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Kajian Dalam Bidang Ilmu Perpustakaan dan Informasi: Filosofi, Teori, dan Praktik

none of the participants can open the attachment. Several times he also
had trouble opening WhatsApp because the memory is full, while all the
research materials sent by colleagues via WhatsApp.
The same informant also explained how WhatsApp is used in
conjunction with various other technologies, messages services. So, when
the research is done, and the researchers write the research report, then
WhatsApp is used to distribute the drafts. Communication on various
matters related to it, such as the possibility of obtaining a follow-up grant,
is also done via WhatsApp, even when they want to send the meeting
invitation. According to the informants, they rarely use paper in the process
of inviting and distributing materials. When the paper is too long, they send
it via e-mail, and the e-mail delivery should also be reinforced through
WhatsApp messenger. “Eh, I’ve e-mailed the draft, pls read...”

C. Utilization of WhatsApp Group (WAG)
Membership in the WhatsApp Group also seems to have been common
among lecturers involved in the collaborative research, especially from a
generation who are familiar with the Internet, but also among some senior
lecturers who are forced to learn to use the WhatsApp application. An
informant revealed that the WAG is used for both teaching and research.
He said,
There are many, now more and more ... as far as I know ... there
are 5 or 6 WAGs of the lecturers in my Faculty ... we have WAG
Departement whose members are all the lecturers of the Faculty ...
there is a WAG for managers of Study Programs and Departments,
there is also a WAG especially for the journal managers, and several
WAGs for ongoing programs in the Departments ... I happen to manage
some research projects and journal publication. To coordinate all the
activities, we use WhatsApp heavily. Sometimes I feel too dependent
on this application because when I do not open these apps for an hour,
hundreds of incoming messages should be read. Therefore, I open this
application almost every half an hour and delete unimportant messages
so they don’t make my cellphone’s memory full [CS-2]
Some informants (eg. CS-1 and Lingustics-1) even maintain
relationships with colleagues abroad via WhatsApp. The informants also
feel that their participation in several international virtual discussion
groups provides a distinctive image. She claimed to be members of the
internationally renowned journal editor and be able to follow and be
included in an international discussion. As this informant says:
I am also a member of several WAGs, as a member. Depending on the
topic of discussion. Sometimes I actively participate in the discussion,

238 Whatsaap: Virtual Area as a Comunity Hub For UI Lecturers