Why Do You Share On Social Media?

I was reading one of the articles on the syllabus that pertains to social capital and knowledge sharing. The beginning of the article posed the question “why do people share knowledge on social media?” I put this article down at this point because I wanted to try to answer why I do it.

I have “knowledge” in specialized areas. I am a professional writer, a world traveler, I’ve had weight loss surgery, and I am an avid reader. In these areas, then, I have knowledge. My friends know me, of course, and so I have social capital for a variety of reasons within that group. But I don’t only impart my knowledge to my friends and family. I share it with strangers via social media. But…why?

I thought about this question for a long while. Why do I share my knowledge on social media? There’s clearly a motivating factor or I wouldn’t do it. So, what is the motivating factor?

I was able to quickly come up with a few reasons someone might be motivated to share knowledge on social media, the majority of which don’t apply to me.

• Status: It could make a person feel important to dispense knowledge. They could become regarded as a field expert or subject matter expert, which carries some status.
• Superiority: Providing knowledge to others can give a person a reason to feel superior to others, if that is a factor that motivates them.
• Money: There are people that are paid to disseminate knowledge via social media. They do so to be paid for the number of tweets they send or the number of “likes” a Facebook page receives during a specific time window.
• Greater Good: Providing your own personal knowledge for no specific reason other than to help someone.

The only one of these that applies to be is the last one. Particularly in relationship to the surgery I had. Weight loss surgery is a very long and confusing process, especially in your insurance is paying for it. They have many requirements and hoops you must jump through. I am an Admin for a weight loss surgery support group that is based on Facebook. I am not paid for the time I spend in the group moderating posts or answering questions. This group has over 5,000 members and generates many posts. There’s no real archive so much of it is repeating information. My motivation is purely to help. I felt very confused and lost during the insurance approval process.  I had no one to help me and I had to figure it out on my own. I want to save others the confusion I had and making mistakes I made.

In order to contribute knowledge, individuals must think that their contribution to others will be worth the effort and that some new value will be created, with expectations of receiving some of that value for themselves (Nahapiet and Ghoshal 1998). These personal benefits or “private rewards” are more likely to accrue to individuals who actively participate and help others (von Hippel and von Krogh 2003). Thus, the expectation of personal benefits can motivate individuals to contribute knowledge to others in the absence of personal acquaintance, similarity, or the likelihood of direct reciprocity (Constant et al. 1996).

The above quote is from the article that triggered this post. After I resumed reading with my defined list in mind, I was kind of surprised about this statement. Do I have to receive something in return? I thought about this and why I moderate the support group and I truly get nothing from providing information. The authors then posited the following information about Relational Capital.

A basic norm of reciprocity is a sense of mutual indebtedness, so that individuals usually reciprocate the benefits they receive from others, ensuring ongoing supportive exchanges (Shumaker and Brownell 1984).

So, is that what motivates me to participate in social media? If I post my own knowledge, when I need the knowledge of others, they will reciprocate? I guess that could be true. This isn’t something I would have ever arrived at on my own because I don’t consciously feel this as motivation. I mostly feel confused, though. I feel as if there is an option missing that would explain my participation in social media, but I am unclear what that is.

What do you think?

 

Why Should I Share? Examining Social Capital and Knowledge Contribution in Electronic Networks of Practice Author(s): Molly McLure Wasko and Samer Faraj Source: MIS Quarterly, Vol. 29, No. 1, Special Issue on Information Technologies and Knowledge Management (Mar., 2005), pp. 35-57 URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25148667.