Internet and Capitalism By Megan Velde

Ethnic Online Communities The author made several interesting points regarding the choices by individual websites to focus more on their profit than the community it was originally intended to represent. The author questions whether the EOC’s provide online or offline empowerment for the users Also questions whether it was possible for members of EOC’s to facilitate community building. Looked at three ethnic-based online communities, operated by Community Connect Inc., and compared the influences of each community on their members and also how each community balanced between profit and purpose.

AsianAvenue.com This website was the company’s first online community. It was launched in Prior to the launch of this community, the CEO found it hard to convince people that a market existed for online communities, but not once this website had a successful debut. Asked what ethnicity the member was upon sign-up, and also offers a Lifestyle option. This site offered to donate money to chairy for Miracle Marrow Matches.

BlackPlanet.com This website was the company’s second website. It launched in The website also proudly boasted that the Wall Street Journal reported this website as the “stickiest” web services site (average time spent was 34.4 minutes). Asked for the race of its members. This site offered to donate money to Project SHE ( a breast cancer education center).

MiGente.com This website was the company’s third website. It was launched in Besides sharing many of the same questions upon membership, this is the only one that asks about the religion of its members. Also asks whether the member preferred speaking and reading in English, Spanish, or both. This site offered to donate money to a “charity that helps the Latino community”.

The margin for Profit The Community Connect Inc. Website offers statistics on all of the information the members anwsered upon completion of AsianAvenue.com’s membership questionnaire. Because of the varying use of the internet, and the likelihood of users to spend more time on online communities, the author believes that the sites offer as many ads as they do site content and that each site has basically the same type of ads. The author believes that the site should cater to the needs and uses of its members, and not display ads that do not represent that specific online community.

Profit cont. The author believes that the owner of Community Connect Inc. has given priority to profit over purpose. Although the author understands that a free online community needs advertising to sustain the costs of running the website, the individual communities “must be financially responsible to the communities they represent”. Although I believe that each of these communities try to promote activism through information given in each website, I do not believe that they all promote social justice activism. Maybe in their own way, or to their own culture they do, but I did not see the author mention it at all.

Feminist Majority I did not see a lot of advertisements in this website. It even had a text only option. I do believe that this website promoted activism through the various links from the homepage including “Student Activism”. I do believe that this website catered to its target audience. The only place that I saw was the donate to Feminist Majority Foundation link.

ivillage.com As soon as I opened up the website, I saw an ad for “The bachelor” which took up the right half of the screen. The second thing I noticed was how different the content was of this website. The other site offered ways to be active, and real world issues. This website offers different ways to look better through: health and beauty, fitness, love and sex, etc. When I click on a link, I instantly open up to different advertisements for lip gloss, dove products, and when I scroll to the bottom, I am presented with a virtual hairstylist. Over 2000 different ways to change my hairstyle.

Conclusions I do believe that the author is right. Although most websites offer advertising, online community websites should be more discreet in the placement of their advertisements. It is hard to feel a sense of community building when different advertisements on how to improve my look are constantly opening up in a new box. Hopefully more decent websites will emerge, but with the trend the U.S. is on, it is doubtful.