I think that the idea of virtual communities as "peg communities" is actually a pretty good way to describe them. I also don’t think these types of communities are a bad thing; they are just another way for people to express the different sides of themselves with people who share interests that they normally wouldn’t be able to because of differences in location. The main thing that came to mind while reading this was the online Subaru forum that I am a member of. As I have alluded to in previous posts, I am an avid car lover, as are many of my friends (real life ones that is). I enjoy working on project cars with friends, talking about ideas, etc. but when it comes to specifics about my own car I tend to communicate more with the people on the forum. Why? Because while my real life friends may share my love for automobiles, most of us have not only different brands of cars, but completely different classes of cars that aren’t really related. So when it comes down to talking about specific ideas, problems, possibilities, etc. or just wanting to talk to people who share my exact interest with, not just my general interest, I have a whole giant community to go to made up of people who are in the exact same boat as me so to speak.
On the other hand, I don’t think all online communities necessarily fit into the peg community description. For example, I also have a Facebook profile. The reason I have this is because growing up we moved around a lot, so Facebook allows me to keep in touch with people who I know and originally met in person but now live too far away from to keep in touch with face to face. I’m not friends with people on Facebook who I’ve never met, just actual, real life friends, so in my case this community is not a “peg community” in which I share a particular interest with but have no real responsibility to. Instead these are people who I actually have real life relationships with but don’t get to see face to face often enough to sustain these relationships without the use of technology.
As for the communities I would like to use for Assignment #2, I think I would like to use Facebook because I find it interesting how different people use it in very different ways. I would also like to use the Subaru forum as an example, which is www.nasioc.com. I’m not sure of a third, I’ll have to get back to you on that.
Bell, David. The Cybercultures Reader. 2nd. 1. New York, NY: Routledge, 2000. 254-63. Print.
You write that you don't think "all online communities necessarily fit into the peg community description." And I gotta know more about about this--cause you are saying VR supplements RL. But aren't online communities for the most part superficial? I mean are these places where your "friends" will really help you out in RL?
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