Analyze the cultural impact of online communities, such as those Essay

Analyze the cultural impact of online communities, such as those discussed in Finding One's Own Space in Cyberspace and 7 Things You Should Know about Blogs as - Essay Example She describes one of these bars as â€Å"absolutely terrifying. Huge, bearded men bulging out of their leather vests and pants leered at me. I hid in the corner and tried not to make eye contact with anyone† (129). Although she is an intelligent woman, and many men who hang out in biker bars can carry on very interesting, very intelligent conversations, the physicality of the environment with the reciprocal stereotyping that evidently occurred (Bruckman saw the men as little more than thugs, the ‘thugs’ saw her as little more than meat) prevented any of these conversations from happening and precluded any possibility of future intellectual or cultural encounters. Issues of physical location between strangers are also overcome through online communities as discussed in the article â€Å"7 Things You Should Know About Blogs.† By removing questions of physicality, online communities can facilitate much greater communication among cultures and interest groups a s conversations are held according to true interest levels rather than being based upon or limited by a specific physical image or location. The ability of online communities to form regardless of physical location is emphasized in the article â€Å"7 Things You Should Know About Blogs.† In the traditional classroom, it is usually presumed that students are able to discuss various aspects of their lessons with each other. However, as the sidebar of the article illustrates, the online community enabled the students of at least one traditional classroom to have more in-depth and frequent conversation with each other than even this close environment afforded: â€Å"By the end of the course †¦ [the students] form rich connections with one another and the content and – because of the reflection and sharing – find great relevance in the material. Several students continue to blog after the course is over† (â€Å"7 Things†: 1). In exactly the same way blogging helped