For my final practicum post, I will wipe the tears away and pay homage to my home away from home this past semester: Black Voices.
My "friends" there have taught me so much about things such as: Regis slapping Nicki Minaj's behind, Kelly Rowland being broke, and why white folks don't kill each other. As I was looking around BV today, I was intrigued by something that I saw on the "Begging Folk To Like You--Why?" board. I went to the board thinking that it was a general discussion, but it was specific to BV. Apparently, there is an underlying social structure on the board in which people care about others' opinions of them in the group. One poster wrote, "Everyone wants to be part of something. Don't you think BV is like a big family? We have alot of mothers, a lot of fellas that act like mothers. We have the bothersum brutha (u know who). The fighting cuzns. And last but not least that one sibling we know should be in a mental institution, yet we still show them love. Like the police chasing them, we hide them."
Let's all say it together: AWWWWWWWW. With that in mind, I tried to determine my place within this family. I think I'd be the awkward third cousin twice removed who you don't really know exists. I guess that's what I get for not posting. I really liked how this person pointed out that they were like a family. It helped me see the boards in a different light. It's not that they discuss groundbreaking material, or are going to change the world with this message board, but they have created a sense of belonging and community online. Everyone has a role to play--whether they battle for everyone's amusement, comment on every board, rant about crazy things, etc...
While I am still unsure about all of the necessities of ethnography, and I can't definitively generalize why African Americans use the internet, I have learned a thing or two. Whether it be to cater advertising and business decisions towards their group in particular, to escape from racism that can often be present on mainstream sites, or to find a sense of family, having a separate space online *is* important. Why? Because they want one. And that's that.
Do you think that you'll ever join an online minority website. I can see why from reading you blogs and from going on the website how people can feel connected with others similar to them. I agree and don't necessarily think that this website in particular is a place where groundbreaking material is going to be discussed, but instead just stories and issues that everyone can relate to and comment on. I think also that people use this website as an outlet to express how they are feeling to people that they know will have similar views on.
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