A little fuzzy on the whole community thing?
       

The internet is no longer about computers. It actually never was but like most things involving our 21st century culture, the media plays an overstated role in forming public perception. The Internet is about people interacting not with computers, but with other people. If you believe that all that matters is making a program faster, or that the only real value to the internet is making databases scalable, then I have no idea of what to say to you that you would even be interested in hearing. However, if you can see the value of the Internet as being able to empower others by offering a space and a system to allow them to use your central location to express themselves and contribute to the overall well being of a group of like-minded individuals, then we have something we can share. People are not going to be influenced by computers anymore than they are influenced by hammers and screwdrivers. Computers are nothing more than tools -- tools intended to be used to build something. Programs may dictate a procedure because it is easier and more convenient to use the program as it was designed than it is to build a different program, but at the end of the day the decisions made by people are going to be influenced by the perceptions created by other people with whom you agree. Even arguments and disagreements come out of an affinity with other people with which you have a shared reality. I'm speaking of very broad concepts, of course, and there is a lot of gray area when talking about what and why the Internet is. My point today is that if you can agree with even a little of the overall concept, then you owe it to yourself to devote at least a small part of your time budget for learning more about what an online community is, what it takes to build one and what it can offer to you, your community and your family. Here is an article that you should consider if you share an interest in learning about the power of online communities. And please, as you find other similar articles in your travels, share them here with other like-minded people so we can all learn. The Network Unbound