- Join and participate in an online community.
- Write in your blog about your experiences in an online community.
I know participating in Facebook might be a cop-out or cliche. However, the fact of the matter is, it's important to really analyze what I do, in order to see how it might benefit my students. Facebook is seen as a social-network, and might not fall underneath the 'online community' umbrella. However, I think a community is defined by the people who frequent the same place, and there are an abundance of people who frequent Facebook. Clubs are created, people meet through Scrabulous (online Scrabble), and a plethora of other veins of social networking are available through Facebook. It has become a nexus, and it's really fascinating to me how people connect and really open up their personal lives to others. I now know more about my acquaintance than I did when I personally met them months ago. It keeps me informed on what is going on, rather than having to use letters, or rather than completely disappearing from their lives altogether.
I think Facebook represents the microcosm and ultimate product of globalization, but for the better. It represents our need to connect to each other so that we know that we're not alone.