LB

There are online communities which share many of the same characteristics of geographical communities, but they are different in many ways from geographical communities. There is much discussion over the merits of virtual communities, and the bonds that are created between people who meet only online. Some argue that a true bond between people who have never met in person cannot really exist, or that it exists on a less personal level. But there are also great possibilities for online communities which may not exist in geographical communities. People with specific interests may discuss these interests with other like-minded people. This is a great resource especially when people cannot find others in their geographical community who share the same interest. The internet can bring people together over great distances. Communities created online may be different from geographical communities, but they are uniquely situated to bring together like-minded people for meaningful discussions and interactions.

 

Beckmann, John, ed.  The Virtual Dimension. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1998.

 

This book contains various articles about technology and its effects on architecture, design and art. I have just currently just received the book, and have not read through all of the articles in the book. There does seem to be some articles about the design of cyberspace, and a couple of the articles appear to be about the design of communities online. This may have relevance to my topic

 

 

 

 

 

Bruckman, Amy. "Finding one's own space in cyberspace." Technology Review  99.1 (1996): 48-54.

 

This article explores the different types of communities that can be found online. Communities where anything and everything is posted are compared with communities that are moderated, and with communities which have applications for admittance. The large variety of communities is emphasized, with the conclusion of the article being that there is a place for almost everyone in a virtual community. Not the emphasis that I was going to place in my paper, but this article could be very helpful in helping to describe various communities which do exist online.

 

Bull, Glen, and Gina Bull. "Common protocols for shared communities." Learning and Leading with Technology  25.1 (1997): 50-53.

 

Article explores the ways that information can be sent to facilitate discussion in shared learning communities. A technical discussion of ways that information can be sent online. Not the focus that is needed for my paper.

 

Etzioni, Amitai, and Oren Etzioni . "Communities: Virtual vs. Real" Science  277.5324 (1997): 295.

 

A short article editorial, which does not have the same weight as a peer-edited article may. Mentions that the virtual communities may not reproduce real communities, but that that is not necessarily a bad thing about internet communities. There are many characteristics in virtual communities that are not present in real ones, which give the virtual communities many advantages. Some advantages include the ability of online communities to bring together people from all over the globe, the fact that people do not necessarily have to meet at exact times, that messages remain after extended periods of time for others to read later, and that more people can participate in a discussion in the community because there are no space limitations.

 

Goldsmith, Marshall. "Global Communications and Communities of Choice." The Community of the Future. Ed. Hesselbein, Frances, et al. San Fransisco: Jossey Bass, 1998. 101-114.

 

This article explores the communities that can now be created because of the increase in global communications. Internet communities are not specifically focused on, but the main thrust of the article is that communications using the internet and other forms of global communication can help people form new communities. The new communities would be communities that people create because they wish to do so. Some problems that these new communities will bring are discussed, but the overall view is optimistic.

 

Preece, Jenny. Online Communities. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2000.

 

This book is mainly for people who wish to design and maintain an internet community. It includes a general introduction to what an online community is, and goes into details about certain types of communities. This book is more for people who wish to create commercial sites with communities in them, but includes a lot of information about all types of internet communities.

 

 

 

 

Rheingold, Howard. "Virtual Communities." The Community of the Future. Ed. Hesselbein, Frances, et al. San Fransisco: Jossey Bass, 1998.115-122.

The author spends a lot of this article explaining his experiences in virtual communities, and then applying his experiences to virtual communities. He has a very optimistic view concerning virtual communities, although he does address some of the downsides. There is also some discussion about what community is, and how virtual communities are just a positive shift in what communities have always been about.

 

Rothaermel, Frank, and Sugiyama, Stephen. "Virtual internet communities and

commercial success: individual and community-level theory grounded in the atypical case of TimeZone.com." Journal of Management 27.3 (2001): 297.

 

This article contains discussion about what a virtual community is. A case study of TimeZone.com is done, and this community is one based on common interest, consisting of people who enjoy watches and other time-keeping devices. There is some discussion of using community as a way to market things on the internet, but the main discussion consists of describing what a community is, and how community is built up over the internet. There is also some discussion of a virtual community being an impetus for people to make real-life social connections, which brings up interesting questions of whether "real life" communities can grow from online ones, or whether there is that much of a gap between virtual and real communities.                                                                              

 

 

Streibel, Michael J. "Information technology and physicality in community, place, and presence." Theory into Practice 37.1 (1998): 31-37.

 

This article addresses community, mainly the way that community is necessary in public education. The author compares virtual versus real communities. He finds virtual communities to be poor substitutes for real ones, and makes clear his belief that real communities are better for people to be engaged in. The main argument is that we are physical beings, and need physical interaction with others. Provides some contrasting information for may paper.

 

Tucker, Robert E. "Argument, ideology, and databases: On the corporatization of academic debate" Argumentation and Advocacy 32.1 (1995): 30-40.

This article contains a discussion of the information that can be found on the internet, and how that can be applied to debate within our society. The information is interesting, but not relevant to my paper.

 

Ulrich, Dave. "Six Practices for Creating Communities of Value, Not Proximity." The Community of the Future. Ed. Hesselbein, Frances, et al. San Fransisco: Jossey Bass, 1998. 155-165.

 

This article is a discussion about communities based on common values as opposed to physical location. Has a more broad view of these types of communities, and while the article does mention internet communities, it does not limit itself to them. A good discussion on why these types of communities exist, and how they can be stronger than communities based on location.