Online communities get real

A study of online communities by UK think-tank The Work Foundation has found that the web is much more localised, more honest and less chaotic than original predictions thought.

So-called social software - e-mail, messaging systems, weblogs and shared online diaries - is allowing people to make the net work for them and bring the virtual world home.

New phenomena such as weblogs have allowed people to share their interest and passions with a wider audience but often provide a quite mundane and honest view of life.

"Increasingly technologies allow people to find out about others in the real world and keep in touch with their day-to-day lives," said the report's author Will Davies.  more . . . http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2946188.stm

Turntable.fm spin

I found an article in the Boston Metro last Thursday about a new online community that draws approximately 80,000 daily users each week. Its called Turntable.fm. The article titled "Bringing something new to the turntable" says "Welcome to your newest social-networking and music addiction." That's not all. It also say's "If you get 1,000 people to click that they like the songs you play on Turntable.fm, then you can use an avatar that looks like Deadmau5." Interestingly, you must have a friend on Facebook who has logged onto Turntable.fm to try it. So this appear to be a tightly knitted online community. Personally, I do not know if any of my friends are on Turntable.fm, but I can ask. If I do, then I can "either enter a "room" or create one." (Source: Boston Metro June 30, 2011,p.14) I am not too much of an online music fan, but who knows what I might find.

Search on Online Communities

My search on Ebsco host for information on online communities provided me with some interesting articles on the subject. The on attached to this link is titled 'Keeping up e appearences.' It provided me with some very interesting clues about the cultural aspects of online communities and what almost everyone adult should know about the internet as a ,member of any online community. more . . .
http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=a02b19a9-9d03-4764-adf1-53dd81cbb195%40sessionmgr4&vid=1&hid=2&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d