S3 Blog

The Internet contains a wealth of information and millions of people use it as a resource to find out more on thousands of subjects. Different groups have seen just how useful the Internet is for community based learning and sharing information and are actively engaging in this each day. So how can the Internet be used for this type of information sharing?

1. Internet-based groups, these are like online mini communities that come together using websites on which comments and ideas can be posted. This type of group also tend to use chat rooms and instant messaging to speak to each other. Information can also be posted on to the group’s website and these tend to be updated regularly. Internet-Based groups are so popular that there is literally a group for every kind of topic on which people regular contribute and visit frequently.

2. Community-based learning sites, a slightly different and often involve actual learning. People are able to take online learning courses to further their knowledge on a particular subject. These are very useful for anyone who would like to get back into education but are reluctant, for whatever reason, to attend classroom-based activities. One of the advantages of learning online is that an individual can do as little or as much as they like each time they login and it can be done at any time of the day or night.

3. Social networking sites are also used as a place to share information between people. This could be in the form of messages are photographs and even videos. There are also social networking profiles which are related to businesses or other activities which people can also join and share further information on this topic. Using social networking sites is not an easy it is also a very fast way of communicating with many different people within minutes.

4. Educational institutions also use the Internet to help people to share information and learn. Many people benefit from these types of websites as they are able to access information quickly and easily and can further their learning this way.

5. Business websites are another way in which people can learn and share information although these do relate to particular businesses.

There are of course other ways online which relate to community-based learning and sharing information. If you want to use the Internet for this purpose it is quite easy to do so. Simply go online and do a little research on the subject you are interested in, soon you’ll be able to find Internet-based groups that you can join and information sharing sites. As the majority of these offer free membership you will not have to pay to join and you can start sharing information and start learning almost instantly. If you want to be involved in community-based learning and sharing information go online and see what is out there.

Online communities are one of the most popular ways to get connected with people and businesses that all share certain things in common. Building an online community is a very difficult and very time consuming task, and one which is constant, you can’t just begin an online community and expect it to flourish, you need to put in some very hard work. If you feel you are up to the challenge here are some steps that might help you on your way:-

1. Do you have the time needed to devote to building your online community? In order to answer this question you need to know that you will have to constantly watch it, spend countless hours re-coding various parts of the site if someone hacks into it and most importantly do you want to especially if you don’t see any real results for months?

2. Do you have a good idea and plenty of good ideas for content? If you are unclear about your aims and goals you will find it difficult to build an online community that people will want to be a part of.

3. Make sure that the rules and guidelines for you community are as clear and reasonable as possible and stick to them! Make sure that you set the example for others to follow and if you see any comments or behaviours that you feel is not adhering to the ethics of the site do something about it.

4. If someone does make a mistake point it out to them privately, you don’t want to engage in a public dressing down of someone if it is their first mistake – use your judgement and you will gain the respect of the community members.

5. Have somewhere that members of the site can talk about the site. It is a good idea to have this somewhere prominent on the site so that visitors can read it and join in. It also gives you a clear insight into what members think of the site which is always important.

6. Try and get friends involved – do you know someone who would make a great moderator? If so ask them to help you, that way you will get people who have you best interests helping you to run the site.

7. Make a point of highlighting certain members when they contribute something that you and other visitors to the site love. That way you will be encouraging more people to do the same. How you decide to do this is up to you, you might like to have a points system and have weekly stats or how about their profile pic being on the homepage for a week?

8. Have fun – whilst you will have to spend plenty of hours performing mind numbing tasks to get your community up and running you should still make it enjoyable. If it becomes a labour of love you might start to loathe it and not give it the time and attention it deserves, so keep a sense of humour and remember that all good things come to those who wait.