Thursday, May 22, 2008

The internet and online communities

Tutorial six
Online community
Thorn tree travel forum through lonely planet http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/index.jspa

The brief or focus of this community

This travel community is about getting together to exchange travel information, advice, hints and tips. It's a way of connecting, being inspired and having a chance to have your say.

What services are provided? How interactive is this site? How can people contribute?

This is a forum with list of threads under certain topics of interest. When you sign in a profile of yourself is set up, showing all the threads you have made. This forum also provides a tag section for quick view of the most popular subjects. Also the forum has a section of the latest traveler videos. This is a fantastic way to interact with other travelers and exchanging stories.

Consider material presented during the lecture and make comment on why people choose to contribute to this community. What is it they are seeking?

People who use this forum all have the common interest of TRAVEL!! They are seeking inspiration, comfort, information, tips, ideas and the ability of being able connect with people with similar interest.

Example of type of topics being discussed from forum

All-night Pub in London
My daughter has an overnight in London on July 2, 2008. She wants to travel into London from Gatwick and go to a pub for the night! Are ther all-night pubs in London in safe areas? Names of actual pubs would be appreciated!

Fitness camps in Phuket?
Ok so one more question. To my dismay I just found out that there are more than one muay thai camp in phuket. In fact there are many. A couple of months ago I was informed about one called www.tigermuaythai.com This is one of the main reasons for visiting thailand, but today I realized that this is one of many. I don't know what to do now. I can't decide on which one is the best. I am taking four months out of my life to come and do this and I want to make sure I am getting the best training. If anyone has any experience or knows of anyone who has visited any of these camps, sharing that experience with me would be extremely helpful.. Thank you again!

Potential ethical issues that may arise in this community

Well you must be sensible in what you write or information you give away to begin with. Issues that could occur would be misuse of the site and abusing the power of interacting with a wide range of people. Also is the information being written, vaild and accurate? You could be sent on a wild goose chase in a country you know nothing about!!

Benefits this community holds over traditional notions of community and what it may lack in comparison to traditional communities reliant on geographic proximity.

The benefits are its the whole world involved theres no restrictions. The opportunity of communicating with different cultures and to gain knowledge and insight to their culture is worldwide.

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