Participating in Chinese Social Question and Answer Communities: A Case Study of Zhihu.com

Zhihu.com, as a representative of the Social Question and Answer (SQA) community in China, currently has a very large user base. Experts, scholars and talent from all walks of life are brought together on this network. Compared with other social media websites, the education levels and quality of online users on Zhihu.com are generally high. Young people represent the largest demographic group of users. This dissertation took young people as the research object and analyses their knowledge contribution behaviour in the online SQA community. The study adopted an online observation approach and semi-structured interview methodology. The researcher observed the online knowledge contribution behaviour for an extended period, and conducted in-depth interviews with 25 long-term users. Users were grouped according to gender and age, and the differences in knowledge contribution among these different groups were analysed and compared. The study asked the questions: what characters and personalities do these participants have? Why do participants contribute to the SQA community, and how does contributing to an online SQA forum differ from offline knowledge contributions? Through investigation, the study found that knowledge contributors are enthusiastic and have a strong sense of social responsibility. They are willing to learn and self-motivated. However, even though they may not have a clear purpose in the contribution of knowledge, 6 they help to build their own reputations, broaden social networks and make money eventually. This dissertation attempted to apply Bourdieu’s theory of capital as a framework to explain how users go about accumulating symbolic, economic, cultural and social capital by contributing knowledge. To conclude the study, the researcher drew conclusions concerning the difference between online and offline knowledge contribution on SQA communities.