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What is a Virtual Community and Why Would You Ever Need One??
Last updated 1/02 Sue Boetcher The words "virtual community" and "online community" have been bandied about, hyped and interpreted in many ways. If you want to read about how others have tried to describe VC, check here (How Some Folks Have Tried to Describe Community). But for our purposes, we're going to keep it simple and in context of building your own community. 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. From that point on, the rest is up to you. Your community will be what you and your members make of it! Want some examples? Ideas? Read on. People have been using online spaces since the beginning of the Internet to communicate. That includes prior to the World Wide Web, when BBS, or electronic bulletin boards and email loops connected folks across time and space. (For a good short history of the Internet, see http://www.dsv.su.se/internet/documents/internet-history.html). Many found that they began to form bonds of one sort of another. Today, the online forum tracking service, ForumOne (http://www.forumone.com) had more than 270,000 distinct communities and forums registered at their site in 1999. (The site no longer lists total numbers.) And many more remain unlisted. Here are some of the types of activities people have enjoyed through these online connections. The communities noted above and others across the Internet represent a wide range of interests and motivations. We asked a few community owners why they set up their communities and how it has turned out for them. Here are their stories. The rate of the growth of the Internet has generally exceeded most estimates, with increases in many, but not all segments of the population. The influence of the early adopter countries (such as the US) has had an effect on our online experiences. The concern that an ever growing "digital divide" is lessening the potential impact of the Internet in human life is an important issues. This has direct relevance if you are planning an online community for people with no Internet access. But more importantly, it is also a call to each of us to recognize how we can lessen the divide and look for ways to contribute to the improvement of our communities as part of our online life. There has been much speculation on the affect of online activities on our offline lives, ranging from concerns about addiction, to meeting the "loves of our lives" online and getting married. There are examples from all the extreams, but the more relevant question is how do we integrate our offline and online experiences. Amy Jo Kim, online community architect, has suggested that there are two ways we participate in online communites: "the kind where you're yourself and the kind where you are playing out a fantasy role. For example, the Well is a good example of a place where people are fundamentally themselves. It is not very hard to figure out someone's real name... But there are many online communities where you (a member of the community) actually can't find out who someone's is in "real life." People are role playing, and playing out a fantasy role. Many game communities are like that." (from an interview with Amy Jo Kim, 4/99) Ms. Kim goes on to say, "I think that these two kinds of community play very different roles in people's lives. The gaming-oriented communities will affect you emotionally, but they won't tend to integrate into your life as what I would call 'augmented reality' communities do. I define these two types as "augmented reality" where you're "you," and you're there to integrate with your life -- deal with the issues in your life. The fantasy communities that are about escaping from who you are and pretending to be someone else. So much about augmenting reality is more about shaping your life. I think that the augmented reality type of communities have become progressively more entwined in people's lives." " I think that it is good to remember that in many cases, it (online community) is another communications channel. The telephone is a communications channel that augments your life, so these communities are sort of like the telephone. But there's also data and sometimes it is asynchronous. Sometimes it creates gathering places for many people to come together, as do 900 numbers. I think that both of those trends will continue, and become much more integrated by people into their lives, and just another communications channel and other ways to hook up with people who share a common interest, shared purpose." "I also think the fantasy aspect of communities will become even richer and even more immersive. And it will continue to be a place to escape to for entertainment. In that case, it may not integrate much with your life at all, but it will certainly affect your emotions." There are many interaction tools that you can use in building your community. Most online community-building systems offer you some or all of a range of features. Take a look at the features and how you can use them to build your community in the article Types of Online Community What Steps Does it Take to Build a Virtual Community?Interested now in building your own community? Read on, we have lots of materials and resources to help you on your way. But before you rush off, here is the overview of the steps it takes to build your own virtual community:
Where do I go from here?
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