Social capital formation in Zhihu and Xiaohongshu: a comparative study of interest-oriented virtual communities

Key Points

• The study aims to investigate how social capital forms in interest-oriented virtual communities like Zhihu and Xiaohongshu.
• Comparative analysis of two virtual communities
• Qualitative assessments of user interactions
• Measurement of social capital indicators like trust and networking
• Significant differences in social capital formation between Zhihu and Xiaohongshu
• Community structure influences user engagement and trust
• Interest orientation plays a pivotal role in network building

Abstract