A Study Of Consensus Mobilization In Network Communities

The prosperous Internet ecology in China is becoming fertile ground for mobilization practice.The technology compound consisting of equipment,software,platforms,and algorithms has expanded the depth and breadth of mobilization and also released the potential for emotional mobilization,which has become an important variable affecting the mobilization effect.As a result,a new phenomenon of consensus mobilization has emerged in the Internet field:using network communities as action platforms,focusing on public issues such as nationalism,environmental protection,public charity,and civic health through emotional communication such as empathy and identification.This article focuses on the study of consensus mobilization in network communities,with a central focus on how it occurs and the roles that technology and emotion play in this mobilization paradigm.This article uses a multi-address network ethnography and descriptive case study method,with content analysis and in-depth interviews as technical pathways,based on a large number of real-life experiences.Through examining the technical context and trends,social frameworks and representations,and action systems and models of consensus mobilization,the study attempts to analyze the generation and evolution mechanism of consensus mobilization at the middle range and update its key concepts,mechanism,and action elements.This article consists of six chapters:Chapter 1 elaborates on the research background and significance of this article.Reviewing the literature related to "network communities" and "consensus mobilization",it summarizes the conclusions and shortcomings of the existing research and then puts forward research questions,research framework,research methods,and research innovations.Chapter 2 clarifies the theoretical framework and phenomenon representation of the research object by reviewing the core concepts and relevant theories.Scholars at home and abroad have formed a research tradition on "people and environment" in community research.Web technology has projected traditional communities into cyberspace and catalyzed the material and social development of network communities.The concept of "community" in natural ecosystems is used to locate network communities,and it is found to be the primary unit for mobilization practices.There are sense of community such as member awareness,immersion,and satisfaction within network communities,which serve as the basis for forming consensus.Therefore,network communities are the technological gestell for consensus mobilization.In psychology,"consciousness" refers to cognition,emotion,and willpower,and "consensus"is the organic accumulation of these mental processes.By consolidating research on consensus mobilization from resource mobilization theory and social construction theory,this article defines consensus mobilization as a unified behavior that emerges around a certain public issue within a specific time and space,encompassing both material resources and social psychology.It is a collective action with collectivism characteristics.In early network communities,consensus mobilization focused on public issues and utilized sympathy and humor as emotional mobilization strategies.Based on this research,this article constructs a theoretical perspective of"technology-society-action" and summarized as the phenomenon of"public issues" and "affective communication."Chapter 3 explores how technology has affected consensus mobilization.Infrastructure,algorithms and platforms are increasingly becoming vital forces in shaping the digital context.Infrastructure provides the material basis for consensus mobilization.The terminal equipment plays a role in usability,usefulness,and ease of use,forming a material body by connecting the physical body;as a physical clustercarrying massive data,the server forms a material field;material materials,such as rule clauses,text content,operation buttons,and relationship networks in applications;digital semantics composed of physical bits demonstrate that consensus mobilization is a material existence.Algorithms constitute the connection logic of consensus mobilization.It is manifested as personalized recommendation algorithms that work on information order to form relationship connections;participatory algorithms represented by likes,reposts,and comments that provide participatory interfaces and form action connections;emotional recognition,expression,and guidance algorithms that form emotional connections through transformation,release,and rendering.Platforms promote the commercialization of consensus mobilization.It is manifested as platforms being three or four-sided multi-party markets,competing for data generated by mobilization;mobilization being a hidden labor in the platform’s"production-consumption integration" structure;platforms differentiating the power of information production and consumption through membership and incentive mechanisms,thereby commodifying mobilization power;and platforms deliberately shaping taste boundaries to make users cohere and differentiate,thus commodifying mobilization consciousness.In summary,these technological applications shape the context in which consensus mobilization occurs.Chapter 4 discusses the social elements that construct consensus mobilization.Many structural social elements,including explicit elements such as participating subjects and mobilization discourse,as well as implicit elements such as collective psychology and effect control,can create consensus when combined,forming the social framework of consensus mobilization.From different perspectives,participants are diverse,collective,and heterogeneous.Based on traits such as knowledge,personality,social capital,and interests,human actors and humanoid actors assume the roles of opinion leaders,non-opinion leaders,and opinion intermediaries.In the two-dimensional typology of organizational and connectedness formation,participating subjects form corresponding network structures.Consensus mobilization revolves around sub-issues and cross-issues within the public issue spectrum.Mobilization discourse,primarily composed of text,images,sound,and video,plays a contextualized,instrumental,and emotionalized role.It includes rhetorical strategies such as discourse tags,video memes,and mobilization catchphrases.Following the interpretation of "consensus" in psychology,collective psychology can be divided into collective cognition,collective emotion,and collective will.They exert mobilization efficacy by generating,diffusing,and enhancing consensus.Through policy guidance and mainstreaming,the state will have a gainful effect on mobilization.Capital may suppress the mobilization effect due to traffic competition and platform censorship,and the emotional and demand structure of the public has a coupling effect on consensus mobilization.Chapter 5 explores the dynamic behavior of consensus mobilization.Based on"consensus clues," this chapter selects four cases,and the action systems of each case represent the action configuration of this type.Following the interpretation of "action system" by Melucci and related scholars,this article deconstructs consensus mobilization into action structure,action path,and action belief."World of Warcraft"is a consensus action taken around a "goal." Players are "familiar strangers" based on weak connection relationships.The community they belong to has a relatively clear hierarchical system.In such an action structure,players go through organizational division of labor,imagine goals,organize identity and distribute interests,and convert emotions towards roles,teammates,and communities into action beliefs."The Horse-Face Dress Incident" is a consensus action taken around the "content",with diverse participants forming a "small world",producing issues through video modalities,expressing protest in the form of danmu,and containing extreme emotions of resistance to plagiarism and common cultural experiences."Community group buying" is a consensus action taken around "relationships",where offline neighbors form an online"close circle." Group buying groups in Wechat become hubs for the assembly and exchange of social capital,and participants rely on technological paths such as WeChat groups and mini-programs,as well as communication paths such as interest negotiation and social support,to transform ordinary neighborhood relationships into rescue relationships during times of crisis,continuously weaving these relationships together."Free Lunch" is a consensus action taken around"emotion",where participants disclose themselves in the comments section of Taobao.They connect the life narratives of donors and recipients,constantly involve themselves,and form a habit of "punching in".They convert the resulting self-healing,emotional compensation for recipients,and altruism into action beliefs.Based on this,this article constructs a model of the action system of consensus mobilization and finds that involvement is a consistent law of consensus mobilization action systems.Based on differences in platform technological availability,technology participation costs,and business logic,there may be differences in the generation of consensus clues,participation scope,and development direction of consensus actions.Chapter 6 summarizes the conclusions of this article,extends related discussions,and discusses the shortcomings of the research.Based on the above analysis,it can be seen that in the context of network communities,consensus mobilization presents itself as a complex action system shaped by technologies factors and social factors.As a composite technology,it not only builds mobilization fields and provides mobilization tools but also participates in them as actors.Unlike previous studies that focused on negative emotions such as sadness and anger as the main driving force in social mobilization,this article proves that positive emotions also have mobilization effectiveness through consensus mobilization.Consensus mobilization has positive significance in exerting individual subjectivity,consolidating social consensus,and activating public participation,but it may also cause negative effects such as behavior loss of control and needs to be reasonably guided and dialectically treated.