What is so Special About Online Communities?

My husband often teases me for belonging to so many online message boards or forums. He isn't quite sure just what to make of my "friendships" that I have developed with some women over the course of several years and months. He wonders just what it is about online forums that make so many people flock to them throughout the day?

Let's think about that. To me, the answer to why online community forums are so popular is because you join them for a specific reason. They are a place where common interests are shared. Because let's face it, not too many people are going to participate or search for an online community of which they have absolutely no interest in. If you aren't into digital cameras then most likely you won't be joining an online digital camera community would you?

What are your reasons for joining an online community forum? There are so many available that you can pretty much find any of your interests or hobbies online in the form of a community message board. Many pregnant women and mom's are interested in bonding with other women who either have children the same age as her children, or who are pregnant and expecting around the same time as them. There are forums exclusively for moms and pregnant moms. One such forum is called Babycenter. Many women, and some men, join this online community to get tips and advice from others who are in the same place as they are in relation to being a mom or a dad. Joining a group of other mothers is a great way to vent, share, and sometimes, even cry over the joys and trials of being a parent.

I know of one online community that has been incredibly helpful to me, and it is one that I discovered not too long ago. It is a community for work-at-home mothers. I never knew it existed until about a year ago when I made the choice to try to do something to help make some extra cash while staying home with my young children. I did a quick Internet search for "work-at-home moms" and up popped WAHM.com. I visited the site for a few days until I finally decided to join and start asking questions. It was through that site, and through a lot of research on that site, that I found several at-home jobs that I could do until my boys are in school and I can go back to teaching. It has been a wonderful resource for me and it allows me to bond with other moms who are staying home and working at home with their children in tow. It is nice to visit this site daily and see what other moms are up to and just how they go about working from home and raising children at the same time.

People join online message boards and communities to seek information, to become a part of something that interests them and to bond with others who have similar hobbies, careers, health problems, or same-aged children. What is so wonderful about the Internet is that people from all over the world are able to connect with each other and relate to each other in a whole different way than was ever possible before message boards and community forums ever existed. It doesn't seem silly at all to me!