Tags
community, forum, Internet, New Social Media, OrCom 152, Organizational Communication, PinoyExchange, UP Manila
I am not much of an active netizen but one thing I love most about being online is having an access to a lot of things. And mostly because of a simple web account easily obtained through free registration. Oftentimes, I find myself looking for information, news, updates and downloadables (is this even a word?) that is so hard to find in the official websites because they deem it (whatever it is that I am looking for) as a sort of a trade secret. So where do I go? *drumroll* I go to FORUMS and browse the contents. 😀
My favorite among all those forums is PinoyExchange or better known as PEx. It was established in 1999 and so far, it has 393,228 users. For more information about the site itself, you can visit this page. 😀
In PEx, there are about 27 topics you can choose from which ranges from entertainment to sports to food to anything and everything under the sun. from these topics, you can choose from hundreds of threads all of which just might contain the information you are looking for. And in most of my cases, this is true whether it is about my favorite international dramas, actors, or links. If I don’t find the exact thing I’m looking for then information about where to find it is there.
In all honesty, this is the reason why I love browsing this forum site. Aside from the fact that the people in forums (especially the fanatics) are good and oftentimes credible sources of information, the site provides all sorts of possibilities for anyone even non-members. I just recently registered to be a member but I have been browsing the forums for years already. It just takes patience and a lot of determination to find what you want. It also helps if you search your keyword over on Google together with the word “pinoyexchange” just to make things easier.
Being a member also gives you the chance to react to the threads or add information to share to your fellow fans. If you have interests that do not match your friends’ interests, then these threads in PinoyExchange are good places to find people who can be as enthusiastic as you. Just like a real community or organization, forums are made up of people with the same interests or purpose. These people collaborate in order to come up with a database of information about the things they all equally like. And just like communities in the real world, these online communities also a huge tendency to increase in the number of members simply because as members of the community, they are committed to do their best to share and promote the group they have built.
My Thought Processes 
I’m also a “forum-er!” I really like it when other people respond to my comments and suggestions. It feels good to collaborate with other people and create a pool of knowledge over the internet. 🙂
I must also agree that “the people in forums (especially the fanatics) are good and oftentimes credible sources of information.” We can also create a good reputation by contributing quality information with other people through these online communities. 🙂
True. I know the feeling of being able to contribute in forums. 😀 And honestly, I find it very fulfilling. As if I am useful. Hehe..
To answer your question, no, I am not one of you guys yet! 😦 haha. Well I haven’t joined any community or forum yet but sometimes when I search some stuff, these forums appear on the results. Forums enable people to collaborate online and it is really a helpful tool for people who are searching for other people with the same interests. But it would be much nicer if you get to meet your online friends in the real world, right? Imagine the bonding sessions you will have talking about the stuff you all like. It is fun making friends online but the feeling is better when you get to see and connect with them in person. Have you seen one of your online friends? 😛
I’m a newbie as a member of a forum but as far as I know, active members actually meet once in a while. I think they organize events and PinoyExchange actually helps their members in these events offline. 😀
I WAS one of you Rhea!When I started actively using the internet, I became hooked in forums and my favorite was candymag.com’s online threads. I would spend all my time online reading posts that interest me. Sometimes, I also go to showbiz forums to know the latest scoops about local celebrities. I can’t exactly pinpoint what made me stop going to forums and posting replies and queries in the threads. But I’m guessing New Social Media platforms are the culprit!
There’s something about sharing one’s thoughts in forums. But I think, it really is easier to share content if we directly connect it to our own accounts in Social Network Sites.
I’m active when it comes to forums. One piece of advice though, you could perhaps try to find forums that have focus. I had experiences with forums for SNS and the interests of the community in there are so numerous and varied that it is hard to keep a thread up in discussion. Within minutes your thread would just wind up buried with the numerous incoming threads. Try to find forums that cater to a specific community’s interests. ^_^
I’m not active much in forums but yes, I agree. Most of the time, it’s hard to keep track with the thread I am following because of the heavy traffic caused by all those incoming new threads.
Pinoy Exchange is one of the Forum sites where I promoted our viral vid. 🙂 The categories made it easy for me to distinguish on where I could promote the video because of the communities in it. It’s easy to create threads and this is a place where you can really be heard. Issues are thoroughly shared by the members. 🙂