Creating Community by Chatting It Up Around The Virtual Kitchen Table

The significance and value of narrative structuring online exposes the subtle ways The Forum members exchanged their personal knowledge. Collaborating social interactions through narrative structuring relied heavily on word usage, a common understanding of the words being used, and a commonality among the peoples who populate this online community.The General Topics area of The Forum provided the categories that were analyzed. Each of the discussion groupings was deconstructed to review the discussion threads pertinent to the study: 1) Issues raised regarding health of members and family are important; 2) Shared similar values regarding relationships; 3) Conversations about dolls provided a feeling of sameness; 4) Expressed that they enjoyed coming together to discuss their doll collections; 5)Shared family stories provides them with a feeling of connectedness; 6) Are enthusiastic about interacting with one another; 7) Became emotional when discussing events occurring in their lives; 8) Vented whatever was bothering them and knew they would be supported; and 9) Expressed that acceptance was important to them.

Autorentext

Kim is a lecturer for the Communication Program at the University of North Dakota. She received her Bachelor degree (1998), her Masters degree (2000) and her Doctorate of Philosophy (2008) in Communication from UND. She was active duty in the United States Air Force, and retired in 1997. Kim is married to Bob. They have two sons.