The Integration of Virtual Communities and the Real World

‘Virtual communities’ is a term that is becoming quite prominent in studies of new media technology. John Hartley describes virtual communities as “communication which occurs through Internet forums (such as e-mail, chat rooms, graphical worlds and discussion lists) that allows people to participate within multiple social networks (2005, p. 231). These communities appear in many forms, from the online social networking sites Facebook and Myspace, to websites which allow people to create a virtual identity, such as Habbo Hotel. These sites allow people from any geographical location to come together and form a community.

With the introduction of Web 2.0 technology, where the focus is on user collaboration and user-generated content, there has been an increase in the level of online interaction. This raises the question of how is it possible to transform the social norms and expectations of real world society to a virtual context. The answer is that this is not really possible. This is because there is less governance of people’s actions and rules and regulations are usually imposed by those who belong to the community, rather than outside influences as is done in the real world. It is therefore interesting to note the different characteristics of each and the differing ways they organise themselves in order to operate successfully as a community.

In the real world, communities are usually formed by people of similar geographical location and common beliefs and personalities. Conversely, online communities have the capacity to join people from any corner of the globe, despite language or cultural barriers. Furthermore, these online groups are more specific in their connection, meaning that while users may not be similar in any other way; they may share one small passion, such as liking the same band. Real world communities are often made of people who share many similar interests, and this is why they have formed a community. Another key difference between the two is how each are governed. The real world has people of power such as politicians, policemen and chairmen of boards to ensure communities are acting appropriately, ethically and within the law. On the other hand, positions of power in virtual communities are given to those who participate frequently and valuably. For example in Wikipedia, the people who govern the pages are mainly members of the Wikipedia community who devote much of their time to ensuring pages are of an adequate standard.

It is apparent that online communities are becoming part of everyday life in the real world. As Flew states, “the whole concept of ‘online’ and ‘offline’ worlds has become less tenable over time” (2005, p.66). This is due to the increasing level of integration of the internet, specifically virtual communities, into our everyday practises.

The influence online communities are having on offline communities is becoming increasingly obvious. It is as if we are coming to rely upon our virtual identities to form part of our real world identities. I can reiterate this point using an example of a current trend. Many social events are now being organised through Facebook with most of the communication occurring over virtual social networking. It is simply a more efficient method of organisation, and with an increasing amount of people connecting to virtual communities, it is also becoming more reliable. The key point to understand is that while virtual communities and real world communities are very different in terms of how they are organised and operate, they are now coexisting more so than ever before.

REFERENCE LIST

Hartley, J. (2005). Communication, Cultural and Media Studies: The Key Concepts. (3rd ed.). Oxon, London: Routledge.

Flew, T. (2005). New Media. (2nd ed.). Melbourne: Oxford University Press.