Virtual communities are groups of people with a shared interest in a hobby, profession, or a product who get and share ideas online. While this is true, many observers argue that we should be alarmed by this as they claim it is not real and how are we to trust someone we interact with. When I tell people that I go into these virtual communities, the immediate response I get is “how do you know it’s safe to talk?” or “can you really trust the other people there?

One of the reasons people choose to enter virtual communities is to socialize with other people. Many people choose these virtual communities as a means of meeting people with similar interest. For them, they can do this through bulletin boards or chat rooms. Most tend to do this as they feel it is easier to do so, they can be more relaxed over the computer than in person. In these types of communities, people can do such interactions as meeting people, playing around, sharing jokes and stories. An example of such a community is Yahoo (http://chat.yahoo.com). One such chat room is for the topic of romance. Once the individual enters the chat room, they then will have the option of choosing which sub-category (adult, teen, etc.) and the desired chat room they wish to enter to begin. Each room is based on such topics as one’s age group, lifestyle, or personal ads.

Another virtual community people choose to enter is for people who enjoy conversations about topics and shared interests. Electric Minds at http://www.electricminds.org is an example of this type of community. It was founded in 1996 by Howard Rheingold author of The Virtual Community, a book that stemmed from his experiences on The WELL, another virtual community. This community is geared for those looking for intellectual, clean and clear conversation. MSN itself has a virtual community like Electric Minds. Once you have entered their site, you then are given the option of choosing the topic or interest you will use for your chat room. Su

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