I co-opt Derek Keats' (2008) use of the term Autogogy to describe how a group of women doctoral students have used one of the earliest forms of social networking to support their PhD studies.

Analysis of posts and tool usage of a freely available, Web 2.0 environment by the group over the period 2001-2009 suggests that the online work of PaperHeaDs, an informal group of PhD students, supported doctoral learning through enabling members to practice being a different kind of person - a person worthy of a PhD. Six of the original ten members have completed doctorates within the minimum time allowed by institutions. What is significant about the processes of this group is that all members were scholarly apprentices in terms of Community of Practice theory. They were registered at five different universities in a range of disciplines. All were educators and they ranged from technophiles to technophobic in their use of technology. The analysis shows that PaperHeaDs does not fit neatly into the notions of CoP, or accepted definitions of 'formal work groups', 'project teams' or  'informal networks'.  

Each PaperHeaD's individual goal of a PhD was governed by her own project timelines and purpose. The group's founding purpose was social support yet it provided a learning environment that proved much richer educationally. While these insights have implications for educators under pressure to improve postgraduate throughput numbers, they are of most value to learners and members of online groups.