One response is to look for beauty in its other and more everyday forms—the beauty of settled streets and cheerful faces, of natural objects and genial landscapes. It is possible to throw dirt on these things, too, and it is the mark of a second-rate artist to take such a path to our attention—the via negativa of desecration. But it is also possible to return to ordinary things in the spirit of Wallace Stevens and Samuel Barber—to show that we are at home with them and that they magnify and vindicate our life. Such is the overgrown path that the early modernists once cleared for us—the via positiva of beauty. There is no reason yet to think that we must abandon it.

If you’re looking to establish your online presence, and build relationships, it’s not the kind of project where you show up, build your profiles, friend a few people, and call it good. It’s a lot like tending the farm.

Digital communities, whether structurally defined networks or simply niche specific and loosely connected, are no different than physical communities, they foster those same discussions, rituals and memes between members about the community itself.  These discussions come up so frequently because a truism of human nature is we want something to talk about, and our minds gravitate to those subjects we know will register with others and generate conversation.  Talking about the place we currently are is an easy conversation-starter, and people take the path of least resistance with social connections because they are easy and low-risk.

Great post about online community!