A lot of the real work in the area of virtual communities has not been done by researchers or companies but by people acting as activists in their own community. A number of Community Networks has been established over the last years (some of them have been around for a long time, see Schuler, 1996). The basic perspective is to use cyberspace and its possibilities to increase societal involvement and citizen activities in our communities. The approach is very practical in that it often consists of attempts to create and build electronic communities where the technology is brought to people in a simple way. Often also without any or at least very limited costs to the individual citizen. To involve the individual citizen in the continuous development of our existing but also of new communities are the purpose. These Community Networks has not been recognized in the cyberspace ‖hype‖ in these last years, even if they been around for a long time and have maybe the best knowledge, so far, on what makes virtual communities possible and what hinders them. One reason behind this might be that these Networks has not been fast in the acceptance of new technology and are maybe not as ‖hot‖ as some of thenew virtual communities based on the newest technology possible.

1. Presented by: Subrajit Nath (16-50-
143)
Department of Management Studies
National Institute of Technology, 1
A PRESENTATION ON
VIRTUAL COMMUNITY

2. CONTENTS:
 INTRODUCTION
 HISTORY OF VIRTUAL COMMUNITY
 TYPES OF VIRTUAL COMMUNITY
 VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES
NEGATIVES
 VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES
POSITIVES
 CONCLUSION
2

3. INTRODUCTION:
• Where large numbers of people that shared a
common interest, concern, or experience would
interact with one another online.
• Also known as subgroups.
• Before the Web, virtual communities existed on
bulletin board services and many still do.
• There are two kinds of communication among
virtual community members: message postings
and real-time chat
3

4. HISTORY ON VIRTUAL
COMMUNITY:
 Virtual communities became popular in the
1990’s back then titled “online communities.”
 According to PEW Research Center (2001)
“84% of Internet users, or about 90 million
Americans, say they have used the Internet to
contact or get information from a group.”
 The first commercial entity to find success in
online communities was AOL.
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5. TYPES OF VIRTUAL
COMMUNITY:
 “Various studies have demonstrated that the
function of online virtual groups is to provide
social and emotional support to their members.”
(Shoham, S., & Heber, M. 2012).
 Groups online are categorized into categories
that the members or its sponsors have in
common interest.
 The groupings have no exclusive
characterization but they do represent a shared
interest all communities are linked by a time,
place, or interest. 5

6. VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES
NEGATIVES:
 Virtual society brings is that it interferes with social interaction
because some users become so comfortable in that world that
they never want to go back to reality.
 This faceless realm allows for people who are shy to open up
online but then they still forget how to do that once back into
society.
 Not being able to recognize the tone of someone’s voice/body
language can often cause communication issues in the online
communities.
 Creates a gray area when it comes to face-to-face interaction
 Cyberspace can be a way to solving their shyness but then
again it is not a complete resolution.
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7. VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES
POSITIVES:
 They allow individuals to establish a new identity.
 When one joins an online community people get to choose
who they want to be and the things that will distinguish them
from other members.
 Another thing that people benefit from while being online is
anonymity.
 The anonymous nature is another major reason why people
are drawn into online societies because they are a judgment
free zone.
 Not being able to attach users to a face and a name gives
people the chance to say what they openly and freely. In
society today it is hard to be one’s self out of fear of being
judged.
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8. CONCLUSION:
 Virtual communities will always play an important
role in today’s society and its future for better or
worse.
 The same thing that draws users into cyberspace
is the same thing that also is a drawback and that
being anonymity.
 They give those who want a place to belong the
option if they cannot find it in the reality of society.
 Even though it comes with benefits and negatives
as time goes on the development of online
communities will eventually evolve.
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9.  Thank you
9