The Cyberworld - online Communities

Socialising and interaction is one of the basic human needs and in today's context, this activity has gone up to the next level. Traditionally, people network or socialise with one another physically in events and places, but now all we need is a computer to do so and we can even reach out to many more people, all over the world. Online communities are forming the main channels for communications in many peoples' lives today.

People use online communities for various reasons and purposes. Making new friends, relieving boredom, business networkings, interview screenings, keeping in touch with friends are examples just to name a few. As we can see, online communities do benefit people in many ways.

Online communities are good sources where one can easily locate people of common interests and develop friendships. Howard Rheingold(1993) and Amy Bruckman(1996) both agree with the ease of finding people with common interests online. Howard mention that " In a virtual community we can go directly to the place where our favourite subjects are being discussed, then get acquainted..." and Amy points out the use of " Webhound" where one can " enter into the system a list of web sites you like...matches you with people of similar interests". Finding people of common interests online can be said to be effortless as compared to offline. Getting acquainted with people of similar interests is the very first step in forming a good relationship with people. Online communities create group identities by gathering people of common interests in a common place which allow them to interact with one another easily. Such acquaintances can be further developed into long-term quality friendships and these friendships are not limited by national boundaries. This applies to professionals who are searching for other professionals who have knowledge of a particular field or industry as well. People who hit off well online can always