My view on Virtual Communities..

Before the lectures with Colin Cooney I had a general idea about virtual communities, but after listening to all the lectures I think I have a better understanding of them. I don't have just one opinion on virtual communities , it's kind of split. On one hand you have your social networking sites like bebo and myspace which I think are great to have, you get to keep in touch with friends and family you probably would have lost contact with if it wasn't for these sites. Then again on the other hand you have all your chat rooms were you could be talking to anyone. You always hear these stories of girls being targeted by creepy men who try to persuade the girl to meet up, We all know the rest of the story. I guess like everything virtual communities have pros and con's. I think it's people who abuse these communities are the ones who give them a bad name.

For the most part I think virtual communities are a good thing. It's easy to find a group of people online who have the same views and interests as you, from your favourite author to your favourite ice-cream. Not a lot of people want to hear their friend ranting on about something they couldn't hear less about, but brand communities give people the chance to talk about and share their views about something they're passionate about, from podcasts to blogs. These brand communities give people around the world a chance to connect with other people who share similar interests. I think virtual communities are an excellent way for people all over the world to communicate with each other and express their opinions or simply just make new friends. Blogging has become more and more popular over the years with more and more businesses creating their own blogs. These blogs allow the businesses to reach a larger number of publics.You have your personal blogs and your corporate blogs. People all over the world have blogs, these blogs can be about anything from someones opinion on the U.S election, to someone giving out about the latest film they have seen. Another big part part of interaction on the internet is podcasts. Podcasts can be used in education, they are used with many online classes. I think for anyone taking a class online these podcasts add more of a personal touch. It's almost like the teacher is interacting with the student in person. Podcasts are quick to download and are low in cost. All in all I think virtual communities are a good thing and a positive way of communicating with the world, sure it has its negative aspects but what doesn't?!