The Cultural Impact of Online Communities - Essay Example

Online Communities Some of the greatest barriers to communication encountered in the world throughout history have been related to either physical location (one can only yell so far) or physical environment (in which an individual must feel somewhat comfortable with others if communication of any real substance is to take place). An example of this latter issue can be found in Ann Bruckman’s article, “Finding One’s Own Space in Cyberspace”, when she discusses the various types of internet that are available by relating it to a group of bars she visited in her time off when working as a camp counselor. She describes one of these bars as “absolutely terrifying. Huge, bearded men bulging out of their leather vests and pants leered at me. I hid in the corner and tried not to make eye contact with anyone” (129). Although she is an intelligent woman, and many men who hang out in biker bars can carry on very interesting, very intelligent conversations, the physicality of the environment with the reciprocal stereotyping that evidently occurred (Bruckman saw the men as little more than thugs, the ‘thugs’ saw her as little more than meat) prevented any of these conversations from happening and precluded any possibility of future intellectual or cultural encounters. Issues of physical location between strangers are also overcome through online communities as discussed in the article “7 Things You Should Know About Blogs.” By removing questions of physicality, online communities can facilitate much greater communication among cultures and interest groups as conversations are held according to true interest levels rather than being based upon or limited by a specific physical image or location. The ability of online communities to form regardless of physical location is emphasized in the article “7 Things You Should Know About Blogs.” In the traditional classroom, it is usually presumed that students are able to discuss various aspects of their lessons with each other. However, as the sidebar of the article illustrates, the online community enabled the students of at least one traditional classroom to have more in-depth and frequent conversation with each other than even this close environment afforded: “By the end of the course … [the students] form rich connections with one another and the content and – because of the reflection and sharing – find great relevance in the material. Several students continue to blog after the course is over” (“7 Things”: 1). In exactly the same way blogging helped the traditional classroom, it can also help facilitate online learning environments in terms of making them more ‘real’ for students or in helping students form a connection with the material offered. In describing her vision for her blogging site, MediaMOO, Bruckman provides a strong image of how this environment is uniquely suited for establishing, strengthening and encouraging full-fledged ‘virtual’ communities: “MediaMOO should be like an endless reception for a conference on media studies” (Bruckman: 131). Yet the process is still not limited to only the academic environment and the professional user. “Blogs are showing up in venues ranging from entertainment and commerce to news and politics. Many blogs are the musings of a single author; others focus on a particular topic and feature the voices of several authors” (“7 Things”: 1). This concept is echoed in Bruckman’s article as she enumerates the wonderful diversity that is represented on the internet. “The great promise of the Net is diversity. That’s something we need to cultivate and cherish” (Bruckman: 138). People from as far away as Texas and China are able to join together in a real-time conversation if they happen to be awake and signed in at that particular moment when using one type of system, or can browse through a history of posted messages using another system, posting new messages as they go along. Location is no longer an issue in allowing two or more individuals to carry on a conversation just as time ceases to play such a strong factor as people become able to post comments when it is most convenient for them. The final physical barrier to allowing people of different cultures, locations and social groups to interact is the barrier of physical typecasting or stereotypes. As was illustrated in the introduction, physical appearance and environment can play a large role in constricting communications. Within the online environment, the biggest, meanest biker at the bar used by Bruckman in her illustration (128-129) could be a well-known grower of pansies on a botanist’s blog, a risk-taking member of an extreme sports blog and a practical researcher into media studies participating in her own community blog. By bringing people together in the online environment first, all the initial fear, mistrust, stereotypes and assumed social roles among genders, cultures and social groups can be somewhat circumvented, allowing people to communicate more about those things that truly identify them as individuals. The idea that the blogging environment is open to increased communication among internet users is emphasized in the article “7 Things You Should Know About Blogs.” “Most bloggers solicit feedback, fostering two-way communication between readers and authors. … Through linking, commenting and feeback, good (or at least popular) ideas spread quickly through the informal network of blogs while unpopular ideas are simply ignored” (“7 Things”: 2). The world is opened to the ideas of every individual with internet access through the tremendous power afforded them by the blogs. These ideas, once posted, frequently engender quick response from the world community, promoting discussion and fostering the development of entire virtual communities of people with shared interests and concerns. Through this venue, many of the traditional physical structures that have prevented full communication among various groups are avoided. Anyone in the general population is capable of posting their ideas for the rest of the world to access while the rest of the world can take this idea, explore it, discuss it, yell at it or simply ignore it. Even when used for professional capacity, such as facilitating research efforts or working with groups and individually within an educational setting, blogs enable individuals to step outside of the bounds of the classroom and join together in meaningful discussion about the various contents of the course within a space that transcends location and, to some extent, time. Finally, regardless of any possible preconceived opinions regarding an individual held within any culture, none of this interaction is necessarily based upon stereotypical expectations brought about by the type of physical environment in which the original blogger lives, what they choose to wear or what their race, nationality or gender might be. Works Cited Bruckman, Ann. “Finding One’s Own Space in Cyberspace.” Technology Review. Vol. 99, N. 1, (January 1996). “7 Things You Should Know About Blogs.” Educause Learning Initiative. (August 2005). Read More