Post 7 – Community. Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011? (Author: Cali Harris)

As someone in the Communications and PR field, I joined Twitter in June of 2009 mostly because I wanted to keep up with various trends in social media. I had resisted Twitter for a long time, mostly because I didn’t see the benefit or how it was different than Facebook, which I already was a heavy user of.  It was probably not until January of this year until I got Twitter. Once it clicked, that was it for me.  I was hooked.

The most amazing–or surprising–component to the Twitter community was not just engaging with people on a specific topic or with similar interests, but what that engagement can actually lead to. For instance, in my current location and hometown of Buffalo, New York, those living or interested in Buffalo that are on Twitter engage in a dialogue that absolutely can (and does) impact the city. For instance, those Buffalonians on Twitter will engage in a dialogue about local happenings, events, new businesses cropping up, economic development plans in the works, local and state politics, etc. I have met many people that are now considered friends, acquaintances and business connections.

Meeting people and engaging with them online doesn’t have the stigma it once did when the internet first became mainstream. But what an incredible jolt of energy it has been to discover a different, yet familiar, form of engagement can be as powerful and defining as those engagements with family, your neighbors and your colleagues–or in other words, those you see every day.