Huffaker, David. "Dimensions of leadership and social influence in online communities." Human Communication Research 36.4 (2010): 593-617.

This article explores the communication behaviors of online leaders who play a pivotal role in influencing community engagement within online forums. By analyzing a vast dataset of 632,622 messages from 33,450 participants across 16 Google Groups discussion forums over two years, the study employs automated text analysis, social network analysis, and hierarchical linear modeling. The research highlights that online leaders stand out due to their frequent communication, credibility, strategic position within the network (centrality), and their distinctive use of emotional expression, assertiveness, and linguistic variety in their messages. These attributes are key to sparking conversations, eliciting responses, and shaping the language patterns within online communities.