Online Communities Complementing Media Events

In "The Anthropology of Online Communities," Samuel Wilson and Leighton C. Peterson raise the questions of whether anthropologists should focus their time and energy on online communities and how they should deal with this relatively new phenomenon. Wilson and Peterson address the idea that people can create new identities in cyberspace and how the internet can function as a type of community that brings people together who are physically very far away from each other. In short, I think that there is definitely a place for anthropologists in studying the patterns of online communities. As mentioned in the article, people are much more reliant on online communities than was originally expected, and I don't foresee this changing any time soon.

While reading this article, I was reminded of the events that I watch on TV with my computer open. During the election coverage tonight, I was switching between a few channels, but I always had my Twitter, Facebook, the New York Times, and a few other sites open on my computer. Some of the pages I had open online were purely used for obtaining information, but some of the social media sites also allowed me to share my own insights and see what my friends found interesting (in addition to the "professionals" on the news sources). I felt like a part of a few different communities, but that's only part of where anthropology fits in. We live in a world where we have access to so many different news outlets that the most efficient way to get information is by accessing all of those outlets at once. Anthropologists that not only study people's interactions with each other, but also people's interactions with media through online communities definitely has a place.

Another example I thought of where I use online communities to complement real life events is when I watch sports. I am a huge New York Giants football fan, and when I watch games every Sunday, I always have my computer nearby. On the television broadcast, they give insights on the game, injury updates, and interviews. However, if I check giants.com, or look at my twitter, or read my favorite local beat writer's blog, I can often access different information or the same information more quickly. The fact that social media allows people to interact with each other and with "professionals" means that there is a place for anthropology there. Online communities are a relatively new phenomenon, and, at least from what I know, there is definitely more that can be learned about the anthropology of these online communities.