Yesterday I mentioned that in my Sunday school class we discussed the definition of a community, and today that discussion was brought back to the forefront of my mind.
In talking about virtual "communities," my friend suggested that online communities aren't real communities because they tend to lack real-time communication, like face-to-face discussions, or phone conversations. Sure, people might comment back and forth on each other's blogs, reply to messages in forums, or email back and forth, but they aren't really "talking" together, they're coming and going at various times.
I could see the point without necessarily agreeing, because of my definition of community. My friend defined a community as something requiring "real" interaction, whereas I would define it more loosely as something simply requiring common interests. The blogging community is a community because everyone who blogs shares a common interest in publishing his or her thoughts online. With this idea of a community, even though members of the blogging community might not even be aware of one another (it's highly unlikely that anyone knows about every single blog in existence), everyone who blogs can still be considered part of the community. I'm sure this definition has problems too, but for my purposes right now, it works.
At any rate, I mentioned my friend's opinon on the lack of community qualities in online communities because I think that the International Blog MEETUP Day (which is "only 8 days away!") is an excellent example of how her definition can work with mine. The event is just what it sounds like: an opportunity for bloggers in various cities to meet and talk face-to-face. She considered real-time interaction, while I considered common interests in defining a community, and this event fits both requirements where the online blogging community could not.
If you're interested, for Toronto, the possible selections for meeting places are: Starbucks Coffee, 372 Bay Street; Peel Pub, 276 King West; and Crocodile Rock, 240 Adelaide St. West. You can go vote for one of the locations (or for a place in your own city) at http://blog.meetup.com/. I don't think I would go, as I'm not particularly skilled or comfortable with meeting new people (common interests or not) and making conversation, especially if it's simply for the purpose of meeting new people and making conversation. ^^;; Still, it sounds like an interesting idea. I wonder how many people would/will actually go?
