Tuesday, April 15, 2008
The Community Dictates the Communities
"The site is not the community. At the end of the day, it is up to the people in the community to build the community. The site should support community-building activities. It is a vehicle for people to travel to centrally located sources of information and to be able to add/edit/delete information whether it be text, images, video clips, panorama images or sound files. Communities are built by people for people with shared desired outcomes. The vehicles and tools aid in the processes of achieving the outcomes." (David Potter)
Online Communities; the new virtual phenomenon?
Terry Flew frequently refers to continuing technological changes and his analysis on the influences they bring to a culture within a society gives answers as to why multitudes of users are drawn to participate in online communities. In his writings regarding technological convergence and virtual communities, he notes that "the tendency of many Internet users is not to passionately commit themselves to single online communities, but rather to participate in a multitude of such communities" (2005, p. 68).
The many characteristics that online communities possess such as flexibility, immediacy and low-barriers to entry, are key driving factors behind the success and permeation of online communities into a person's life. This, coupled by the fact that audiences can select and become part of groups and communities which are relevant to them, means that the desire to belong to multiple online communities is often experienced. The Official Weblog of Henry Jenkins gives many examples of how online communities are becoming central to problem solving, sharing ideas and managing resources through the collaboration of like-minded individuals.
Examples of online communities which have grown to have worldwide recognition are:
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
