Mini-Project Post #3

In Cairncross', "The Trendspotter's Guide to New Communication,"he mentions many different ways in which he believed the future modern world would operate under new communicative technology. He thought that due to the widespread use of the internet throughout the world, people would start connecting with each other through similar interests instead of through proximity which he termed "Communities of Practice." For so long in history, people have connected together because of how close they lived to one another. There are so many different unique cultures in the world that emerged because people grew up in the same area and therefore developed similar interests and experiences. However, now that there is a technology that allows anyone from anywhere in the world to communicate, people can form communities based on their own unique experiences. Lawrence J. Kirmayer, Eugene Raikhel, and Sadeq Rahimi are all authors who wrote an article about how the internet has affected communities and they claim that, "[t]he networking afforded by the Internet is forging new social processes and new types of community founded on common interests and emerging identities, leading some to speak of a new tribalism" (172). They are stating that the internet has allowed people to network with others who share similar interests and values with them which creates new identities for communities. Throughout history, community typically meant people all dwelling within the same area; however, now through the internet communities no longer are held within the definition of proximity. Especially through the use of social media and blogs, people can find others who share the same interests, like hobbies or entertainment, and those people are connecting with others like them and creating little communities. For example, if someone loved the movie series Harry Potter, they could create a blog dedicated to their passion for the series. Other fans of Harry Potter could see that blog and decide to join because they want to connect with another devoted Harry Potter fan. Eventually that blog has the potential to garner thousands of other Harry Potter fans from across the globe. They can all communicate with each other through the blog and can even decide to meet up together for a movie premier or another Harry Potter event. What makes them a community is the fellowship they share for their interest in Harry Potter. Although people have always had their own individual characteristics and interests, before the internet they were never afforded the opportunity to connect with other people who shared their likeness. Therefore, I believe that Cairncross was right about future "Communities of Practice," because now there thousands of communities on the internet that hold people from many different countries across the world. 

References

Kirmayer, L. J., Raikhel, E., & Rahimi, S. (2013). Cultures of the Internet: Identity, community and mental health. Transcultural Psychiatry, 50(2), 165-191. doi:10.1177/1363461513490626