An online community is similar to a community in the real world. It is a group of people that contact using the internet. It is a form of communication between people, but over the internet rather than face to face (Wikipedia, 2011).
I have chosen to carry on my theme of total hip joint replacements.
The first online community I have found is from farm orthopedics. This website has a forum where people can discuss hip replacement surgery and recovery with other patients. This is the hyperlink to the webpage:
http://bonesmart.org/public_forum/hip-replacement-f21.html?gclid=CPDfmf3s_6cCFUmDpAodiTxTqg
The site has different topics/ sub topics where anyone can go in and share their stories or ask questions. I find this very interactive as it allows anyone to voice their opinion, and has the ability to give a wide variety of opinions.
People contribute by clicking on the topic at which they want to read/ add an opinion to. They then click on "new thread" and add their part. You then click on submit and VWALA you have contributed to this forum.
People who use this site contribute things around THR, or any other surgery. Such as their experiences, the good things, the bad, facts, etc etc. They contribute to these because they want to get a varied response on specific topics. They are seeking to find answers about what to expect, or compare their experiences with others. Information isn't shared one way. Its reciprocal.
Examples of topics are:
Noise Issues
articles by the experts on noises in hip replacement
The "other side" - for post-operative hip patients: also Noise Issues
Ethical issues around this online community?
The people can never be sure where the information is truly coming from. They can never be sure if the informaton provided is true, they may just be making it up.
The benefits of this community include a wide variety of comments from a wide variety of people.
Patients can share their opinion without being judged.
It may help people to be more honest about their experience.
Can talk anytime.
This community lacks/ isn's as good as geographical community because:
You can never fully trust the information provided.
Inability to really get to know the person you are conversing with.
The second community I have looked up is article city. This is the hyperlink to the website: http://www.articlecity.com/articles/health/article_8029.shtml
This is where authors can submit an article they have written, and people can comment about it. The article example is around why online communities are helpful for people who have had total hip joint replacements (hitting two birds with one stone here).
The purpose of this site (in my opinion) is to voice peoples using article form, and recieve feedback from others.
The site isn't tooo interactive. Pretty much a person submits an article, and others can choose whether they want to comment back or not.
People contribute by clicking in the comment box, writing the comment, then pressing submit.
People contribute their opinion of the article written, give praise/ feedback.
I think people choose to contribute to this community as they may feel strong about some of the issues/ information brought up in the articles. They may also feel that the writer needs to be given praise for there good work. Asking for more information around the information may also be a reason.
I do not think people really seek anything from this community. However, they may want clarification around information provided, or just want to show their appraisal of the work.
The information is reciprocal.
Other subjects/ topics on this online community include things such as: marketing, children. parenting etc.
The potential ethical issues around this may be:
people stealing one others work
lack of identity
lack of accountability
social justice
The beneftis of this online community:
people can get feedback around their articles
others can read the articles and give comments on the ideas addressed
true feelings can be shared
can share feelings any time
This community lacks/ isn't as good as geographical communities because:
You are not assured that you will definately get a response on your comment
Inability to build rapport with who you are talking to
Can not fully trust the information being shared
Takes longer to communicate
The third online community I have looked at is blogspot.com (this website)
Here is a link to the page that I have looked at specifically: http://www.francine-hipreplacement.blogspot.com/
This blog allows people to share their experiences of hip replacements.
I think the intensions of this blog is to help those out there who are about to undergo a hip replacement. It allows people to read stories, and comment on them, asking questions or just give a general comment. This makes it a rather interactive web page. People can contribute by either sharing their story in the "tell your story" box. Or.. you can contribute by writing comments about other peoples blog entries, e.g. what they like about their entry, can ask questions etc.
People contribute to these because of their general interest around hip replacements. They wish to share their experiences, or find out more around what happens when you get a hip replacement. It is a reciprocal way of sharing.
Some examples of topics shared in this webpage is: Scoliosis, Now I'm a Health Maven:-)
Ethical issues around this website include:
People may take the information given in this website without permission
The information given may not be legitimate
Can be bias
Benefits of this online community:
Can have a range of opinions
Can be accessed whenever someone wishes
Easy to use
Not very time consuming
There is not a certain time you have to access it
This community lacks/ is not as good as geographical community because:
True feelings can not be shown over the internet
It is very bias
Takes longer to communicate
Cannot fulyl trust the person sharing information
This comes to the end of this blog entry
'Til later
Gemma :)
Reference List:
Wikipedia. (2011). Online Communities. Retrieved April 3, 2011, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_communities
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