The chimera of online community

This is just a short note on making a distinction that ought to be made between community and social media.  We have become habituated to refer to people who use social media as members of a community.  I think we would be better off if we re-habituated ourselves to refer to people who use social media as members of a “communications hub” or the more commonly used phrase “members of a network.”  The basic insight here is that communities, the physical spaces in which we live and interact with other human beings, rely heavily on personal reputation and repeated and sustained interactions.

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