Online Communities

Online Communities:

• Blogs, Microblogs
• Online Work Spaces
• User-generated reference sites (Wikis)
• Social Bookmarking Sites
• Virtual Worlds
• Webmail
• VLEs
• Social Networking

Each  has different:

- Functions

- Features

- Target Audience

Online workspacesare for people who work together, and VLEs for a group to learn together.

Workspaces:

•  Virtual Meetings (VoIP)
• Email, Chat
• Shared Resources
• Online Applications

VLES:

• Timetable / News
• Email, Chat
• Track Progress
• Personalisation
• Polls / Questionnaires
• Blogs

An online community where people are linked using their personal information

Functions:

• Have an online presence
• Links
• Allows users to stay in contact
• Exchange Information

Target Audience:

• LinkedIn - Business People
• Bebo - Younger teens

Advantages: Easier contact, Post information, Free to join, Efficient communication

Disadvantages: Wates time, Fake profiles, Online Bullying, Identity Theft

Allow users to contribute and share information.

• Wikis
• Internet Forums or Message Boards
• Newsgroups
• Review Sites

Target Audiences are anyone who wants to contribute or access informaiton stored on the sites.

Advantages: Up to date, Communcation from around the world, Contain vast amounts of information

Disadvantages: Information can be inaccurate, biased or untrue, An internet connection is requried, Disorganised information

Users add weblinks to their space

Features:

• Store URLs online
• Tag words to categorise
• Share bookmarks
• Search for similar bookmarks from other users
• Like / Dislike features

Pinterest: Users create 'pinboards' to organise and share images they like on the web

Information is no longer confinded to traditional publishers and newspapers

• Spreadsheets and Databases help create idea
• Global scale communication
• Constantly updated information
• Information and knowledge  is accessible to everyone
• Users (not editors) decide what is important

This means:

• Large numbers of viewpoints can be collected
• Variety pf views can be overwhelming

Impacts:

• Workers telecommute (Work from home)
• Cloud computing allows access to documents from anywhere
• Decisions are made through online workspaces
• Employers can check Social Networks for potential employees
• People avoid face-to-face contact
• People work at home
• Workers without interent access miss out
• Workers disciplined due to updates on Social Networks

Collaborative Working: Working together on VoIP, Email, IM, Social Networking or Online Workspaces

Teleworking: Working at home and using technology to stay in contact with colleagues

Ways of socialiasing:

• Social Networking, Microblogging, Online Gaming, Chat Rooms, VoIP, Emails, Virtual Worlds
• Sites such as 'Friends Reunited'
• Online Dating

Impacts on Socialising:

• Easy contact
• Easy translation between languages
• 24/7, 365 
• Need internet connection
• Identity Theft
• Less time spent with real friends

Behaving in acceptable ways:

• Respecting others computers and opinions
• Abiding by Copyright Laws
• Not posting inappropriate images or videos

• VLEs
• Social Networking
• Microblogging
• Email
• Video Conferencing
• VoIP
• Cloud Computing
• Sharing data online
• Blogs
• Online Work Spaces
• User-genertaed Reference Sites
• Social Bookmarking

Globalisation:

• ICT has speeded up globalisation
• Purchase goods around the world 24/7, any day of the week
• Access is now controlled and censored for: Politics, Security, Protection