Building a Community I got my first computer in 1980. It connected to four things: a joystick, a television, a cassette recorder ,for saving files, and the power jack on the wall. The processor ran at less than 1 MHz and memory capacity was 4 kilobytes. This was reasonable for the time, but it was very limiting!
It was not until 1983 that I discovered a device to connect my computer to a phone - the modem! I bought one and within days, I was a part of my first online community. This community interacted through software called a "BBS" or "Bulletin Board System." One person would install this on their computer, connect it to their phone line, and post their phone number on other existing BBS's. Next, others would call the number with their computer, create a name and password, then review the public message forum. The key difference between then and now was that almost all of these BBS's allowed only one connection at a time, just like when you call one person on your mobile phone. The problem with this was that, if the BBS was popular, you would have to redial the number countless times, waiting for your turn to use it!
Long distance phone charges were very expensive. This meant that most of the members of any particular online community all lived in the same city. We had no web cams - if fact - about 99% of us had no way to send pictures online, so we organized "real world" events, adding faces to the text-only social experiences we were having. "BBSers" formed other groups outside of this, such as bands or software trading clubs. Many of my friends came from this world and not from the public school!
Larger, global communities started to form with the birth of companies like "Compuserve," which allowed you to dial into a computer which was connected to many phone lines. Some of these lines were also connected to other computers around the world. The Internet already existed, but it was purely for the academics. Compuserve followed this same method, but on their own private network. Once again, the cost of using these systems was prohibitive for many. As an alternative, local multiple-line BBS's started to exist. It became easier to meet and chat with more people, but the side effect of this was that there were less real world gatherings.
This continued until 1994, when companies started using the Internet as their framework, which was much less expensive than creating proprietary global networks. A group of students released "Mosaic," the first visual browser, and the World Wide Web took off like a rocket. Now, communities exist outside of global boundaries. I have friends in countless countries, whom I will probably never even meet in person. Fortunately, technology continues to provide new solutions to bring us closer together. The digital camera made it possible for everyone to share pictures cheaply and efficiently online. I can take a photo right now and send it around the world in seconds! Webcams turned this into a real time event. Skype and MSN have reduced the cost of worldwide phone calls to almost zero. Google Video and YouTube allow us to create communities based around our own virtual television stations.
Throughout this process, I heard countless people evangelize the death of community. "Everyone will sit at home on their computers with no social interaction!" Now, I am happy to see those naysayers have been proven wrong! The Internet has brought the whole world together in communities that would never have been possible.
At the Linguist, we encourage the growth of our community using such things as: 1. The Community Forum - http://www.thelinguist.com/jive3/ This is the modern equivalent of the classical BBS. One of the restrictions of the global community is time. I may be sleeping when my friends in Japan are awake . We can have public discussions on the forum, which evolve over time as each of us contribute, at times that work for us.
2. The Linguist Flickr Group -http://www.flickr.com/groups/thelinguist/ Here, we can share our photos. Put a face to the staff of The Linguist, other learners, events and even our pets!
3. Frappr - http://www.frappr.com/LinguistMembers As The Linguist community is worldwide, use this novel system for a visual representation of where each of us is, around the globe! This takes only a few seconds to fill in. You may be surprised to find that you know your neighbour.
4. Blogs Share your learning stories and daily life with other members from your own home page. Right now, blogs are mostly text, which allows you to show off your language writing skills. The "new big thing," of course is video blogs! Now, you can share your world and show off your verbal skills as well.
These things, plus many more, are being knit more closely together each day. In the near future, I envision a Linguist Community which includes all of these things combined, plus many more that we can only imagine. Soon, instead of just having a group audio discussion on Skype, we will have a group video discussion. Perhaps next will be our chance to learn English in a 3D world, like The Sims. I can't wait to shake your virtual hand in this brave new world! Be a part of our global community. Join The Linguist today.
