I never really had an opinion on virtual communities because honestly, I never really knew too much about it and it never crossed my mind before. I am a big fan of bebo because i can talk to old friends or people that i havent been in contact with in quite a while. It is a great way for contacting your friends and most of the time you know who your talking too. On the other hand, chatrooms for teenagers can be very dangerous. There have been so many stories about young girls meeting up with people they have been talking to on the computer and feel they can trust this person until they meet them and that person is nothing like who or what they said they were. It is a sensitive topic and I feel that you have to be very very careful and aware when you decide to take upon meeting someone over a website.I think that brand virtual communities are a great way of expressing your interests and hobbies. There are plenty of sites nowadays for people with similar interests so that they can discuss and share their views on the interest or hobbie that they share. An example of this is Fashion. People with a "Passion for Fashion" can discuss their interests and preferred designer labels on the website. It is also a great way to meet new people that have the same similar interests as you have because close friends may not understand your true passion and love for a particular thing therfore you can join and meet other peopel that know how you feel on the internet.
Throughout the lectures of Virtual Communites I learned that there is an Irish virtual community site called "Second Life" and basically it is a community gathering place for people and businesses that do not have a physical existence. I found this very interesting because it deals with real people working in this pub "The Blarney Stone" in Dublin that exits as a virtual community. People are able to talk to each other as if they are really in a pub only over the internet. People are able to dance and drink like you would in a normal pub. It is important that you remember you are dealing with real people and that it is not pretend. I find this "Second Life
very hard to get my head round and i find it quite strange that people would join this website rather than go to a normal pub and work in it. People come online to work in this "Blarney Stone". It is interesting but in my opinion it is very strange.
So there you have it, My own opinion on virtual communites and the way i feel towards them. They have both negative and positive sides but i feel the positive sides outweigh the negative.
