Developing the IBM i Virtual community: iSociety

Internet-based virtual communities have become an important mode of communication among people all over the world (Eschenbrenner et al., 2008). Scott and Johnson (2005) found that some of the most heavily visited sites on the World Wide Web are either fully or in part online communities. These communities allow groups of people to utilize many to many interactions as a mode for sharing experiences (Hagel & Armstrong, 1997). These people may or may not know each other in the real world but share similar interests, thoughts or ideas on variety of topics. The topics may vary all over the spectrum ranging from social aspects of the society to professionals communicating for collaborative creations or solving common business problems through sharing experiences. One can date the beginning of Internet communities to early USENET, Bulletin Board Systems (BBS), and Multi-User Dungeons (MUD). These are followed by IRC (Internet Relay Chat), chat rooms, and electronic mailing lists. The most recent form of these communities has essentially evolved into environments such as Friendster, Linkedin, Reunion, Orkut, Myspace, Facebook, Second Life, and many others. The 2007 Digital Future Report released from the Center for the Digital Future at the USC Annenberg School highlights findings that encourage the use of Internet-based virtual communities. According to the report, 56.6 percent of members of online communities log into their communities at least once a day. Out of these, 70.4 percent interact with other members during their logon sessions. Among members who are 17 years and older, 65.8 percent consider the Internet to be a very important source of information. Further, the report states that the use of the Internet at work for professional reasons has increased to 69.7 percent. This percentage represents the class of professionals who have access to the Internet at work. Professionals using online resources at work claim their active use to an average of 7.8 hours every week. Most of these individuals claim that the use of Internet at work makes them more productive; with only 1.5 percent claiming that their productivity has worsened because of Internet access (Center for the Digital Future, 2007). Developing the IBM i Virtual community: iSociety