Online or virtual
community is the gathering of people, in an online "space" where they
come, communicate, connect, and get to know each other better over time. Your
community will be what you and your members make of it.
Why Do People Join and Build Virtual Communities?
People have been using
online spaces since the beginning of the Internet to communicate. That includes
prior to the World Wide Web, when electronic bulletin boards and email loops
connected folks across time and space.Many found that they began to form bonds
of one sort of another. Today, the online forum is viral and every where.
Types of activities
people have enjoyed through these online connections.
- Socialize - meeting people, playing around, sharing jokes, stories and just taking interest in each other. Communities like this often focus around bulletin boards and chat rooms.
- Work together (business) - Distributed work groups within companies and between companies use online community to build their team, keep in touch and even work on projects together. .
- Have topical conversations - Online salons and discussion forums such as the Well Cafe Utne and others have formed communities of people who enjoy conversations about topics and shared interests. Forum One noted in 1999 that the top ten topics for forums registered at their site are around the topics of (in order): relationships (16%), "mega sites (diverse topics, aggregations of smaller conferences - 11%), business and finance (8%), health (5%), hobbies (4%), religion (3%), music (3%), international (3%).
The Effect of Online Communities
Keeping in Touch
For more than a century now, technological advances
have brought the world closer, making communication across long distances
easier. Telegrams are faster than letters; phone calls, in turn, are faster
than telegrams, as well as easier and more pleasant, since they require no
go-between and allow users to hear each other's voice. Cell phones take this
one step further, allowing people to call and speak with each other regardless
of their location. Online communication of all types is the most efficient yet,
with email being a near-instantaneous version of the paper letter; webcams,
paired with communication programs such as Skype, iChat or Google Video Chat,
make it possible to see the person you are speaking with rather than just hear
his voice.
Doing Business
The same technological advances that have
simplified and improved personal communication have also had the same
beneficial effects on business. Communication between colleagues is
near-instantaneous whether they are a few rooms or a few countries apart; video
conferencing allows companies to have workers scattered around the globe while
but still hold efficient meetings and discussions; business networking is made
easier by social media and online networks designed specifically for that
purpose, such as LinkedIn. Perhaps most importantly, companies can expand
beyond their local market and gain a wider customer base simply by maintaining
an active online presentation.
Reaching a Broader Audience
As people's ability to communicate improves, the reach
of their messages widens. This can be especially important in politics and
activism. For instance, photos and video recorded covertly through a cell phone
can be quickly and easily shared online through websites such as YouTube,
making it harder for oppressive regimes to keep control; social networks such
as Facebook and Twitter can be used to organize and coordinate meetings and
protests. The Egyptian revolution of 2011-2012 was spurred greatly by social
media.
By JAMES CATHERINE
BAPRM 42566
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