Building new communities - learning from weblogs

Building+new+communities+Building+new+communities+learning+from+weblogs+learning+from+weblogs%0d%0aHow+weblogs+straddle+personal+and+social+spaces+and+the+potential+implications+for+developing+new+communities%0d%0aVersion+1.0+%2f+19th+June+2002%0d%0a%0d%0aTom+Coates+%7c+plasticbag.org%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cWhat+is+an+online+community%3f%0d%0a%0d%0aWe%e2%80%9fre+all+familiar+with+online+communities+like%e2%80%a6%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cCommunity%3a+bbc+chat+%26+boards%0d%0a%0d%0aA+huge+number+of+simple+threaded+message+boards+and+java+chat+rooms.%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cCommunity%3a+popbitch.com%0d%0a%0d%0aLudicrously+badly+behaved+and+incredibly+active+discussion+board%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cCommunity%3a+barbelith.com%0d%0a%0d%0aThreaded+discussion+forum%2c+1000+members%2c+private+messaging%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cCentralised+Communities%0d%0aWe%e2%80%9fre+used+to+this+model+of+communities+centralised+%e2%80%9espaces%e2%80%9f+in+which+people+come+and+participate.+People+who+visit+these+spaces+might+be+able+to+modify+their+experience+of+the+place%2c+but+the+spaces+are+financially+and+culturally+%e2%80%9eowned%e2%80%9f+and+%e2%80%9erun%e2%80%9f+by+people+in+%e2%80%9epower%e2%80%9f.%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cCentralised+Communities%0d%0aThe+word+used+for+people+participating+in+these+communities+is+generally+%e2%80%9eusers%e2%80%9f%2c+occasionally+%e2%80%9evisitors%e2%80%9f%2c+but+infrequently+%e2%80%9ecitizens%e2%80%9f+and+almost+never+%e2%80%9eowners%e2%80%9f.+Their+real+life+equivalent+is+the+town+hall%2c+the+pub%2c+or+all+too+often+the+%e2%80%9eyouth+club%e2%80%9f%e2%80%a6%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cCentralised+weblog+communities%0d%0a%e2%80%a2+There+are+many+communities+of+this+type+built+around+the+concept+of+the+%e2%80%9eweblog%e2%80%9f+as+well.+But+while+these+group+weblogs+have+extended+some+of+the+functionality+of+the+normal+discussion+board%e2%80%a6%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cCentralised+weblog+communities%0d%0a%0d%0a%e2%80%a2Metafilter.com%0d%0a%0d%0a%e2%80%a2Plastic.com%0d%0a%0d%0a%e2%80%a2Slashdot.org%0d%0a%0d%0a%e2%80%a6these+are+not+sites+that+I%e2%80%9fm+going+to+be+talking+about+today%e2%80%a6%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cI%e2%80%9fm+going+to+be+talking+about+sites+like..%0d%0a%e2%80%a2+Content%0d%0a%0d%0aUltrasparky.org+Run+by+Dan+Rhatigan%2c+a+New-Yorker+in+his+thirties.%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cI%e2%80%9fm+going+to+be+talking+about+sites+like..%0d%0a%e2%80%a2+Content%0d%0a%0d%0akottke.org+Run+by+Jason+Kottke%2c+a+designer+and+web+guru+in+San+Francisco.%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cI%e2%80%9fm+going+to+be+talking+about+sites+like..%0d%0a%e2%80%a2+Content%0d%0a%0d%0aTrabaca.com+Run+by+a+young+man+getting+used+to+the+idea+of+being+gay.%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cAnd+what+I%e2%80%9fm+hoping+to+answer+today%3f%0d%0a1.+2.+3.+4.+Is+there+a+community+of+webloggers%3f+How+did+this+community+emerge%3f+Why+has+it+been+so+successful%3f+What+lessons+we+can+learn+from+weblogs+and+weblog+culture+when+we+try+and+build+new+communities%3f%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cAnd+in+the+process+I+hope+to+explain+why+this+quotation+is+so+true+and+so+useful%3a%0d%0a%e2%80%9cThe+web+teaches+us+that+we+can+be+part+of+the+largest+public+ever+assembled+and+still+maintain+our+individual+faces.+But+this+requires+living+more+of+our+life+in+public.+On+the+Web%2c+the+notion+of+a+diary+has+been+turned+inside+out%3a+weblogs+are+public+diaries.+It+is+likely+that+the+neat+line+we+draw+between+our+public+and+private+selves+in+the+real+world+will+continue+to+erode%2c+grain+by+grain%e2%80%a6%e2%80%9d%0d%0aDavid+Weinberger%2c+Small+Pieces+Loosely+Joined+(Perseus+2002%2c+p.+177)%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cBut+what+exactly+is+a+weblog%3f%0d%0aMeg+from+notsosoft.com+asked+Google+this+question%e2%80%a6+And+it+said+that+weblogs+are%e2%80%a6%0d%0a%e2%80%a2+%e2%80%a2+%e2%80%a2+%e2%80%a2+%e2%80%a2+%e2%80%a6+a+Natural+for+Librarians+...+probably+the+next+logical+evolution+of+print+zines%2c+and+zines+are+always+nice+...+the+new+Borg.+...+my+friend!+...+just+lists+of+short+blurbs+documenting+pedestrian+events+in+the+writer's+life%2c+usually+with+links+to+other+pages+the+author+finds+interesting.+...+journalism+for+the+future.+...+destined+to+become+a+powerful%2c+dirtcheap+tool+for+e-learning+...+what+some+would+call+the+Web's+equivalent+of+a+sophisticated+early+warning+radar+system.+...+a+GAL's+best+friend!+%e2%80%a2+%e2%80%a2+%e2%80%a2+%e2%80%a2+...+also+often+called+a+news+page.+...+%22useful%22+because+they+enable+informational+sorting+and+distribution.+...+mostly+used+to+broadcast+information.+...+a+learning+tool.%0d%0a%0d%0a%e2%80%a2%0d%0a%e2%80%a2+%e2%80%a2+%e2%80%a2+%e2%80%a2+%e2%80%a2+%e2%80%a2%0d%0a%0d%0a...+gut-simple+to+set+up.%0d%0a...+mostly+personal+diaries.+...+...+a+form+of+communication+hitherto+unknown.+...+so+bad+...+almost+as+old+as+the+web+...+quick+and+easy+to+publish+...+updated+often+and+may+contain+profanity%0d%0a%0d%0a%e2%80%a2+%e2%80%a2+%e2%80%a2%0d%0a%0d%0a%e2%80%a2%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cBut+what+exactly+is+a+weblog%3f%0d%0a%e2%80%a2+For+our+purposes+today%2c+a+weblog+is%3a+%e2%80%93+A+site+maintained+by+an+individual.+%e2%80%93+Regularly+updated.+%e2%80%93+Organised+in+a+%e2%80%9enewest+w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