Blog # 4 "Peg Communities"

If using the virtual communities that I am a part of for evidence, I would have to agree with Bell and Bauman’s notions of virtual communities being like peg communities. In the reading peg communities are described as, “Coat pegs on which we choose to temporarily hang parts of our identities.” I believe this is true of most online communities. Most of the communities that I am a part of involve discussions of a specific nature. Things like celebrity gossip sites, or movie review sites, comic book or weight lifting forums are all centered on a specific topic of interest. I believe my full identity is linked to all of my interests, not just one that I share with a random grouping of other people, and to my actual physical self. Most of the online groups I am a part of are for these types of specific hobbies or interests. In these communities myself and other users come together and share information on certain subjects, our personalities are integrated into communication and enough communicating is done so that there is a basic understanding of one another, but not one that is very personal or in depth. Not many intimate details are shared either and the personal things that are shared generally relate back to the topic of the group.

Even though in communities like Facebook or Myspace most users communicate with others they know in the real world these sites are peg communities. I believe these types of sites are peg communities because of the ability a user has to design a page however they choose and report on only the best parts of their lives. Essentially controlling their identity online or creating an alternate exaggerated identity.

For part two I have tentatively chosen three community orientated sites that I am a part of. These are sites that I would not mind examining in more detail, but there are a lot of other sites that might be better, so I may want to choose something else, but for now they are fine. The sites that I have chosen are the online communities of mmashare.com, a site for the sharing of mixed martial arts videos and the discussion of their outcomes. Second is the effectslab.com, which is a special make-up effects forum that I have previously mentioned in my blog. Last but certainly not least is the site helium.com. It is a site where members contribute articles with the hopes of earning money from the site or praise from other members.