It has
always been a human thing to socialize with others as people are said to
be“social animals” according to Aristotle. The definition of a community is a
group of people that share common values, or a group of interacting living
organisms sharing a populated environment. In this digitalized world, the
concept of community has been translated to the online world. The popularity of internet communication with 24 hour
access, two-way information and communication, have resulted in the rise of
cyber communities.
Today
people ‘build’ virtual communities which take the form of social networking
services and online communities, also known as cyber communities. It is a new
type of community developed by means of information technology and the
internet, where members and contributors provide and exchange information,
provide support and acceptance. Cyber communities are platforms for social
interaction, for sharing values, for membership, commitment, sometimes even friendship and loyalty. Originally, the
term community used to consider geographical limitation of a group of people,
this however does not apply to cyber communities because people can now gather
‘virtually’, regardless of their physical location.
Online
communities are built around many factors such as shared interests,
professional disciplines, learning, common practices of values. Sometimes the
only purpose for online communities is to encourage communication and there is
no shared interest whatsoever. Online communities became an additional means of
communication between people who know each other in real life but they also
allowed instant information exchange around the globe. They allow users to talk
about shared passions, through message boards, text-based chat rooms, social
networking sites, or virtual worlds. Online communities encourage certain
activities or hobbies such as online gaming or maintaining a blog. Cyber
communities are part of cyber culture which emerged from the use of computer
networks for communication and diverse human interactions.
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| Second Life: an example of a virtual community |
Creating online communities
The main goal of a virtual community is to serve as a common ground for people who share similar interests. However, there are also support groups for people who have specific problems and/or issues that they need to resolve, or on which they need more information.
Such groups
allow the user to communicate directly with other people who have the same
issues to resolve yet avoid any concerns about being recognized. By not being
limited by geographic and time constraints, it is possible to meet a wider
range of people with similar experiences through the Internet and remain
anonymous while discussing intimate problems.
There are
many values which must be considered when setting up an online community. Some
of these include opportunity, education, culture, democracy, human services,
equality within the economy, information, sustainability, and communication
(online communities). When building an online community it is crucial to have
the right technologies necessary to keep members interested and to manage
community relations.
Types of virtual communities
A virtual community is a group of people who communicate and interact with each other across digital channels through specific social media. Individuals share their interests, activities, backgrounds or real-life connections. What’s important to remember is that web-based networking services connect people regardless of political, economic or geographical borders.Rheingold pointed out that belonging to such a group may positively affect personal psychological well-being, as well as society at large. Virtual communities can be as beneficial as real-life communities because both of them provide support, information and friendship between their members. Another advantage is that these types of communities can give users a feeling of belonging. Users can give and receive support, and it is all free and relatively easy.
Types of virtual communities
A virtual community is a group of people who communicate and interact with each other across digital channels through specific social media. Individuals share their interests, activities, backgrounds or real-life connections. What’s important to remember is that web-based networking services connect people regardless of political, economic or geographical borders.Rheingold pointed out that belonging to such a group may positively affect personal psychological well-being, as well as society at large. Virtual communities can be as beneficial as real-life communities because both of them provide support, information and friendship between their members. Another advantage is that these types of communities can give users a feeling of belonging. Users can give and receive support, and it is all free and relatively easy.
There are
various types of virtual communities, for example:
An online
message board or internet forum is an online discussion site where people
converse in the form of posted messages. Visitors there can discuss thoughts,
opinions or ideas on various topics. Online message boards allow users to
choose which thread (topic), or board of discussion, users would like to read
or participate. Anyone can register to take part in this online message board.
Depending on the forum's settings, users can choose to remain anonymous, or
they can choose to register and log in every time in order to post messages. On
most forums, users do not have to log in to read existing messages.
Another example is online chat rooms:
The development of online chat rooms allowed people to talk to whoever was online at the same time as themselves. This way, messages were sent and online users could immediately respond; a way of communicating with their ‘communities’ in real time. Real time chatting was also transferred to virtual games, where people play against one another online.
Another example is online chat rooms:
The development of online chat rooms allowed people to talk to whoever was online at the same time as themselves. This way, messages were sent and online users could immediately respond; a way of communicating with their ‘communities’ in real time. Real time chatting was also transferred to virtual games, where people play against one another online.
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Chat rooms can have all sorts of assigned topics, so that people can talk with
others who share similar interests. Chat rooms are now provided by Internet
Relay Chat (IRC) and other individual websites such as Yahoo, MSN, and AOL.
