Influencing Followership: Understanding the Perspective of Those Leading Active Discussions on Quora

Martin C Nwadiugwu,Cynthia C Nwadiugwu

doi:10.3389/fcomp.2021.582242

Abstract

As social media influence become increasingly popular, understanding why some posts are highly followed than others, especially from the perspective of those leading the discussion allows us to gain insight on how followership is being influenced. A qualitative study of eight participants leading active discussions on Quora was conducted using semi-structured in-depth interviews, followed by thematic analysis. The open coding method was used to iteratively code related answers to develop themes. Results suggest that copyright tactics, controversial answers and sharing new information are some of the mechanisms for influencing followership. These mechanisms are built overtime through conscious strong engagement and by writing a consistently well-thought-out answer. The motivation for leading and writing answers on Quora were more intrinsic than extrinsic, and most participants believed influencing followership should not be a concern if one has the right message.

Highlights

Quora is a social media online platform that brings people with diverse perspectives to understand each other in a culture of knowledge sharing (Quora, 2020)
The focus of this study is on effective leadership within discussion areas on Quora
It is important to know the mechanisms that influence followership via the internet and why some answers and discussion posts in online communities have more participation than others, especially given the theory that leadership is founded on the desire for control over others (Ford and Harding, 2018)

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Quora is a social media online platform that brings people with diverse perspectives to understand each other in a culture of knowledge sharing (Quora, 2020). The focus of this study is on effective leadership within discussion areas on Quora It aims to gain insight into understanding why some answers are highly followed; to understand if those leading active discussions are self-aware and if they play a role in influencing followership, comments and upvotes. Popularity based on real identities may be biased due to the fact that users may in general have an attachment and preference to some notoriety, which can influence the voting and promotion of answers that may not be novel (Barabási and Albert, 1999); the social voting is still considered as a way of identifying quality answers (Paul et al, 2012) and was used in this study as the criteria for selecting participants leading active discussions on Quora. It is important to know the mechanisms that influence followership via the internet and why some answers and discussion posts in online communities have more participation than others, especially given the theory that leadership is founded on the desire for control over others (Ford and Harding, 2018)

METHODOLOGY

Participants

ETHICS STATEMENT