Por Eline Kullock
I ask myself if what the virtual world calls “communities” are in fact communities. Communities, at least in the way I understand them, are groups in which members help each other, protect each other, and establish limits and norms. Communities are founded around a common cause, which holds them together.
Thinking of the communities I’m familiar with, like AA, a community in which members have the common objective of combating their addictions to alcohol.
What communities based on this concept have you been a part of? In school? Even if you aren’t still a part of these communities, are you nostalgic for them? Do you miss them?
I want to talk about communities in the 2.0 world. Are you part of a facebook group or a community on Orkut? Do these groups or communities really mean something to you? If you leave them will it truly make a difference in your life?
And is this truly a community? Even if you belong to a virtual community, it doesn’t really interact with you, and you don’t interact with the community.
You may be wondering what all this have to do with life? Everything.
I believe that this concept of “crowd sourcing” which I’ve talked about many times, shows how communities impact our lives. The power of groups in discipline, order, research, in working together, and in sharing, actually happens slower than I thought. We need to be less idealistic. These pseudo communities aren’t really the communities that make a difference.
Sometimes communities are created for a destructive motive Yet, because of the so-called “power of the consumer” the masses end up analyzing what’s being discussed, sold, or expressed, in a very superficial and often inaccurate way. This exposes individuals and institutions in a very negative way, when in fact they deserve more respect.
Now I’m going to give a very provocative example to illustrate my point.
The Trainee Brasil, community on Orkut conducted a survey to find out what the worst HR company in Brazil is. So a lot of people vote without really knowing anything about these companies, as if this whole survey was no big deal.
What I’m trying to say is that many times these pseudo-groups unite in a perverse, simplistic, destructive way.
Hitler rose to power in a moment of extreme chaos, a time when things where out of control. This is usually how humanity makes its biggest mistakes.
Are these communities in fact fighting for something? Defending something interesting? Defending businesses? Are they doing it with the consistency and concrete proof that it takes to really evaluate something or someone?
Today in the blog “O Cappuccino” I read about the power of social media in regards to products. I question how consistent and thorough these analyses are.
This is my cry. This is my protest. The protest of someone who has been defamed by Mr. Pedro Ethos for no reason at all. If he was part of a community, I’m sure he would have been capable of raising masses. This mass may not understand the importance or force a group can have, the damage they can do. Sometimes the damage is irreversible. It’s essential for this generation to ask itself if they are participating in a community or group without a conscious, and to truly understand what they are getting into.
Are we groupings? Are we groups? What’s the difference? Do we want to be part of a community? Or do we prefer the more anonymous nature of a group? I ask this question because I am part of various groups that from my point of view, make a difference. They build things.
I ask Gen Y: What communities do you want to belong to? Which ones do you really belong to and why? And if you are part of a group, why are you there?
Groups and communities: where can we really make a difference?
