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last.updated 11.8.10

Virtual Communities

Purpose

One of the commonplace arguments about the Internet is that it promotes communities. While there are examples of people using the Internet to communicate with peers across the globe, there are many examples of individuals–sometimes those who are spatially close–struggling to use the technology to benefit those around them and, sometimes, even being socially dysfunctional. We will use this class to explore what a virtual/digital community is, what it can be, and whether we are placing too much stock in the capabilities of the technology.

Freewrite–What is (Virtual) Community?

For the first ten minutes of class, define what communities are and then what are virtual communities? Finally why do you participate in virtual communities or not?

Videos

YOUTUBE is a VIRTUAL community

What makes an online community?

Discussion–Let's be a Community

As a class we will discuss the following questions:

• How would you define community?
• Why do you think people participate in virtual communities? How do your reasons fit into Bishop's schema?
• Rheingold provides a fairly extensive and relatively optimistic view of virtual communities. What potential does he see? what are the pitfalls? The Virtual Community was published in 1993, how has the notion of virtual communities evolved since his early observations?
• Harry, from Silver's research, proves that trolls or "gadflies" make the community about them. Yet the participants in Silver's study saw this as both a blessing and a curse. Harry gave the online community a purpose some days, but he was annoying. What might this say about the BEV community or digital communities in general?
• How might you try to resolve some of the problems that BEV was having?
• Cashel, the YouTube videos, and Mitchell (Me++) give us a sense of community in the age of Web 2.0. How has digital communities changed with these new technologies? Do you see these technologies building upon or circumventing the instructures that Rheingold and Silver discuss?
• After looking at these examples, how would you define a virtual community? would you define digital community the same way? While this may seem like word play, what do the different connotations add to the conversation? or leave out of the conversation?