Why information?

In the first article we were trying to examine the evolution of virtual communities, realizing that they cannot be likened to real world communities in an easy analog. This series has attempted to explore, not only the saliency of the online communities but also to draw out features that will elucidate what these online communities are all about. An important facet of online communities is the dissemination of information. Information, its availability and dissemination becomes the cornerstone for the survival and proliferation of a virtual community. Moreover, information itself relies on these various communities as channels for distribution. Virtual communities can largely relate to each other only through the information that is made available to them. This is to say that even when individuals are relating to each other in a virtual space, they are actually only relating to the information provided to them.

Accessing information

Accessing of the pool of information which a community possess becomes extremely convenient when the community in question is a virtual one. The inequalities of the real world are almost entirely eliminated in the online communities, where the information transfer takes almost no time (barring slow internet connections and power failures) and can be accessed by all members of the community, including ones who do not have any information to share. Lurkers benefit as much from the knowledge pool of a virtual community as does the most active member.

Complex communities, increasing information

As virtual communities evolved, they became a very loosely connected collection of different information services and communications forums. Many members stay in on only one or two different domains within the community whereas a small number of people move ideas very swiftly from one group to another. Feeding information (even and often false information) to these people ensured it was spread throughout different groups. In the hands of a core group of cross-pollinators, both public and private communication channels are employed to distribute certain kinds of ephemeral information very quickly. The distribution of this information now becomes not just intra-community but also inter-community. This ensures the growth of the community. Often the community branches off into different groups which sometimes form alliances with other groups and sometimes break away form their parent group. This amoebic operation is almost entirely based on information and subdivision of information into more specialized niches.