The rules of our game are still in flux and humanity is grappling with the implications of its perpetual high stakes social experiment. Communities are the lifeblood of… well life, and our new technologies are shaking things up as usual. While old and reliable, in person communities have spatial disadvantages that the internet seemingly ameliorates with its ease of access. It is clear the importance of online communities (pandemic or not) will change the world at least a few thousand more times. Yet because the medium for communities has changed so drastically, community building online is much different than it was in person. We begin to question what it means to be a community in general. What defines a community online? How does one create and sustain effective online communities and what might one look like? This article will go over the definition of community and some of the different types of functioning online communities.
To begin, it is important to note that the term “community” is not an agreed upon term, certainly online. So for the purposes of this discussion, I will define it as a unified group of people who engage together towards some end (whether the end is overarching or case by case). To be a community under my definition, the group of people must be unified by some cause that is potent enough to encourage them to participate. This rules out many corporate ordained “communities” which are just loosely connected groups of people who pressed “join.” This also doesn’t include groups of casual viewers who come to watch something but do not participate with others. A group of viewers who all watch the same show in different places is not necessarily a community. While they may have a common interest, the group does not act in any unified way.
There seems to be 2 main types of communities: centralized communities and decentralized communities. While these kinds of communities often overlap and sometimes become indistinguishable, the inherent difference is helpful to recognize. Centralized communities are those whose origins are centralized around one person, place, or thing created by a person or people as a concerted effort, usually for financial gains or social impact. These communities are centralized around the specific thing, continuing to evolve but feeding back into the original source. Communities in this way are often formed around famous figures and organizations using the content generated as a catalyst for new participation. Decentralized communities are formed around ideas or interests, originating from a disparate combination of efforts culminating on one or more platforms. These communities are more grass-root-style startups often involving many centralized topics to stimulate participation. Communities like these are especially attractive to a wide variety of people who share the interest. Because of their often non-committal nature, they usually attract a constantly morphing community base and facilitates the creation of centralized communities. Sometimes centralized communities will come together to create a decentralized community.
Overall the specific nature of online communities is changing wonderfully every day. The participatory structures survive on engagement, aided by an open atmosphere and non-tyrannical moderation. While these communities may lack certain human qualities that in person communities have, they are still very meaningful.
Journalism 2.0 