*Disclaimer- Blogging Systems is in the business of building online community sites utilizing blogging and social networking software.

Wikipedia defines an online or virtual community as- A virtual community or online community is a group of people that primarily or initially communicates or interacts via the Internet. The dawn of the "information age" found groups communicating electronically rather than face to face. A "Computer-mediated community" (CMC) uses social software to regulate the activities of participants. An online community such as one responsible for collaboratively producing open source software is sometimes called a development community. Significant socio-technical change has resulted from the proliferation of Internet-based social networks.

Yet the purpose of an online community and the needs of the individuals involved control the very nature of the community.

Some examples of highly successful virtual communities-

www.myspace.com – designed mostly for young adults and the pop culture crowd, it attracts main stream advertisers and musicians like no other community.

www.activerain.com- aimed at the forward-thinking real estate professionals of the world. (and yes, we all love it)

www.craigslist.com- a geographically segmented community with focus on moving products and ideas.

www.meetup.com- a virtual community that focuses on joining real world contributors together based on personal and professional interests.

Since the late 70’s, computer users have taken advantage of technology to form virtual groups. This first started with Bulletin Board Systems (known as BBS), migrated into Community Forums and Bulletin areas, and has finally evolved into community blogs (Such as Recruiting.com and Blogher). Some communities are public, some private. Some businesses use them for reaching into the client area as marketing tools, while others turn the power of online community into internal support tools to share information.

If more than two people are interested in a topic- then you will probably find a virtual group of some sort to represent it.

As of this summer, Technorati had counted over 55 million blogs in existence. That number has been growing at an exponential rate thanks to blog community sites like ActiveRain that promote like-minded individuals to share thoughts and opinions on a topic. Those topics can range from night life, what you do for a career, how to be a good parent, politics, how-to manuals on business living, or even creative writing. The key factor is that so many people are coming into the online world that new communities are appearing overnight (Remind anyone of ActiveRain?).

Why do I want to be in a community?

It is basic human nature. Being in a community focused on our personal needs is inherent in human nature, whether it is in the form of having a structured team of working professionals or assembling our friends for Tuesday poker night, building groups of like-minded individuals helps us express ourselves. As this very online community proves, there are things that would be impossible for an individual to accomplish- yet the power of thousands can make an impact on a much larger scale.

Why do I want to BUILD a community?

There are dozens of reasons for building your own community. Sometimes the right aspects of your idea are not properly detailed in current groups. Sometimes you have an amazing new thought and want to be a forward-thinking leader and assemble other interested members. The chance to define your own community has become a reality through online technology and social media. As more people come online and express themselves, the 55 million blogs will turn into 250 million. Eventually everyone will have an online voice that is unique- and is looking for an online community to call home.

Depending on your personal and professional needs, imagine what a normal person can do with the power of a large community focused on a specific theme. Companies like Microsoft and Boeing utilize online communities to harness the power of their employees as a team. Even for a small office, the amount of creative and intellectual power found in six people can find an amazing boost in social-thinking and problem solving. Local online communities talk about common things like the best restaurant is or what everyone thought of the local community festival.

Isn’t starting an online community hard?

Online communities are as easy or as hard as you make them. You could easily compare the creation of an online community to a common birthday party. You can either play a gracious host and entertain guests yourself or you can invite friends to your party that are entertaining. You can buy drinks for everyone, or tell them to bring their own. For every method of throwing a successful birthday party, there is a way of doing it effectively depending on the level of financial and time constraints you have. We all know that planning a great party takes some planning.