The following charts are made with Google Docs and build using published poll data from Harris Interactive. The Harris Poll was conducted by telephone within the US July 7-12 and October 13-18, 2009 among 2,029 adults (ages 18+). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region, number of adults in the household, number of phone lines in the household were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.

“In Rainbows” by oljmpya

Communities and networks have existed before Web 2.0 and Social Media. People have always connected and collaborated, by sharing ideas, concepts, points of view. The historic context of communities remains visible, it is the reason why a lot of Web 2.0 services and social networks use names borrowed from real-life precursors — Facebook, for example. Students have been connected before, by virtue of their alumni status. A facebook documents one’s participation in a group. Metaphorically, it’s a hub that unites and keep the members connected after they graduate. Web 2.0 reinvents this interconnectedness of community members. Facebook, for example, allows them to connect easy and effectively across geographical barriers, 24/7/365. Web 2.0 and Social Media lowers physical and social barriers to maintaining a connection with people, to sharing of interests, ideas, information. But it is important to remember that a community has existed before as a real-world entity.