Results of Survey: Blogging and Community

I want to thank all those who participated in the survey, and y’all are an interesting group of people out there.

If you'd like to see the actual results, they have been published here http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dfcj9dbr_107dm8rpn and the calculations have been published here: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p_IaL8VWNj1yIywNvMMwWBg.

1. In one sentence, what is your definition of community?

The overwhelming majority agreed that community meant values and purpose. In included this question because if I ever come back to this survey, I will understand the claims of the arguments.

Clips

• A community is a group that shares one or more common interests that benefit many or all members thereby ensuring the survival of the group.
• Community is a coming together of individuals, and the governmental, corporate, and civic sectors of society for the common good of enriching, protecting, and inspiring prosperity and well-being among all people.
• Like-minded people with a vision of how things should be, and who have the tools to make their vision a reality.
• A community is a place where people of like political orientation (but sometimes from diverse backgrounds) get together to share ideas and to participate in community building activities.

2. Using my definition of community, I belong to at least one community.

Seventy-percent of the participants belonged to at least one community. An interesting comment that was e-mailed to me privately and the person is willing to share: "Maybe it is just me being a 'brit' but I couldn't answer most of the questions on your survey
a - one of the first questions ask about belonging to more than one community and since I do consider that I belong to more than one (equally), then the rest of the questions applied to 'belonging to more than one community', Also, there isn't a tag for Neither (which is distinctively different from Not Sure), which I rarely tick on a survey."

Am I beginning to show a cultural bias after so many years of being in America and academia? Hmmm

3. What is the name to your community? If it doesn't have a name, what should it be?

I loved these responses. I know pollsters aren't supposed to show bias, but it showed me the varied readership of the blog.

Clips

• The Graduate-Students-Who-Are-Broke Community
• I belong to myriad communities, so I have to say this question stumps me. How do I choose the
• Stadler Center for Poetry Stonecoast Literary Program Cave Canem etc.
  One community is academia
• Retirees from Miami-Dade Cobblestone Oaks Tai chi class Toastmasters
  South Florida writers and teachers of fiction and poetry.
• The Place Where all Belong and Prosper
• I belong to many communities. Work related communities where colleagues come together for common causes. Faith based communities, fun based communities, social communities, etc.
• Women/Working-Class/Caribbean/Writers/Dissenters/Spiritual Journeymen and Women.
• Literature, Orisha. Not sure
• New Warriors

4. Everyone should belong to a community.

I included this question because one of the assumptions is that everyone should belong to a community and being in a community is a good thing. Forty-six percent of the participants strongly agreed and twenty-nine percent agreed.

5. A community should have goals.

Maybe it's the nature of those who have participated (I strongly believe it is), but forty-six percent strongly agreed and thirty-three percent agreed. I am making certain assumptions here, but this group is literate, with access to technology, and probably...Myers-Briggs anyone? Therefore, I wouldn't expect these results from other demographics.

6. The community of which I am a member has specific goals.

Thirty-eight percent strongly agreed and thirty-three percent agreed. Based on the results of the previous question, I am not surprised.

7. What are the goals of your community? List one.

Clips

• The preservation of values and the continuation and nurturing of family.
• Communities de facto have goals, whether these are accidental or otherwise. Otherwise they can't be realted. My family is one community. Its # 1 goal is to secure the well-being of its members. Mt online-writing group is another comunity.
• Its goal is to keep its 6 members productive. The Writers Organizations to which I belong are communites; they also exist to secure their member's well-being and to keep writing in the community vibrant and, as much as possible, lucrative. I could go on...
• They vary but the formal communities to which I belong stress literacy & diversity.
• Developing knowledgable, thinking, ethical people

8. Using my definition of community, blogging creates community.

Thirty-three percent strongly agreed and forty six percent agreed. What kind of community is does the Geoffrey Philp's Blog Spot create? I hope its one based on the mission, which is to create a space for anyone interested in writing from the Caribbean and South Florida.

This has also made me think about the role of blogging and a recent post by Stephen Bess (The African Spirit: Ring Shouting @Tuesday, February 06, 2007). I am thinking of the relationship of a writer and his/ her community. I can feel a post coming on.

9. I was born in this region.

Fifty percent were born in the Caribbean and forty-six percent were born in North America. I always have to include this question because those belonging to the "Creative Class" (I'm making certain assumptions here) are a highly mobile group for whom cyberspace has become one of their addresses.

10. I now reside in this region.

Ninety-six percent live in North America. What happened to all the Caribbean folk from question nine? Miami?

11. Gender.

An equal amount of female and male participants. This has me thinking, especially about Professor Zero’s blog and the question of “matriarchal” and “patriarchal voice.” What is the voice of this blog? Are there such things as “matriarchal” and “patriarchal” blogs? What do those terms mean? What are the values associated with “matriarchal” and “patriarchal” blogs? What kinds of comments do “matriarchal” and “patriarchal” blogs invite and by their very nature exclude?


12. To which category do you belong? Check all that apply.

Most of the participants are blogger/readers, which is also seen in the comments, and "link love" that we share. We all belong to many communities, but a common bond would be a love for books.

Again, thank you for participating. This was lots of fun.

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Tags: Blogging blog internet community poll Miami We Media