Community Theory

Gerard Delanty (2009) defines community:

“Community in general concerns particular forms of belonging and the decline of community can be a decline only in particular ties of belonging, which must be measured by the rise of other forms of belonging” (p.41)

Jenny Preece (2000) talks about how the definition of community has evolved over time:

“Initially, comunities were characterized mainly by their physical features, such as size, location and their boundaries. During and after the industrial revolution, cheaper transportation made it easier for people to move from place to place and physical characteristics provided a less reliable basis for defining community.” (p. 348)

We see a greater transformation of "community" with the digital age where geographical and even cultural boundaries become almost obsolete. Howard Rheingold (1994) tells us about virtual communities: “A group of people, who may or may not meet one another face-to-face, and who exchange words and ideas through the mediation of computer bulletin boards and networks. (p.57-58)

There has been much debate amongst scholars about whether "virtual communities" can and should be considered "real communities". Some say that no because virtual communities lack the physicality and connectedness that a "real" community offers. Other say yes, that virtual communities are simply "real communities" redefined in the current digital age.

Oren and Amitai Etzioni (2010) encourage us to think about the advantages and disadvantages that these communities have, rather than trying to decide whether virtual communities are "real" or not. According to them, the two are separate forms with very different characteristics. While real communities provide far more emotional feedback than virtual communities (especially with body language), the latter allows members to ignore geographical and sometimes even cultural boundaries that would have otherwise been a barrier to particular communities.

The "Virtual Communities VS Real Communities" debate was put forward to friends of The Real World. There was a fairly equal split between both sides of the argument, with both making equally valid points. Find out more here and here..

References

Delanty, G. (2009) Community, Routledge: UK
Etzioni, A., and Etzioni, O. Communities: virtual vs. real. Science 277.5324 (1997): 295. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 27 May 2010
Preece, J. (2000) “Sociability and usability in online communities: determining and measuring sucess’, Behaviour & Information Technology, 20:5, p. 347-356
Rheingold, H. (1993) The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier. Addison-Wesley: Reading, MA


	Community Theory Gerard Delanty (2009) defines community: “Community in general concerns particular forms of belonging and the decline of community can be a decline only in particular ties of belonging, which must be measured by the rise of other forms of belonging” (p.41) Jenny Preece (2000) talks about how the definition of community has evolved over time: “Initially, comunities were characterized mainly by their physical features, such as size, location and their boundaries. During and after the industrial revolution, cheaper transportation made it easier for people to move from place to place and physical characteristics provided a less reliable basis for defining community.” (p. 348) We see a greater transformation of "community" with the digital age where geographical and even cultural boundaries become almost obsolete. Howard Rheingold (1994) tells us about virtual communities: “A group of people, who may or may not meet one another face-to-face, and who exchange words and ideas through the mediation of computer bulletin boards and networks. (p.57-58) There has been much debate amongst scholars about whether "virtual communities" can and should be considered "real communities". Some say that no because virtual communities lack the physicality and connectedness that a "real" community offers. Other say yes, that virtual communities are simply "real communities" redefined in the current digital age. Oren and Amitai Etzioni (2010) encourage us to think about the advantages and disadvantages that these communities have, rather than trying to decide whether virtual communities are "real" or not. According to them, the two are separate forms with very different characteristics. While real communities provide far more emotional feedback than virtual communities (especially with body language), the latter allows members to ignore geographical and sometimes even cultural boundaries that would have otherwise been a barrier to particular communities. The "Virtual Communities VS Real Communities" debate was put forward to friends of The Real World. There was a fairly equal split between both sides of the argument, with both making equally valid points. Find out more here and here.. -- References Delanty, G. (2009) Community, Routledge: UK Etzioni, A., and Etzioni, O. Communities: virtual vs. real. Science 277.5324 (1997): 295. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 27 May 2010 Preece, J. (2000) “Sociability and usability in online communities: determining and measuring sucess’, Behaviour & Information Technology, 20:5, p. 347-356 Rheingold, H. (1993) The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier. Addison-Wesley: Reading, MA	past events melbourne zombie shuffle 2010 // 1 May melbourne pillow fight 2010 // 10 Apr future events where's wally hunt melbourne // 3 Jul
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