Chat room users communicate through text-based messaging. There is a list of
the users who are present in the room, so that visitors can see who is
‘online’in their virtual community. Users can communicate as if they were
speaking to each other in real life. This makes it very easy for users to form
a virtual community, a virtual ‘bond’ as such. The individual ‘room’ feature
also makes it more likely that the people within a chat room share a similar
interest. This means they share a common trait and will likely make them more
willing to become friends.
The‘virtual world’ is the most interactive of all virtual community forms. In this type of virtual community, people are connected by living as an avatar in a computer-based world. Users create their own avatar and control their character's life and interactions with other characters in the 3-D virtual world. A virtual world gives users the opportunity to build and operate a fantasy life within a virtual environment. Characters within the world can talk and have almost the same interactions as people would have in real life. For example, characters can socialize and have intimate relationships online.
Social networks
Cyber communities have certainly come a long way since the early nineties. Whereas during this era only a select few chose to participate in cyber communities, usually in the form of chat rooms or online forums, usually geared towards a group of people with a shared common interest, or related to a specific topic. Nowadays, more or less all of us are part of some sort of cyber community, whether we choose to or not, unless we actively make an effort to not exist online, which is just about near impossible. We are all part of at least some kind of online community in one way or another; whether it is through having a personal account on a website (for example, Amazon.com), having and maintaining a blog like this one, or having a social networking account, to name just a few. Social network services are the most remarkable type of virtual communities, They can be a website or software platform for both creating and maintaining relationships. With these sites it is possible to create a profile or account and either add or follow friends. This allows people to connect and look for support using the social networking service as a kind of virtual meeting place. These websites often allow people to keep up to date with their friends and acquaintances’ life activities without making much of an effort.
The‘virtual world’ is the most interactive of all virtual community forms. In this type of virtual community, people are connected by living as an avatar in a computer-based world. Users create their own avatar and control their character's life and interactions with other characters in the 3-D virtual world. A virtual world gives users the opportunity to build and operate a fantasy life within a virtual environment. Characters within the world can talk and have almost the same interactions as people would have in real life. For example, characters can socialize and have intimate relationships online.
Social networks
Cyber communities have certainly come a long way since the early nineties. Whereas during this era only a select few chose to participate in cyber communities, usually in the form of chat rooms or online forums, usually geared towards a group of people with a shared common interest, or related to a specific topic. Nowadays, more or less all of us are part of some sort of cyber community, whether we choose to or not, unless we actively make an effort to not exist online, which is just about near impossible. We are all part of at least some kind of online community in one way or another; whether it is through having a personal account on a website (for example, Amazon.com), having and maintaining a blog like this one, or having a social networking account, to name just a few. Social network services are the most remarkable type of virtual communities, They can be a website or software platform for both creating and maintaining relationships. With these sites it is possible to create a profile or account and either add or follow friends. This allows people to connect and look for support using the social networking service as a kind of virtual meeting place. These websites often allow people to keep up to date with their friends and acquaintances’ life activities without making much of an effort.
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| Connecting people everywhere: the current largest online community and social networking site, Facebook |
One
online community in particular, which the popularity and potential of is becoming
increasingly difficult to ‘ignore’ is Facebook. An interesting example of this
is the fact that when asked during a class who didn’t have a Facebook account, not one of our peers raised their
hand. How amazing that such a relatively new online networking community would
become as common as having an email account. Facebook was to begin with, in
reality, an ‘underground’ project started by a group of students in 2004. It
started to really gain popularity and users alike around 2007/2008. However,
Facebook in itself – the idea of a social networking community or website – is
not new. Its many ‘predecessors’ include(d) Myspace, Bebo, Hi5, as well as
online networking communities unique to a country or region, for example the
Dutch Hyves.nl, or Weibo (popular in China). Now, Facebook is a virtual ‘home’
for millions of users and has grown to become not only a way for family and
friends to stay in touch with one another, but an irreplaceably important
social media tool for charities, companies, celebrities and brands alike.
Hardly any of these charities, companies and so on don’t have a Facebook
account, whether it is a ‘friend’ account you can befriend or a page you can
‘like’. The power of the cyber community is abundant. On Facebook, for example,
one can upload photos and videos, chat, make friends, reconnect with old ones,
and join groups or causes. All of
these functions encourage people to form a community, large or small, on the
Internet.
