Trends in the Emerging Web

At 33 years old, I have been a participant in the internet culture for long enough that it's easy to forget that for over half my life I had no contact with it at all. I completed my first 15 years of schooling without any meaningful contact with a computer. Now, however, I have become fully immersed in the web. All my most important financial transactions take place online. When I am researching a potential purchase, I have always been able to find an online community with real-life users of the product who are willing to share their stories. Many of the big-ticket items I've purchased recently have been bought from an online vendor. Most of my communication with far-off friends and family happens on Facebook, e-mail, or text messages. The communication, narrow focus and/or broad perspective on myriad topics, and sheer efficiency of the web have transformed my life and are transforming the world.

Blogs and online communities are the two web genres I find most personally appealing. For the most part, they have been able to retain the common touch - they feel less commercial and more personal than many of the other emerging genres, even though they are far from untouched by "the man."

The Emerging Web blog will compare blogs and online communities across the following five categories, as outlined by Frances Cairncross in The Trendspotter's Guide to New Communications (Bucy, 2005).

The Death of Distance - how have blogs and communities made distance and time zones irrelevant?

Communities of Practice - do they facilitate interpersonal bonds based on shared interests rather than physical proximity?

Proliferation of Ideas - their role in connecting students and teachers, and spreading ideas efficiently across huge distances

A New Trust - their role as a clearing house for consumer information

Improved Writing and Reading Skills - is the proliferation of online writing improving our formal communication skills?

Although I may refer to several blogs and communities in the posts to follow, I plan to focus on one of each.

Talkbass.com is an online community for musicians (like myself) who play double bass or bass guitar. It is an excellent example of the form, and I am very familiar with it due to extensive use.

My Life as a Mom is the blog of a friend of mine. She writes about being the mother of two small boys and other family adventures. She has developed a small but faithful following, and has recently began inserting commercial elements that I think it will be interesting to analyze.

Bucy, Eric P. (2005) . Living in the Information Age: A New Media Reader. Belmont, CA: Wadsoworth