Blog #4: Home is where you hang your hat

In the article Webs as Pegs, David Bell argues that virtual communities are an improvement over the non-virtual type. I don't have time to review all of his supporting points so I will consider two of them. He offers support for this through several statements. He contends that virtual communities are more durable the non-virtual ones because they move with the individual rather then requiring people to break ties. He categorizes virtual community relationships as "pure" because people can take what they need or want from the community and then move on. That is the feature he is emphasizing when he calls them "peg communities."

I disagree with Bell's assessment of communities. It is true that when people move physical community ties are often broken and must be re-established in a new area. However, this does not mean that virtual communities are more durable. Statistically speaking most people end up living less then 25 miles away from where they were raised (I wish I had the source for that information, but I can't remember where I heard it so you'll have to look it up if you doubt me). This means that mobility is not as much of a limitation as he would argue.

One of his other main arguments is about the "pure relationship" virtual communities offer. He defines communities in terms of what you take away from them rather then what you give to them. In this respect people take away much more then they contribute to virtual communities. Even when adding content, most people are doing something for themselves rather then trying to "give back" This is evident in the number of online "flame" wars that take place in various communities. People are more interested in making themselves heard then sharing ideas.

I participate in both virtual and non-virtual communities. I go to work, I attend church and I am learning Taekwondo at the local dojo. Currently, I am a member of a enterprise computer support elist, and I also use Facebook. In addition, before I was married a couple of years ago, I participated in an online relationship site. What I find happens is that whenever something come up in non-virtual life the first thing to go is my involvement in virtual communities. Why is that? I think it is because instinctively we prioritize things happening in our immediate vicinity as higher priority. When the bodies needs are present, I must address them or risk harm but when I want to congratulate a friend, what does it hurt if I wait a day or even a week.

What is a community. Joseph Smith, the first prophet and founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints (Mormons), made a statement when lecturing about faith. He said, "A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation" (Lectures on Faith, 69) Ignoring the obvious discussions this brings up about religion, I want to focus on what this says about community. Religion after all is just a very structured community. I think it is true that the benefit of community is not what you take from it but what you give to it.

Where communities become hybrid, they have advantages over traditional communities, but not because of their pegginess as David puts it but because of their lack of pegginess. It is commitment that drives us. When we lose that commitment, we also lose the protection and support that communities provide us.

Bibliography

Smith, Joseph. Lectures on Faith: Delivered to the School of the Prophets in Kirtland, Ohio, 1834-35. Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book, 1985. Print.

Bell, David, and Barbara M. Kennedy. The Cybercultures Reader. London: Routledge, 2007. Print.

I'd like to compare shoe websites for assignment #2.

Nike, Reebok, and Redwing

The reason why I'd like to compare these sites goes back to a class I took on world civilizations. When we were studying early homosapiens there was a great deal of attention given to the footwear that early people used. It gave a lot of insight into the problems he faced and how he chose to solve them. I would guess that if shoes said so much about people in that time then it likely says a lot about us today.