Global ConnectionsThe cyberculture of the World Wide Web has created virtual communities through bulletin boards. These message boards give anyone the ability to instantly post their thoughts and advice on a particular topic to a mass audience. This ability to connect with strangers around the world, as well as the ability to publish to a mass market without the support of a major publishing house, were once impossible. The introductory material for the Future of Print Culture series at Benoit College in February 1997 stated: “Before the advent of the Internet, writers who were not published by major editing companies had little hope of reaching a mass audience. Now thousands of readers can be reached at the touch of a button.” Today, the World Wide Web offers anyone with access to the Web the ability to publish their words and communicate with strangers instantly, as well as globally. New types of international communities are created by this new type of communication. These virtual communities are built around groups of people who probably didn't know each other before meeting online. They are often organized around specific interests or affinities; for example car enthusiasts, adventure seekers, sports enthusiasts, teachers, etc. They are usually inhabited by people who don't live close enough to meet regularly face to face. (Rheingold, Mobil Virtual Community)Cyberculture technology has not only created a new type of community but has had an interesting effect on the way people communicate. In his essay The Virtual Driving Forces in the Virtual Society, Magid Igbaria states that: “Electronic interactions in which people do not know each other create new types of communication p…… in the middle of paper…… The future of print culture, 14 -15 February 1997: On-Line. Internet: June 16, 2003. Available WWW: http://www.beloit.edu/~confer/print.htmlIgbaria, Magid. “Virtual Driving Forces in Virtual Society.” Communications of the ACM, December 1999, vol. 42, no. 12.Murali, J. “Weblog: Instant Publishing.” March 29, 2001: The Hindu On-Line. Internet. June 16, 2003. Available WWW: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2001/03/29/stories/082 90001.htmRheingold, Howard. The virtual community, electronic version. Internet. June 16, 2003. Available WWW: http://www.rheingold.com/vc/book/1.html. Chapter 1Sosonoski, James. "Hyper-readers and their reading engines." Tribble and Trubek. 400-409Tribble, Evelyn B. and Anne Trubek, eds. Writing material: readings from Plato to the digital age. New York: Longmann, 2003.