Explosion of Interest Essay -- Online Communities Web Cyberspace Essay

Explosion of Interest A community can be defined in many ways. The most basic definition is a group of people sharing common interests, thoughts, beliefs, or values. Today's fastest growing and most diverse communities are those experienced through the Internet. In the article "Everyone's a Critic," Richard Lacayo describes the many communities where people can express their feelings on books, movies, music, and restaurants. His representation of online communities can be shared with that of Amy Bruckman's in her article 'Finding One's Own in Cyberspace." Both articles represent online communities as one of today's fastest and easiest ways of sharing your thoughts with the rest of the world. With shared views about the Net, both Lacayo and Bruckman recognize online communities as a place where everyone's opinion, regardless of what it is, can be appreciated and accepted. As today's most common medium for sharing opinions grows at an immeasurable speed, the effects the Net has made in our society are equal ly as infinite. One outcome has been the growing number of do-it-yourself communities seen throughout the Internet. These communities allow all different kinds of people to share their opinions on almost anything and everything. As a result, "everywhere in cyberspace there are Web pages where do-it-yourself critics hold forth about movies, books, music, and restaurants" (Lacayo 58). The Internet has created a new arena where everyone has an opportunity to share their thoughts and opinions with people all over the world. This not only made shopping more convenient for the average consumer to research the fate of their money before a purchase, but communities like these have created a place where people's interests can be shar... ...ing their opinions. The incredible ability of the Internet is one unlike any other. Its capability to connect people so far apart with so many differences and unite them in one common place is most remarkable. Certainly, the Net will continue to grow into something far beyond our imaginations as it has been for years. From a new, skeptical way to communicate to what has united so many all over the world, the Internet has truly become and explosion of interest. Works Cited: Bruckman, Amy. "Finding One's Own in Cyberspace." Composing Cyberspace: Identity, Community, and Knowledge in the Electronic Age. Ed. Richard Holeton. USA: McGraw-Hill, 1998.171-178. Cashel, Jim. "10 Encouraging Signs for Online Communities." 0nline Community Report. 2000. 6 Oct. 2001 http://www.onlinecommunityreport.com Lacayo, Richard. "Everyone's a Critic." Time Aug. 2001: 58-60