Regarding your question re outsourcing overseas, I’m assuming you are referring to outsourcing to countries that in past years have offered cheaper alternatives to call centers for example? Hence companies contracting out their help desk support to centers in Asia etc.

Well to be honest that actually worries me a little with regard to the cultural aspect. Culture and language is important, and as we all know the written word does not always adequately confer our emotions, or facial expressions. It’s hard to figure out if someone is joking, serious, etc. I’ve seen first hand how culture plays a big part in online community interaction and whilst it may work well verbally (e.g. over the telephone as with help desks etc) it doesn’t always work within online communities. You can’t “learn” culture, you have to immerse yourself in it, and live it and breathe it first hand. Trying to engage another culture online, when you don’t always understand what makes it tick could turn a small issue into a huge one, or create misunderstandings. So I believe it could be a recipe for disaster if we look to hire cheaper alternatives for moderating or managing communities in other countries that do not have a similar type culture to the online communities they will oversee.

Patrick