Online Community Forums

Not all web activity is designed with a profit motive. Many blogs, mailing lists, and wikis are started to further social causes or provide support to the community. Numerous online forums generate no revenue; they simply disseminate information on topics of interest. For example, new mothers living in Brooklyn, New York, organized a neighborhood mailing list using the Google Group application to set up the mailing list and invite people to join. The list quickly grew to 120 mothers who all had babies around the same time and who live in the same neighborhood of mostly townhouses and a few apartment buildings. The following is an anonymous quotation from one of its members:

It’s a list-serve of moms who gave birth around the same time in my neighborhood. It’s a great social and educational resource. Initially, it was mostly useful as a way to coordinate get-togethers right after all the babies were born and everyone was on maternity leave.