Chowrangi

Some people feel that community can only develop in situations where there is face-to-face embodied contact. Other people believe that telecommunications has allowed the creation of new types of non-geographic communities that are just as meaningful.

Cyberspace can also be seen as a place or environment within which people can meet, talk, and conduct their affairs just as if they were in a physical building of their own creation. Cyberspace is already full of electronic neighborhoods, locations where people mingle and pass each other without establishing significant connection. Many of the social networks, instant messaging networks, blogs and other types of new media are just teeming with agile interchanges among people who have just signed-in and will more than likely never talk to each other again.

On the other hands, there are numerous stories about people meeting online and then becoming friends. There are now increasing number of stories of people who were hit by the Cupid, and they found their soul mates online, and now living a happy or unhappy married life in the physical world. It is the ability of telecommunications to overcome the obstacles of time and distance that makes possible the emergence of virtual communities or as they are often referred to as ‘Communities of Common Concerns’.

Common concerns are anything that people feel strongly about or that shapes their identity. For example, no matter where they live , people when find similar issues, they benefit by talking to each other. The list of common concerns around which communities can develop includes employment issues, life situations, hobbies, public policy, and much more. Virtual communities arise because the entire world does not pass by our front porch, and even if it did, few of us have the time to sit there waiting.

Other posts by Commoner

• Punjab Heats Up - November 19th, 2008
• Eyeball to Eyeball - November 18th, 2008
• No Surprises There - November 18th, 2008
• Yousuf Ready to Leave "Power" - November 18th, 2008
• OGRA Website Hacked By Indian Hackers - November 17th, 2008
• Friends Of Pakistan Again Disappoints - November 17th, 2008
• New But Old Dimensions - November 17th, 2008
• After the Loan - November 16th, 2008
• Locals Lashkars Against Taliban - November 16th, 2008
• Swat Keeps on Smouldering - November 15th, 2008