Turner Article

For class on Tuesday, one of the required readings included an article by Fred Turner. This article focused on the Whole Earth Catalog and the WELL's (Whole Earth Lectronic Link) contribution to online communities. When I first began to read the article, I was a little confused because I had zero background knowledge on this topic. I had never in my life heard of the Whole Earth Catalog, the WELL, or the culture that surrounded them. After I looked up a few of the major topics in the article, I was able to have a better understanding of what the author was saying. 

Before reading the article, I never thought much about how search engines and chat rooms were created. I would have never guessed that they stemmed from the creation of a magazine that allowed readers to send in their opinions and comments on certain products and items used daily. I think it's so interesting how easy it is for us today to go online and discuss our thoughts and opinions with others and receive immediate feedback. Back when there was the Whole Earth Catalog, there was only about two issues each year. This meant that feedback was very slow. Even though feedback was slow, readers began to fall in love with the same idea we are obsessed with today, which is the ability to share thoughts and opinions with people far away.

 The magazine soon lead to the development of the WELL. The WELL allowed us to communicate with others in real time which began the obsession with virtual communities. It is really interesting to see where virtual communities began and learn about the first people to use the systems. It clear that today's virtual communities have a wide range of topics and discussions. Even though there are many communities, they all have something in common with the first virtual communities. This being the ability to read and share opinions.  Overall, this article was very informational. I learned a great deal about the history of virtual communities and how far they have come.