Community

The notion of community has a long tradition in sociology as a term to define a sui generis social space, quite distinct from that conventionally termed society. Today, the prophecy of a rapid eclipse of communities does not seem confirmed by observation. Instead the importance of an analytical distinction between communities tied to a specific place and communities of interest appears to be confirmed. The world of the web, with its virtual locations which allow the exchange of information, the meeting of individuals and sharing process to take place, was created and has developed above all through the aggregation of what have become known as "virtual communities". This paper begin with a description of the beginning and fortunes of the term community in the sociological tradition, before exploring the phenomenon of the rediscovery of social community bonds and their appearance in the world of virtual communities that populate the web.