Learning in online and physical craft groups: Motivations and meanings

This study examines why people choose to participate in online and face-to-face craft groups and seeks to understand how the mode of participation impacts individual experience and meaning making. Data from eight semi-structured interviews, text analysis of 345 social media posts, and participant observation of four face-to-face craft group meet-ups are synthesized, resulting in identification of social, technical and expressive meanings that underpin motivation to participate in both online and physical groups. These three categories expand on previous research categorizing motivation and meanings related to physical craft groups, by considering the range of asynchronous making-related online activities. The processes associated with sharing and acquiring knowledge and skills in online and physical craft groups were compared, with online groups being considered more conducive to the sharing of explicit or ‘hard’ knowledge, and physical groups being more suited to the sharing of tacit or ‘soft’ knowledge.