网络集群的自组织特征——以“南京梧桐树事件”的微博维权为个案

Self-organization features of online collectives:the case of interests-safeguarding activity of "Nanjing Plane-tree Event"

近年来,伴随着急剧的社会结构转型,我国新的社会身份和社会认同群体也随之产生,在网络中的政治表达和利益维护活动增多,在这些网络讨论的集群内部,参与者会自发形成一定的秩序,推动事件的进行。本研究利用自组织理论作为分析框架,选取"南京梧桐树事件"的微博维权集群为研究对象,重点考察网络集群参与者之间从无序到有序的互动过程、整个系统的演变规律及其与外界的互动机制,由此总结出网络集群中的自组织特征,从而相对准确地把握虚拟社区系统的发展、演化阶段,为更好地理解互联网的社会功能起到借鉴作用,也为政府有关部门做好群体事件的预防工作提供理论和策略上的支持。

In recent years, with rapid transformation of social structure, new social identity and groups come into existence, and their political expression and interests-safeguarding activities on the Internet increase. Among these online discussion collectives, participants spontaneously form a certain order and promote the events. This study, by employing self-organization theory as analytical framework, and the interests-safeguarding activity of the ＂ Nanjing Plane-tree Event＂ through micro-blogs as the study case, mainly explores the interactive process of collective participants on the Internet from disorder to order, and the evolution pattern of the whole system as well as the interaction mechanism with the outside world. It therefore demonstrates the self-organization features of online collectives, which more accurately grasps the development and evolution process of virtual community systems, and better understands the social function of the Internet. The result can also provide theoretical and strategic support for the government to respond to collective behavior.