The Future of Online Communities?

What should online communities look like in five years? Online communities are rapidly developing into more than a community, they are developing into cultures and societies. However, the rapid change in software and technology compels us to look at only five years in the future. Ideally, they should be welcoming, safe places for people to achieve their potential through encouragement and empowerment by the community.

However, the internet is not free, and people have to make a living, so there is a push to monetize online communities. The gaming world has been in that business for several years but is beginning to ramp up its efforts. As a result, online communities are on the verge of becoming online cultures and economies in the Metaverse .

But how is this possible? First, technology is creating nonfungible tokens which have value in the real world. Corporations are becoming communities of gamers and creators with their economies and rules (Thomason, 2022).

Facebook’s parent company Metaverse wants to build a space that spans reality, and the virtual worked with its economy (Rodriguez, 2020). This would encompass work, art, and gaming. Will an economy in the virtual world collapse or have depressions the way they do in the real world?

Do we want the internet communities to be a place where humans spend their entire waking moments? How do we combat or limit the future of internet communities to prevent the accurate word from falling apart or becoming a place where honest world workers only cater to those benefitting from the internet?

Should online communities have economies? For example, gambling is regulated in states and countries. How would gambling be regulated in online communities? How would taxes be collected in reality when people are making money in virtual communities? Digital assets are just one question for future online communities.

Will people not in online communities be at a disadvantage in the real world? Even employment opportunities may become limited for those not engaged in online communities.

How do we keep online communities user-friendly without growing into massive nations with economies, environmental problems, and virtual real estate issues? Do we ban these activities or heavily regulate them (Neuburger, 2022)?

I don’t think it is possible to prevent the Metaverse. However, we should choose whether to join it or not. Will simple communities continue in the future if they can’t be monetized? Should we still have the opportunity to connect with others who have similar likes and interests as us for free?

Perhaps as the Metaverse gets more significant, we should regulate it to require a free space for people to come together to make their real-life more enriched through simple online communities. But, unfortunately, the Metaverse may not be able to be stopped or even regulated.

These online communities should be at no cost, unlimited connections, and regulated to prevent adverse side effects. The negative aspects of online communities include spanning, trolls, and misinformation.

The ideal online community of the future would use AI to protect people from misinformation, spamming, fraud, and trolls. People could be creative and honest without harming others. Can we protect our online communities from future monetization and corruption?

References:

Neuburger, J. (2022). In the Coming ‘Metaverse’, There May Be Excitement but There Certainly Will Be Legal Issues. https://www.natlawreview.com/article/coming-metaverse-there-may-be-excitement-there-certainly-will-be-legal-issues

Rodriguez, S. (2020, 2020–02–16). Mark Zuckerberg shifted Facebook’s focus to groups after the 2016 election, and it’s changed how people use the site. @CNBC. Retrieved 9 January from https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/16/zuckerbergs-focus-on-facebook-groups-increases-facebook-engagement.html

Thomason, j. (2022). New tribes of the Metaverse — Community-owned economies. https://cointelegraph.com/news/new-tribes-of-the-metaverse-community-owned-economies