What Makes a Community and does Tech Provide

What Makes a Community and does Tech Provide?

When I first read this question I did not really understand it, and I can honestly say that I still do not. However, I feel that me not understanding the question gives me an opportunity to do some research. So the first thing that I did was look up the word community and Oxford Dictionaries defines community as “a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.” So along with that definition and the question I feel that we have a group of people living in the same place and our professor wants to know if and what technology provides for them.

As I begin to think about this question I thought about my virtual neighborhood. Sometimes I get a weak signal from the icon for my internet connection and I have to click on my “Network Settings.” I noticed that there are about fifteen different networks to choose from to get on to the internet. Furthermore, I noticed that some of these networks require a code or password and some do not.

So out of curiosity I decided to look up online communities and virtual communities. Social Media Today describes an online community as “People, who interact socially as they strive to satisfy their own needs or perform special roles, such as leading or moderating. A shared purpose, such as an interest, need, information exchange, or service that provides a reason for the community. Policies, in the form of tacit assumptions, rituals, protocols, rules, and laws that guide people’s interactions. Computer systems, to support and mediate social interaction and facilitate a sense of togetherness”. (Jenny Preece)

After I read this particular article the online community seemed to be exactly like a physical community. I noticed that it “provides” similar needs. However, we know that the information spreads faster. Plus, I would think that the online community has more unity than our physical community because their agenda is based on need and information exchange. With that being said I never joined an online community, so I do not know if this if a fact. I also noticed that there are laws and I was wondering about the punishment for breaking one of their laws. Would it be banishment or will your local police show up at your front door? Another thing that stood out to me was “rituals”. I thought to myself, “what kind of rituals are we talking about”?