An exploratory study on the utilization profile of virtual communities at Orkut as a space for discussions on accounting

Abstract

The use of so-called virtual spaces has become common and usual in the modern world. Virtual communities which are environments of interaction among individuals with common interests, well represents this. Orkut is one of the most widespread virtual communities in Brazil. Several activities have already benefited from resources provided by virtualization, including teaching and research. In this perspective, the purpose of this exploratory research is to investigate elements that characterize the form of use of Orkut's virtual communities as space for the discussion of accounting awareness. To achieve that purpose, a field research was conducted on Orkut's home page. The expression "Accounting Science" (Ciências Contábeis) was used to select the communities to be analyzed. The results indicate that there is a low inclusion of accounting issues raised in all the discussions in the forums, and also a low participation of members in the few discussions which were found. There is a concentration of forums and posts with accounting issues in a few communities. Based on the results, it was concluded that the Orkut's virtual community analyzed in this study are being used very little for discussion of the knowledge of accounting.