What Do the Words “Online Community” Really Mean?

Yesterday I had appeared on the IndyTalk WI Radio Show discussing online reputation management, strategies for creating content, etc. with a Web 2.0 lens. (Special thanks to Wayne who invited me on the show.) Even I have a few posts planned as a follow up, to show you “how” I manage my content with the tools available, I find myself asking a very, important question. “What does ‘online community’ actually mean?”

You see dear readers, the challenge that I have with the words “online community” is that I have experience with what it doesn’t mean. It doesn’t mean that everyone will automatically be respectful, open-minded and kind. Of a community that involves 1,000 people, you might get a few in the bunch that create some tension. This, to me, is not a “good” thing or a “bad” thing — it’s how people are. In an ideal world, we would all get along with one another and be supportive. It is not an “ideal” world, however. It’s the real world, one that you and I have to navigate in order to maintain healthy relationships and further our professional and personal lives.
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