The Virtual Community

How much trust should we put into strangers on the Internet? In a life-or-death situation, the Internet can provide us with instant access to helpful information, but can we trust it? If so, from where?

I think with the amount of content on the Internet, it's possible to find a number of opinions on any given topic. With that, if I am in a bind and need information quickly, I can find a variety of sources to show me how to do something. When I find one opinion on a blog, I can find many other authors or bloggers who support the same thing.

A few weeks ago, the pilot light went out for the water heater in my apartment. Naturally, my roommates and I looked up "How to light a pilot light" videos on YouTube. Because there were so many videos all saying the same thing, we felt more confident in what we were trying to do.

Yes, strangers can post anything and everything on the Internet, but when they are all saying the same thing, I tend to believe it more.

Should the Internet be regulated at all? If so, by whom? The Internet was developed with public funds, so should it be offered free? Is it fair for commercial entities to take control of the Internet? They've now put more money into it than the government.

We kind of touched on this subject in class today. Someone mentioned that if the government starts regulating the Internet, when does it stop? I agree. Where do we draw the line if companies or the government start censoring or regulating our use of the Internet? I think the Internet should remain free and unregulated.

What are the minimum elements of communication necessary between a group of people to create a community? How much communication is necessary to establish a relationship? How much future communication is needed to maintain that relationship?

I mentioned in a post a couple weeks ago about a tweet I received from Nationwide Insurance. Out of nowhere, the company tweeted at me and offered me a gift card just so I can keep doing what I love. Although I'm not going to switch to Nationwide Insurance right now, in the future I will remember that tweet, when I'm in the market for new insurance because of the sense of community the company is trying to build.

After I got the tweet, I checked out the #loveforlove campaign to learn a little more about what Nationwide was doing. The company was tweeting similar things to random people just to build a larger community. It's a really interesting campaign and definitely worth checking out.

How do chat rooms help or hinder societies?

Being in a chat room, often without an identity, gives people the courage to attack others verbally. On one extreme, chat rooms give people a venue for cyber bullying. On the other hand, they give people a venue to share the same feelings and beliefs that they may be too scared to share elsewhere.