how people use images to share tacit knowledge online. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the image usage and tacit knowledge sharing in online communities. The research method used in this study was content analysis. The findings suggest that online community users embed digital images in their messages to aid their tacit knowledge sharing. © 2009 IEEE.