Virtual gifts and guanxi: supporting social exchange in a chinese online community

Significant cultural differences persist between East and West. Software systems that have been proven to operate efficiently within one culture can fail in the context of the other, especially if they are intended to support rich social interactions. In this paper we demonstrate how a virtual currency system, not unlike ones employed by many USbased websites, evolved within a thriving Chinese online forum into an essential medium for extremely diverse and culturally specific social exchange activities. The social interactions reflect the traditional Chinese idea of guanxi, or interpersonal influence and connectedness, while at the same time incorporating the norms of a new generation of Internet users. Author Keywords Chinese culture, guanxi, virtual points, gift, social exchange, social interactions, reciprocity, online community, inter-cultural studies ACM Classification Keywords H5.m. Information interfaces and presentation (e.g., HCI): Miscellaneous. General Terms Human factors.

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2011
• Where: CSCW
• Authors: Jiang Yang, Mark S. Ackerman, Lada A. Adamic
• Keywords: CSCW 2011, Rich Social Interactions, Social Exchange, Social Interactions, Social Sciences