Jango Screencast

Here is my amateur attempt at screencasting!  I selected the social software tool Jango and I highly recommend anyone that's a music lover to check it out.  Similar to other websites like rhapsody and pandora, it plays new music based on the artists you select.  It also has an active online community and allows users to add each other as friends and comment on one another's page.  Anyways, enough chatter!  If you are interested, take a look at the screencast and I hope you like it!

http://screenjel.ly/PDUzlaR0wEc

Lurkers- Friend or Foe?

I am going to start this post by being completely honest- I am a lurker!  I can't help it and more importantly I am not ashamed.  I do understand that online communities must have members that are willing to regularly contribute otherwise the community will vanish.  But, I know from experience that lurkers have genuine reasons for their greedy behavior!  The article by Reed (2009) resonated with me on the point that sometimes lurking stems from a new member being shy or intimidated.  When I joined an online community, I felt like it took a while until I felt acclamated to how everyone interacted.  Even though there were many messages that I agreed with or found meaningful, I did not feel comfortable commenting on ALL of them.  Another reason for my lurking is the same reason I put off creating a blog (until I started this course).  This reason is that I wanted my posts to be *perfect*.  Full of witty humor, profound insight and completely original.  The problem with this goal is that perfection is rarely an achievable feat, especially considering my participation in the online community was purely for recreational use.  I had difficulty taking time to construct a perfect post when it wasn't related to school or work.  Although I have begun to lighten up and create messages when I find a question I can answer or want to show support to another member, I still believe that lurking adds value to any community.  You never know- someone who spent years of lurking may become a major contributor eventually

Another issue is anonymous users within an online community.  This can be a problem because anonymity can present an opportunity for some people to say things they would never have the gaul to say in a face-to-face environment (Grohol, 2006).  Anonymous users can write nasty comments and face no consequences.  However, anonymity does have some perks.  It allows members to openly discuss topics that they may have been more reserved about if the discussion was in person.  I think anonymous users is just part of the fabric of online communities.  Yes, some people are miserable and will take advantage of it but as long as there are some moderators in place to make sure it does not escalate to a serious level, it should not be a huge concern.

Grohol, J. (2006).  Anonymity and Online Community: Identity Matters.  A List Apart.  Retrieved from http://www.alistapart.com/articles/identitymatters/.

Reed, M.  (2009).  Inside the Mind of Online Community Lurker.  CommunitySpark.  Retrieved from http://www.communityspark.com/inside-the-mind-of-an-online-community-lurker/.