CHAPTER 1 History Becoming One of Us Have you ever had an important question but could not figure out the right person to ask Have you wanted to share your passion for pugs Korean pop origami fantasy sports or a million other topics with someone who totally gets it Imagine reaching out to thousands of people who can help with these needs You can do just that by exploring the almost infinite number of community sites also known as virtual communities available online Community sites are places in which a group of individuals share and pursue common goals feelings and ideas through their interactions 4 21st century skills library
Before the internet building a close-knit community was based on distance Many of these websites are anonymous Unlike Facebook for example your comments and discussions are not connected to you and your profile unless you make it known This means you can discuss whatever you want without worrying what your friends or family will think You can chat with people who may get you but do not necessarily live in your city or even your country 5 COMMUNITY WEBSITES
CompuServe was one of the largest internet providers in the 1990s From Chat Rooms to Communities The very first online communities were born as chat rooms and email discussion lists during the 1980s thanks to companies like CompuServe and America Online AOL Local people and hobbyists began chatting over specific bulletin board systems posting on forums and sharing files Multiplayer games quickly followed with gamers able to not only conquer monsters and 6 21st century skills library
dungeons together but also chat while doing so By the early 2000s many of these sites had evolved into social networks like Facebook and Myspace From there anonymous and gaming communities like Reddit and Neopets soon launched These forums and sites united people with similar interests and created a sense of friendship between them Regardless of what type of online community people join their ultimate goals are usually the same to build relationships share their common interests and learn more about a specific topic In today’s world there are plenty of choices Developing Questions Do you belong to any online communities If so which ones and why did you join them What kind of online community would you like to see or become a part of Write down the topics you would like to discuss Then look online to see if you find anything that fits those ideas If not explore what it might take to either create a separate forum on an existing website or create your own site 7 COMMUNITY WEBSITES
