Virtual Communities...What is the Definition?

I participate in the virtual community Facebook.com. I primarily use this site to interact with my friends and family, and to keep them up to date on my mood or things that are going on in my life(sometimes), and they do the same.

I feel this site is a virtual community in some aspects, but also a technological tool I use to communicate with people who live within my community. The virtual community aspect is that I am able to communicate with several people I have never met, and Facebook allows me to form these friendships, which I cannot experience in "real" life. Facebook is also a technological tool I use to interact with people within my "real" life community, such as setting up study dates and times with fellow peers.

Wilson describes the virtual world as a place where one can have separateness and togetherness at the same time. People can live in separate cities, and never meet in "real" life, yet still be able to have meaningful relationships within a virtual community. A virtual community to me is bonds that are formed online that cannot take place in the "real" world.

Here is my example of the commonalities of a "real" and "virtual" community...

I live in Richland, which is a community, but that does not mean I share common interests and values with everyone in this community. I only interact and share my interests with a very small portion of this community. I think the same thing applies to the virtual community. I had to learn how to operate within a virtual community, just like I had to learn my way around Richland. That doesn't mean I will interact with everyone within the virtual community, only a very small portion. To be a member of a community that's "real" or "virtual" you need to know how to function within one or you will not be able to meet and interact with people. This is why there are many different virtual communities, as people have different interests and needs. People do not want to be members of virtual communities, which they have no interest or sense of belonging.