Querying information systems or interacting with intermediaries? Towards understanding the informational capacity of online communities

Abstract

Online communities have emerged as a topic of particular interest to information behavior researchers. When studying how information is shared and distributed in online communities we found that the informational capacity of online communities is not limited to providing specific information but may also include helping the information seeker understand (and often reconceptualize) his or her information needs. Conceptualizing the interactive processes we often observed as "mediated interaction" suggests to investigate the specific characteristics of these processes as well as to explore ways to enable and support respective interactions in online communities.