TY - GEN
T1 - Stay Awhile and Listen: User Interactions in a Crowdsourced Platform Offering Emotional Support
T2 - IEEE/ACM International Conference on Advances in Social Networks Analysis and Mining, ASONAM 2015
AU - Doran, Derek
AU - Yelne, Samir
AU - Massari, Luisa
AU - Calzarossa, Maria Carla
AU - Jackson, La Trelle
AU - Moriarty, Glen
PY - 2015/8/25
Y1 - 2015/8/25
N2 - Internet and online-based social systems are rising as the dominant mode of communication in society. However, the public or semi-private environment under which most online communications operate under do not make them suitable channels for speaking with others about personal or emotional problems. This has led to the emergence of online platforms for emotional support offering free, anonymous, and confidential conversations with live listeners. Yet very little is known about the way these platforms are utilized, and if their features and design foster strong user engagement. This paper explores the utilization and the interaction features of hundreds of thousands of users on 7 Cups of Tea, a leading online platform offering online emotional support. It dissects the level of activity of hundreds of thousands of users, the patterns by which they engage in conversation with each other, and uses machine learning methods to find factors promoting engagement. The study may be the first to measure activities and interactions in a large-scale online social system that fosters peer-to-peer emotional support.
AB - Internet and online-based social systems are rising as the dominant mode of communication in society. However, the public or semi-private environment under which most online communications operate under do not make them suitable channels for speaking with others about personal or emotional problems. This has led to the emergence of online platforms for emotional support offering free, anonymous, and confidential conversations with live listeners. Yet very little is known about the way these platforms are utilized, and if their features and design foster strong user engagement. This paper explores the utilization and the interaction features of hundreds of thousands of users on 7 Cups of Tea, a leading online platform offering online emotional support. It dissects the level of activity of hundreds of thousands of users, the patterns by which they engage in conversation with each other, and uses machine learning methods to find factors promoting engagement. The study may be the first to measure activities and interactions in a large-scale online social system that fosters peer-to-peer emotional support.
KW - Social and Information Networks
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84962485297&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84962485297&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/cse/373
U2 - 10.1145/2808797.2809311
DO - 10.1145/2808797.2809311
M3 - Conference contribution
T3 - Proceedings of the 2015 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Advances in Social Networks Analysis and Mining, ASONAM 2015
SP - 667
EP - 674
BT - Proceedings of the 2015 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Advances in Social Networks Analysis and Mining, ASONAM 2015
A2 - Pei, Jian
A2 - Tang, Jie
A2 - Silvestri, Fabrizio
PB - Association for Computing Machinery, Inc
Y2 - 25 August 2015 through 28 August 2015
ER -