The internet can seem like a confusing place; the information available is overwelming and on a daily basis the articles, forums, videos and pictures availabe just grow and grow. Especially when I search the internet I can feel a bit lost and without any sense of belonging. It is in times like these where virtual communities come in handy and serve as some sort of guidelines. After the last class I came to think of small communities online and I went to my facebook to check how many groups I am assigned in – the surprising result is that I am a member of no less than 32 different groups. These range from a group only for the people who grew up in the same town as me, people who all like the same type of music to people who share somewhat the same political stance.
However, when I ran through the communities that I am a member of 5 of them related to being member of CEMS MIM, the double-master program where I am currently enrolled. From an outsider this might seem like just a random education and you would not think twice about. However, a great part of the CEMS idea is that the students enrolled create a sense of belonging and a special bond with other people in the CEMS community. This little community actually does create an identity and creates interrelations with the people in the group. It does provide security in a somewhat confusing environment online. Through our online community we are able to communicate, have online conversations, collaborate on mutual issues and cooperate to improve the CEMS network
The funny thing is that CEMS students come from all around the world and haven’t necessarily met before. The only thing that linkes us together is being a CEMS student and going through the same study program. But hospitality and friendliness are things that characterize the bond between the members and if I was to ever visit another country where I knew other CEMS members lived I would feel completely comfortable contacting them and asking them for advice or any sort of thing. This sense of belonging and being part of the same are quite unique, I believe. This is exactly the benefits of being part of a virtual community.
In terms of marketing strategy I have noticed that numerous adds often appear on the side of our forum. It is often adds that appeal to us as business students almost ready to go out into the real business world. This just shows in how many ways these groups and companies can interact – but of course to gain pass into our little exclusive network the companies have to prove their worth before we let them in…… 
This was all for now, hope you enjoyed by blog..
XX Frederikke
Tags: CEMS, collaboration, communication, community, identity, virtual community
