Online Internet Community

Such a wonderful world, I have to say, enabled by the amazing technologies.

Imagining messaging with people across the ocean, and hearing their voices like inches away ...

Working in the field of IT for so many years, it's not until recently, I started to feel the passion some of the pioneers disclaimed. I am amazed by the power of technology and its ability to unleash the human potential, and begin to really appreciate my career direction.

In research, social computing is one of the sizzling topics, and with messaging, blogging, and online communities, I started to receive its real benefits. Today, I can hardly tolerate any moments without the mighty Internet, where searching, communicating, browsing are integrated into our hearts and souls.

Email is the past tense; VoIP (voice over IP or internet telephone), messaging, and Blogs are the ongoing buzz words, and the future -- imagine the infinity! Maybe your cell phone will pocket all the community information with you, and connect to any of your friends will be as easy as using the desktop ...

How can we better prepared for it? Each of us will have several images or identities, including the physical self and the virtual self. Maybe we will have an identity designed only for social ocassions, and another for career and professional lives, or even one for each hobby or interest. Human beings are multi-faceted by nature, but it's the technology provides us the chance to fully explore and enjoy its benefits.

A more complete individual in future will have the ability to decorate his/her images in both worlds (both physical and virtual), and get involved in both communities, and it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish which is more important in one's life.

Fascinated by the unlimited possbilities, maybe it's time to think about how to get involved in social computing more seriously!