This week’s study of online communities took me back to our first couple of weeks of the class when we explored the fears that society has established around the mass adoption of the internet. Many said that people would leave their social circles and other personal communities and migrate online, spending hours alone in front of a monitor. In watching the documentary about “The Bronze”, I hope some fears were finally put to rest. For me, the documentary was clear evidence that online communities are not taking people away from their communities, but adding communities to their existing lives. Many of those interviewed for the documentary expressed that they were able to socialize with people through “The Bronze” who shared interests that they would not have otherwise encountered in their face to face social circles. In this case, it demonstrated that “The Bronze” added a social circle without removing them from any existing lives.
Howard Rheingold’s interviewing and reading was a bit uptopian. Howard seems to believe that we, as a mass people using the internet” are forming new communities that rival the strength of our identities as nation states. While I think we might be a solid 100 years away from that being truthful, we are reorganizing ourselves around internet communities in ways that we have in the past and currently organize ourselves (and subsequently identify ourselves) around religion, ethnic background, and nationality. Additionally, one thing Howard said in his interview stuck me as the most truthful statement from this week’s studies, “I don’t like to describe the real world as real, because online is real too.”
I haven’t experienced being part of an online community. However, but I imagine people join them most often when they are compelled by a special interest such as a book, movie or tv series or sports team. People may join them because they are unable to meet people in their existing social circles with the same interests or to simply enjoy being emerced in a “fan experience”. Many fandom websites today have lots of interactive games, and are rewarded with sneak peaks or exclusive merchandise offers. The incentives could be widely varied, but most people are probably seeking a social connection or some kind of escapism.
I agree with your point that online communities are providing additional social spaces to our existing lives. As mentioned in the videos, it can often be difficult to find peers with similar interests, but the desire to socialize is still there. Online environments can provide a unique sense of community, often stronger and more varied than traditional groups.
I think you are right about people’s original incentives and motivations for seeking out a community. I think most of us seek some stronger form or connection, as well as escapism from the standard; it just manifests in different ways.
People need to base their search on existing fandoms or special interests. They have to be passionate about the main thing that unites the community, or else one might lose interest before the chance to form relationships.
You are spot on with your observation about Rheingold – he is 110% techno-utopian. I agree that the idea of redrawing nation states online is pretty far out there, but I included his video (and the reading for the grads) so you could get a sense of what some of that rhetoric was like. He comes out of the Bay area and the Whole Earth catalog movement, so it’s also very rooted in the 60s hippies, etc. I think as time has passed since he wrote his book he has tempered his vision somewhat, but I think he still hopes. Unfortunately, I think politics is the one area where we have made the least progress in being able to form communities online. It seems like it’s easier to relate to people if we’re talking about cooking or pop culture or something (though don’t get the Star Wars/Star Trek hard core fans in a room together!).
Online communities do fill the void of niche interest in physical communities. People now are interacting globally to find others who share the same interest.