The internet has become one of the, if not the most valuable source of kinds of information today. It has facilitated the operation of countless businesses and online companies and has allowed the interaction of people from all corners of the world. One of the benefits that the internet has would be online communities.
An online community or a virtual community is basically a group of people which interact through various channels of communication such as online newsletters, forums, email, social networking services and chat, among others. They can also make use of various social software programs as a means of communication. Technically, if the mechanism used is any computer network, then it is considered as an online community.
The people that are members of an online community and interact with each other usually have a similar interest or knowledge base in common, such as how to build a website or how to fly a plane. They may also be working toward a specific goal, whether related to a social, education or professional issue. Because of the development of online communities, people no longer have to be face-to-face in order to communicate with each or to relay messages and personal opinions, whether intended for public or private viewing.
These virtual or online communities usually integrate the use of Web 2.0 technologies within the community. Some of the earliest online communities would include websites such as Geocities in 1994 and Tripod in 1995, however these used the Web 1.0 technology. The online communities which made use of Web 2.0 technology were developed during the early 2000s. Some examples would be Facebook, MySpace, MSN and Bebo.
These online communities usually interact with each to discuss certain issues or topics that are relevant or interesting to them. An example of a topic that has been discussed by some online communities would be the Microsoft Project or MS Project 2010. There are even websites that are dedicated in conduction MS project classes. These websites provide a lot of information and resources about MS Project which is a project management software that has been designed and developed to assist project managers with the development of plans, the assignment of resources to tasks, the careful tracking of progress, the management of budgets and the analysis of workloads. Its first version was released for DOS back in 1984 and was created by a company that was working back then for Microsoft. A year after, Microsoft bought all the rights to the software, which paved the way for the release of version 2. Since then, a lot of versions and developments have been released. Today, MS Project and Project Server are the foundations of the Microsoft product, EPM or Microsoft Office Enterprise Project Management.
Today, many websites and online communities offer classes about MS Project and Project Server. People of all ages and from all walks of life take advantage of these online classes which also study how online communities work to develop their knowledge about the latest software programs available today.
Through the establishment of countless online communities, people have come to realize just how important the internet is in our society. Today, many individuals from the younger to the older generations make use of online communities to chat about anything and everything under the sun.