Before I can answer whether or not my online group, Facebook, is a community, I feel I must ask one question. Is there a difference between virtual communities and real life communities?
Since society is a precedent for online communities similarities exist between the two. They both have a gathering of people who have common interests as well as an acceptance for those whose views differ from their own. Also they do not require full active participation even though it is more beneficial for the community and the individual to have the individual be completely active in the community. The problem with online communities is that they lack physical interaction which some people believe to be the basis for establishing whether or not a group is indeed a community. To their dismay, I believe that virtual communities can thrive without physical interactions. As technology advances, the ways to virtually communicate advance as well. Now people can write to each other almost instantaneously with the use of instant messaging. Also people can see and speak to one another with the use of a web-cam. These technological developments are helping and somewhat exceeding in breaking the barrier between real life communities and virtual communities.
From a macroscopic view Facebook seems to be just a large online website that has numerous users. There are so many people who use the website that they could not all possibly be friends with one another.Yet when one looks closer and identifies how Facebook hosts so many diverse communities and allows them to become interwoven, the site becomes worthy of the title of a community. When I log into Facebook, I am given the ability to socialize with so many of my friends that I am unable to in real life since they live in various parts of the country and even the world. Also I am given the option to meet new people who may or may not have the same interests as my own. Just having the choice to meet new people and be an active participant makes, in my opinion, Facebook a community.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Is Georgia Tech a community?
The topic of community has been endlessly debated through the centuries and no clear answers as to its definition has been found. Yet, through all of the disarray, broad concepts of community have been located and expounded upon. Communities are filled with people who have things in common, which helps to give them some sense of belonging. Also in the modern age communities now encompass the social interactions of people online and offline. Modern communities will only survive if they manage to bridge the gap between the virtual world and the real one. Georgia Tech is a perfect example of a thriving modern community.
Georgia Tech is a community because it hosts a group of individuals who share the overall goal of getting a degree in higher education. This goal is what has brought every student to campus. They have joined the community of Georgia Tech. To be apart of a community, one does not need to be always actively participating. Instead they only need to support the overall goal of the community. They need to have some common interests, while having tolerance and respect for those who have different passions. As the community grows, like it has at Georgia Tech, sub-communities will form. Sub-communities are numerous around campus and give people places to focus on certain interests and thrive with others who share those same interests.
By participating in sub-communities, students indirectly participate in the community of Georgia Tech.
An interesting thing about Georgia Tech's community is that it weaves together virtual and real life aspects of community. The main virtual engine of communication on campus is Facebook. On Facebook, students are able to communicate about real life occurrences and activities such as football games, community service projects, music, and even tough homework assignments. When they go off-line they leave with more opinions and knowledge of the happenings around them. They go into the real life with a strengthened ability to converse with fellow students and even experience some of the events talked about on-line. Georgia Tech's community grows and flourishes as it continues to connect diverse people through various modules.
Georgia Tech is a community because it hosts a group of individuals who share the overall goal of getting a degree in higher education. This goal is what has brought every student to campus. They have joined the community of Georgia Tech. To be apart of a community, one does not need to be always actively participating. Instead they only need to support the overall goal of the community. They need to have some common interests, while having tolerance and respect for those who have different passions. As the community grows, like it has at Georgia Tech, sub-communities will form. Sub-communities are numerous around campus and give people places to focus on certain interests and thrive with others who share those same interests.
By participating in sub-communities, students indirectly participate in the community of Georgia Tech.
An interesting thing about Georgia Tech's community is that it weaves together virtual and real life aspects of community. The main virtual engine of communication on campus is Facebook. On Facebook, students are able to communicate about real life occurrences and activities such as football games, community service projects, music, and even tough homework assignments. When they go off-line they leave with more opinions and knowledge of the happenings around them. They go into the real life with a strengthened ability to converse with fellow students and even experience some of the events talked about on-line. Georgia Tech's community grows and flourishes as it continues to connect diverse people through various modules.
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