South Florida’s Sun-Sentinel reporter Stephanie Horvath created a modern day witch hunt in the form of an article she researched by plugging the search term “Palm Beach County School District” into Facebook and then publishing every slightly embarrassing thing she could find on any teachers’ facebook profiles. The dirt she dug up ranges from “has swear words on their site” to “pictured with alcohol.”

New connections between people, new transparency overcoming the geographical distances separating us, also creates new ways for people to abuse our diminished isolation from one another. Humans being social animals will always seek new ways to connect, despite the few who seek to drive us further apart.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-flpfacebook0601pnjun01,0,7309360.story?track=facebook

I think the major problems with online communities, however, is how overwhelming they can be. The more groups you join, the less time you spend on each site. The more friends you have, the less people you communicate with. And sometimes, when I go to message boards or forums, I end up not really reading anything posted because there is just SO much of it.

Like Eileen mentioned, time is also a problem. My friends and I used to be in an MSN group, and it was a great way for us to keep in touch (I live in the US, two live in London, two others lives in Africa), but as life went on we all lost the extra free time needed to keep that going. Even now, we have a group on facebook which NO ONE posts anything on, except for once every month or something. It’s easier for me to find the time to talk on the phone, or through IM, or even sending e-mails (funny enough). My contacts in those mediums are a lot smaller and easier to manage.

I’d say the passivity in the form of communication is another issue. And I’d agree with the idea that it is emotionally destructive when it comes to relationships. Online communities generally lack the ability to connect people on a more personal level.

But there’s nothing wrong with online communities. A lot of the worries people had about them doesn’t exists really, so …

… if you like ‘em, use ‘em.

I don’t know if I spend more or less time with family or friends due to the internet, but I know I probably spend less time watching TV, which, I agree with Benkler, is a passive form of communication that is probably more emotionally destructive than spending time IMing with friends or perusing Facebook.

We’ve already over-discussed this issue, but one problem that still remains that Rheingold brushes over with his faith in the userid is the problem with anonymity and responsibility. We still don’t really know who those people are on the other side of their userid, which means we can say things we wouldn’t normally say to someone face-to-face. It also puts us at certain risks. This may apply mostly to children, but I doubt us grownups are completely protected.

For example, if we all become over-saturated with social networking sites, we may only devote minimal time and effort to each site. I have accounts with MySpace, Facebook, Linkedin, Wired Journalists, Naymz, Ning, Yelp, Geni, Classmates.com… and probably more, but they’re just not popping into my head right now. When I first joined MySpace, I spent a lot of time on it. Now, I only log in if I have a new message or a friend request. I spend slightly more time on Facebook, but not much. It seems that the more networks I join, the less individual attention they all get.

Now, to be sure, I would hardly call this cause for alarm. The fact is, I’m still a member of all these sites, and I get daily e-mail updates from all of them. So even if I haven’t logged into my Geni family tree site in ages, I still get those random e-mails reminding me that the birthday of one of my cousins in Thailand is right around the corner. And I think that’s pretty incredible.

For me, these sites have done exactly what Yochai Benkler talks about - they have expanded on my casual, long-distance relationships. Geni has made me aware of relatives I didn’t even know I had. Facebook has put me back in touch with people from high school that I never thought I’d see again. Granted, I don’t really keep up with them on a regular basis, but the point is, I could if I wanted to. All of their information is right there within reach with just a few keystrokes.

So I certainly don’t think virtual communties have evolved as far as they can go. There will always be new and exciting ways for people to create niche communities and expand the services and offerings of those communtiies. All it takes is - as Eileen pointed out - an “unmet need..” and of course… a little imagination.

If a community provides a forum for an unmet need, it will resonate with users. Perhaps that is why my blog topic is so personally relevant and will hopefully provide a place for like-minded people with the need for the information it provides.

I also think a committed online community member has to have a lot of time available to devote to active membership. If the topic is relevant, more time will be invested by the user. The issue of user anonymity (welcome in some communities) may prohibit real community-building. Users will likely put more thought into engaging in meaningful online conversation and exchange of opinion and information when they are accountable.

Longterm success may depend on the “core users” or a moderator who keeps the community discourse flowing as Rheingold suggests. Relevancy or user-need, credibility and accountability are also necessary to online community building.

If a community provides a forum for an unmet need, it will resonate with users. Perhaps that is why my blog topic is so personally relevant and will hopefully provide a place for like-minded people with the need for the information it provides.

I also think a committed online community member has to have a lot of time available to devote to active membership. If the topic is relevant, more time will be invested by the user. The issue of user anonymity (welcome in some communities) may prohibit real community-building. Users will likely put more thought into engaging in meaningful online conversation and exchange of opinion and information when they are accountable.

Longterm success may depend on the “core users” or a moderator who keeps the community discourse flowing as Rheingold suggests. Relevancy or user-need, credibility and accountability are also necessary to online community building.

Instead of it being the Joshua Pollock social network community, it will be Evanston. What’s going on with government, what’s fun, what’s out there away from your computer?! I think the idea is very bright because I couldn’t tell you a single thing that’s going on in the town I live in.

But working against these great ideas that help bridge the gap between people and their physical communities is the digital divide. PEW, a non-profit research group (http://pewresearch.org) has done a lot of work in finding out just how many people a program like this would help.

While many of us would be excited to jump into yet another social or communal network, many more would be left in the dark. Then again, as technology improves and becomes cheaper over time, more people would be able to get involved. We’re a long way from that though if you ask me.

OpenSocial is a technology that, with Google and many social software providers’ support, promises to change that. So far though, Facebook is not on board. There’s a little spat going on between them and Google.

—

I spent a lot of time on BBSs when I was in high school — mostly downloading dirty pictures and pirated video games. There were probably a dozen or so bulletin boards that interested me at any given time in my local calling range.

The slow speeds and frequent busy signals did not prevent many great conversations, mostly about the aforementioned contraband, but often about politics, current affairs, and the usual pop-culture stuff: music, movies, etc. Several of my friends turned the relationships they made online into offline ones — one pair is happily married.