Jasper Odijk

Object of the future

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Virtual Communities

Overview

The internet is the biggest network ever created by human beings. It enables people from all over the world to reach a large audience in just a few mouse-clicks. Virtual communities came into being because of the natural need of people to interact. The term virtual communities can be defined as online environments in which people with common interests, values, opinions, etc. can socially interact. Virtual communities come in many forms, but it basically enables people to do almost anything they could do in real live, without being physically involved. For many people is the enormous amount of freedom, opportunities and liveliness, while still garanteeing a certain degree of anonymity, a facinating and irresistible force which attracts them to get involved into virtual communities.

Vitual communities are considered a vital aspect of the Web 2.0 concept, which depends upon social interaction and exchange between users online.

References

Howard Rheingold's The Virtual Community
Wikipedia's article on virtual communities
Habbo Hotel: A Dutch virtual community for teenagers
Taatu: A virtual community for teenagers
The Well: Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link