Without realizing it, people belong to, and participate in, many online communities. Every day users log onto MSN to chat. On facebook people upload picture of everything (trips, interests, hobbies, etc) while conversing about the days events, planning their lives. People are becoming more reliant on technological means of communication to carry out their days, and the majority of these means of communication make up what can be considered online “communities”. Myself, I am part of facebook. I have MSN. I find that World of Warcraft (WoW) can be a bonding experience for everyone from siblings and strangers. These are the places (I use that term loosely when referring to virtual locations) where people form the ties that bind, sometimes be referred to as “communities”.
All of these online places provide people with the opportunity to socialize. This type of socialization may not be possible otherwise. Time constraints and great distance are only two factors that virtual communities can overcome. MSN may simply be a way to communicate with friends, but facebook take this a step further. Billed as a social networking website, facebook allows users to interact with each other in a more immersive way. With the ability to upload pictures, play games, use various applications comparing movie, book and music tastes with all your friends, facebook is an online community that allows people to find out things about old friends, find new ones, and get to know them on a more “personal” level. Something like WoW actually allows people, as their avatar characters, to interact with each other online in a multitude of hair-raising, skill testing scenarios. This kind of online community creates personal relationships in a different way. Here, it is easy to meet new people every day and see how well you get along while being together in a virtual space.
To say that communal spaces online aren’t real simply because they’re virtual is taking something away from them. There are real emotions, real convictions and real relationships formed in virtual spaces every single day. MSN and facebook seems to unite people who are old friends, strengthening the bonds that tie them. Whereas WoW allows users to form new ties and strengthen them through a trial of fire. In a game community like WoW, people learn how to be leaders, the value of teamwork, planning, patience, and how to get along with just about anyone they come across.
