User:Dgoydan21/Article1 sandbox

Topic: The WELL

Running Bibliography

Hafner, Katie. The Well: A Story of Love, Death & Real Life in the Seminal Online Community. New York: Carroll & Graf Pub, 2001.

Kirk, Andrew. “Appropriating Technology: The Whole Earth Catalog and Counterculture Environmental Politics.” In Environmental History, 374–94, 2001.

Kirk, Andrew G. Counterculture Green: The Whole Earth Catalog and American Environmentalism. Lawrence, Kan: University Press of Kansas, 2007.

Tierney, John. “Stewart Brand - John Tierney - An Early Environmentalist, Embracing New ‘Heresies.’” The New York Times, February 27, 2007, sec. Environment. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/27/science/earth/27tier.html.

Turner, Fred. From Counterculture to Cyberculture : Stewart Brand, the Whole Earth Network, and the Rise of Digital Utopianism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006. http://proxy.uchicago.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=344001&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Virtual community and social network difference
There is often confusion between a virtual community and social network. They are similar in some aspects because they both can be used for personal and professional interests. Think of a social network as an opportunity to connect with people you already know or know of. These are sites like Facebook, Twitter, etc. For professional use, think of platforms like LinkedIn and Yammer. These are intended to give coworkers a chance to communicate in a more relaxed setting. Often times social media guidelines are in place for professional usage so that everyone is aligned on what is suitable online behavior. Using a social network is an extension of your offline social community. It's helpful when these connections move to different parts of the world giving users a chance to still be apart of their friends lives. Each user has their own social network and can be thought of as a spider web structure.

Virtual communities are different because users aren't connected through a mutual friend or similar backgrounds. These groups are formed by people who have never met but are drawn to each other because of a common interest or ideology. Virtual communities are known for connecting people who normally wouldn't consider themselves to be in the same group. It's interesting to consider how these groups continue to stay relevant and maintained in the online world. They remain pertinent because users feel a need to contribute to the community and in return feel empowered when receiving new information from other members. Virtual communities have an elaborate nest structure because they overlap in many ways. Yelp, Youtube, Wikipedia, etc., are all considered virtual communities. Companies like Kaiser Permanente launched virtual communities for its members. The community gave members power to take control over their health care decisions and improve their overall experience. Members of a virtual community are able to offer opinions and contribute where they feel needed. Remember the difference between virtual communities and social network is the emergence of the relationship.

MY ADDITION BELOW (sentences plus "Further reading")

''The WELL distinguished itself from the technologies of the time by creating a networked community for everyone, from counterculturalists to those in the mainstream. Users were responsible for and owners of the content they posted, a rule created to protect the information from being copyrighted and commoditized. Women particularly were able to find community and voice on the WELL. While largely bound to household work at the time, women of the WELL could be participants and contributors on message boards, sharing experiences and information.''