Toward an Economic Sociology of Online Hacker Social Communities

• In Event: 195 - Regular Session. Economic Sociology. Analytical Approaches to the Economy

Abstract

There has been a great deal of concern with two types of hacker activity: information sharing in online discussion groups (via forums, Internet Relay Chat, etc.), and stolen data markets (such as credit card dumps and billing information). This paper unifies the analysis of these two types of activity by understanding them as two types of economic organization. We make use of microeconomic theory to map these hacker activities as economic distribution mechanisms, while also pointing to how hackers have developed social solutions to the economic problems. We combine thinking from economics (on two-sided platform markets, and on local public goods) with that from sociology (emphasizing networks, fields, and practices) to theorize hacker activities. We review empirical studies of online hacker behavior to demonstrate how online hacker communities use social trust-creating mechanisms, reputation, internal regulation, and networks to solve problems identified in our economic analysis.

Authors

• Meltem Odabaş, University of Arizona

• Ronald L. Breiger, University of Arizona

• Thomas J. Holt, Michigan State University