Virtual Community and the Emergence and Businesses' Use of Social Networking

Virtual Community
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Virtual Community
A virtual community refers to a gathering place for individuals and businesses, which might exist physically. Based on Howard Rheingold's book, “The Virtual Community,” virtual communities started before the advent of the Internet, but their use has been hastened by the web (Schneider, 2016). Currently, many people and businesses are using the Internet to communicate and perform numerous transactions. The web has significantly improved communication among individuals and reduced transaction costs. Virtual communities have become common where different groups of people with a shared motivation or interest meet to discuss various things. The paper focuses on how social networking emerged from virtual communities and discusses how businesses are using social networking.
The social networking that individuals enjoy today emerged from virtual communities. Rheingold argues that virtual communities started before the Internet. During those times, people used bulletin board systems (BBSs). BBSs were computers that enabled individuals to connect by using dial-up connections via telephone lines (Schneider, 2016). Users posted messages and read what others wrote in the discussion forums. BBSs facilitated discussions on specific problems or topics related to distinctive geographic regions. During that time, many BBSs were free, but some of them were charging a monthly membership fee. Virtual communities took a different turn after the launching of commercial enterprises, including Genie, Prodigy, and CompuServe which led to the development of board services and selling advertising in different fields, such as education, and research communities (Schneider, 2016). In other words, many people were excited about using BBSs to hold discussions about various things, particularly those with shared objectives.
Specifically, virtual communities refer to social aggregations that are created when many individuals hold public discussions for an extended period. These people engage their feelings, forming a network of personal relationships, which is called social networking. For instance, it is clear that BBSs allowed users to share their ideas and opinions among themselves. These individuals had a shared motivation or goal. Today, many people hold these discussions on the Internet. They create discussion groups or forums on the social networking platforms, such as Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, and WhatsApp among others. The best thing about the web is that it is affordable and many individuals join discussion forums based on their interests. For example, students studying a specific profession from different parts of the world come together on social networking platforms to discuss issues affecting them and...