Online Communities Story
"A professional society provides a forum for advances to be related, and for people to learn about them."-Benjamin Richard Teare, Jr.
When IEEE was founded, its members could easily get together for face-to-face, real time communication due to their location. But, as the membership of the Institute grew, efforts had to be made to increase the participation of those living in other parts of the country.
Additionally, as the scope of electrical engineering expanded, engineers became more specialized and sought to exchange information with others in the same specialties. It was this need to interact that lead to the formation of the first Technical Committee in 1903.
Today, with the continuing growth in membership throughout the world, we must find new ways to provide that same level interaction regardless of location. Additionally, the IEEE recognizes other organizational and individual member needs such as:
- Ability for IEEE Members, Governance, Committees, and Staff to collaborate, synchronously or asynchronously, outside of live meetings and teleconferences
- Retain IEEE "corporate memory"
- Increase volunteerism and by making it easier for individuals to participate
- Accelerate the sharing and delivery of domain-specific knowledge for IEEE Members and Customers which can be utilized to accomplish their work-related tasks
Through the means of new technology, we can now bridge geographical boundaries and provide additional opportunities for IEEE Members, Volunteers, Staff, and Governance to communicate and collaborate through use of Online Communities.
An Online Community consists of a group of individuals that have a shared purpose or common interests that utilize online communication and collaboration tools to facilitate the accomplishment of their goals or to fill voids that may currently exist by relying solely on in-person or real-time interactions. Online Community Members are engaged in value-creating relationships with "anytime/anywhere" access to shared knowledge. Through the use of tools in the software platform, community members interact socially, which facilitates a sense of togetherness.
Some benefits of Online Communities are:
- Online collaboration and continued communication outside of in-person meetings and teleconferences.
- Networking opportunities
- Discussions on the latest technologies, vital issues, and IEEE activities
- Just-in time education for application on the job
- Access to technical experts and peers for question asking, advice, and problem-solving
- Peer review of work
At IEEE, the goal of online collaboration is to call forth the best that members have to offer one another and minimize all of the obstacles that we can in order for this exchange to occur.
IEEE delivers tools and methods for online collaboration so that each community can quickly focus on vital issues or projects at hand, operate in a cost-effective manner, enhance continuity of effort, clarify and gain consensus through dialogue, create synergistic interdependence with other IEEE constituencies and create valuable resources.
