Social Capital

What does Flew mean by ‘social capital’ and why does he think it is important for virtual communities?

The concept of social capital is recognised by Flew as being multifaceted, entailing “features of social life–networks, norms, and trusts–that enable participants to act together more effectively to pursue shared interests” as identified by Putnam (cited in Flew, 2004, 75). These are quite simply social connections which harbour an interactive environment. Flew has deduced that social capital is an integral part of a functional virtual community as it engages members and harbours interactivity (Flew, 2004).

Flew sees virtual communities and social capital functioning as a ‘two way street’ where the need for virtual communities is attributed to by the lack of opportunities for democratic involvement in existing communities in today’s society. Therefore the existence of such virtual communities creates a framework in which social capital can be realised and developed (Flew, 2004). On the other hand social capital is a vital feature of a successful virtual community as it fosters innovation and information sharing as well as prevents social problems in tangible life, whilst potentially increasing economic outcomes (Flew, 2004). Evidently the benefits of social capital are much the same in both real world and virtual communities.

Flew, T. 2004. New media: an introduction. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.