The appeal of the cyber community
So what exactly has sparked this seemingly sudden rise in popularity? As previously mentioned, cyber communities are certainly not something new. The most obvious answer to that is of course new, improved and more easily accessible technology. Back in the early nineties, when the internet was still relatively new, having a computer at home was simply a luxury not everyone could afford. People had computers, of course, but it just wasn’t as ‘standard’as today. Having an internet connection as well as a computer was practically unheard of and those that did had to endure mind-numbingly slow and equally unpredictable dial-up connections. Gradually, more and more people gained access to both computers and an internet connection, until both became pretty much ‘the norm’ for a regular household. Fast forward to the present day and most people will find that there isn’t a day that goes by without their beloved technology; we have access to the fastest computers, both desktops and portable (laptops/tablets), whether that is at home, at work, or at school or university. So-called ‘smart phones’ have become our mobile phone of choice due to their endless capacities and capabilities ; free internet connections in the form of wi-fi networks are available in pretty much any public place and even our portable music players can connect to the internet. We are spending an ever-increasing amount of time ‘online’, so much so that one could argue that we no longer exist only in real life (‘offline’) , but also online. With all of the available opportunities to interact with people online, there has been a huge shift: most of us are living not only an ‘offline’ life, but an ‘online’life as well. One of the many positives of this fact is that it gives us a lot of freedom, of which we could only dream before. The reality is that we can adopt an entirely new identity, should we choose to, or present ourselves in a completely different manner to what we are in real life. If you don’t like your ‘offline’ image, you can change or tweak it to such an extent that you can become the person you envision yourself as or aspire to be. The possibilities this presents us with are endless. A current sociological trend that could explain why exactly this is so appealing to us is that of individualism. We all want to be ourselves, and express that in ways we see fit. We want people to see who we are, or who we choose to be.
The appeal of the cyber community
So what exactly has sparked this seemingly sudden rise in popularity? As previously mentioned, cyber communities are certainly not something new. The most obvious answer to that is of course new, improved and more easily accessible technology. Back in the early nineties, when the internet was still relatively new, having a computer at home was simply a luxury not everyone could afford. People had computers, of course, but it just wasn’t as ‘standard’as today. Having an internet connection as well as a computer was practically unheard of and those that did had to endure mind-numbingly slow and equally unpredictable dial-up connections. Gradually, more and more people gained access to both computers and an internet connection, until both became pretty much ‘the norm’ for a regular household. Fast forward to the present day and most people will find that there isn’t a day that goes by without their beloved technology; we have access to the fastest computers, both desktops and portable (laptops/tablets), whether that is at home, at work, or at school or university. So-called ‘smart phones’ have become our mobile phone of choice due to their endless capacities and capabilities ; free internet connections in the form of wi-fi networks are available in pretty much any public place and even our portable music players can connect to the internet. We are spending an ever-increasing amount of time ‘online’, so much so that one could argue that we no longer exist only in real life (‘offline’) , but also online. With all of the available opportunities to interact with people online, there has been a huge shift: most of us are living not only an ‘offline’ life, but an ‘online’life as well. One of the many positives of this fact is that it gives us a lot of freedom, of which we could only dream before. The reality is that we can adopt an entirely new identity, should we choose to, or present ourselves in a completely different manner to what we are in real life. If you don’t like your ‘offline’ image, you can change or tweak it to such an extent that you can become the person you envision yourself as or aspire to be. The possibilities this presents us with are endless. A current sociological trend that could explain why exactly this is so appealing to us is that of individualism. We all want to be ourselves, and express that in ways we see fit. We want people to see who we are, or who we choose to be.
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| People were born to be social: an important aspect of the appeal of cyber communities |
As previously mentioned in this post, there is also the social aspect of cyber communities to consider. Humans, by nature, are social beings. We crave both individual attention and interaction with others. As little as several decades ago, communication methods were limited, making the overall communication process sluggish. With the advance in technology, we are empowered with near-instant communication between individuals, as well as a wide variety of platforms on which to communicate through. Communication is now not only limited to people we actually know, we can go online and converse with a wide variety of people, on all sorts of topics, including specific hobbies, politics, art, culture and sex (cybersex), to name just a few – people we will probably never even meet face-to-face. In this respect, cyber communities have lowered the boundaries of communication, which may have before held us back.
Considering the fact that cyber communities are ever-evolving and show no signs of becoming unpopular any time soon, it is safe to say they are definitely here to stay. Cynics that predicted the downfall of such cyber communities we embrace today have been proven wrong, after all, seeing as millions of people worldwide are currently active within the most popular cyber community to date, Facebook, what was seen as a ‘trend’ less than two decades ago doesn’t seem to be going anywhere soon. The possibilities of cyber communities have already exceeded expectations we may have had of them and it will be interesting to see what the future will bring.
