The Reality of Virtual Communities
NOTE: This was an essay I had written for my very first English composition class in college, back in Febuary, 2007. Obviously, it is very dated and the technology and terminology discussed below have evolved tremendously in the last three years.
With the internet becoming more functional everyday, people all over the world are finding new uses for this incredible medium in their daily lives. Several years ago if you told someone you blogged them on MySpace you probably would have gotten some strange glances. Now these terms, and many more like them, are becoming a routine part of our vocabulary. Only decades ago you would have invoked some stupendous looks just by uttering the terms “chat room,” instant message” or “web blog.” Today these familiar terms have one thing in common. They all relate to virtual communities made possible by the internet.
In this essay, we will explore the reality of virtual communities. You will see why I strongly believe that there is nothing inherently “fake” about this relatively new medium and why a virtual society deserves equal appreciation when compared to communities outside of the internet. I will also share my views on why some virtual communities can improve our way of life and how we do business far beyond what any “real world” medium can do.
Jeff Bezos
Creating Earth’s Largest Store, One Book at a Time
The Internet has impacted our lives in more ways than we can describe and yet we seldom know the names and faces behind the brands, products and services that made it all possible. Everyday, we check our email, buy gifts, track stock prices, read news articles and watch videos all thanks to a relatively few number of individuals who took the first leap into an unknown and unproven abyss. One of those individuals was a 30 year-old Harvard MBA who revolutionized the world of retail and in doing so became one of the first Internet billionaires. His name is Jeff Bezos and his company is Amazon.com. This is Jeff’s story, which chronicles his amazing path to fame and fortune as the founder of Amazon.com.
From Research Project to King of the Web
Due to the rapid growth of the Internet in the 1990s, we have seen an influx of web companies come and go over the years. Some were far too bent on turning a quick profit and failed to satisfy their customers. Others simply imitated already established companies, and because of their bland approach to business, they failed as well. But, somewhere in the mix of things emerged a few solid, innovative, and well developed ideas based around satisfying customer needs while generating a healthy profit.