After careful thought, I believe Rave.ca is a social network and not a community. It was by playing with the ideas of cultural capital and social capital that I arrived at this conclusion.
I was contemplating the degree of institutionalization of social relations on Rave.ca and realized that there is virtually none.
Social networks are always hierarchically organized; some individuals have more social capital and cultural capital than others. In the context of Rave.ca, a "highly ranked" member could easily influence his/her social network to change their orientation in respect to underground electronic music. That is, mobilization is more individual than collective, activity on Rave.ca is organized by individuals not unchanging institutions.
Not that we don't imagine a community, regardless of how hollow these musings may be, they do orient our subjective intentions. But there is no external community, only endless networks of social relations, constantly transforming the cultural landscape of Rave.ca.
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I was never really aware of the differences between social networks and community. It's interesting to see how you apply the criteria to Rave.ca to distinguish its classification...
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure there is that much of a difference after all.
ReplyDeleteI'm constantly reformulating my ideas, but my attempt to distinguish the two has helped me in this process.