The Internet and Online Communities!

This week we were required to investigate an online community.
The community I have chosen to investigate is Window Live Messenger
http://windowslive.com/desktop/messenger

This community allows people to chat online and send instant messages to their favourite people or groups. It is a communication tool. Messenger makes it easy to stay in touch!

You can chat online with a variety of people, friends or strangers! You can personalize your screen, add photos, choose fonts and backgrounds! You can play games while you're chatting, you can find our "What's New?" and share photos!

People choose to contribute to this community as it allows them somebody to talk to. you don't need to see their face, you don't need to know who they are1 Or it may be a friend who is living on the other side of the world that you choose to talk to! It offers people an opportunity to find out about somebody else, meet new people, catch up with old friends, share photos of what they have been up to.
People may contribute to this community in the hopes of finding a companion!

The topics that are discussed in this community depend on the people having the conversation! You can talk about anything you want!

Ethical issues that may arise from this community include ethical issues such as lack of identity - you can not be 100% sure who you are talking to! Somebody may put photos up that include you, which you do not want strangers to see! It is important to remember about ethics in any online community you participate in!

One of the advantages with this online community is that it not reliant on geographic proximity! You can talk to anyone, wherever they are! You can talk instantly, and not have to wait for your letter to arrive in the post! You can say what you want, and the person you are talking to will receive it immediately!

In comparison to traditional communities, this online community lacks face to face contact. You do not get the person to person contact that you can get by meeting your friend for coffee! It is less personal and can lead to some people spending a lot of time sitting at the computer talking to others, instead of going out into the community! It is neglecting one community, for another!