Do you partake in any message boards? If not, you should check them out. Most message boards are focussed on a particular niche and are an excellent way to learn the ins and outs of something and contribute in a community of like-minded folk. The biggest problem with message boards however, is that they suck you in and you can spend many hours in dialogue with people all around the world. Well, I suppose that could be a good thing. However, it does limit the number of boards you can really be a part of.
At the moment I’m active on 2 message boards. ManxForums is a local board focusing on news, trivia and all sorts of things. But the local slant is great; I tend to learn things on the board before they come out in the news, I can get personal recommendations about tradesmen on the island and it’s pretty useful for local knowledge. I’m also active on the PayPerPost board which is more of a web-development, SEO, making moeny online; sort of thing. The interesting thing about both boards is the sense of community that develops from a group of people interacting together and you can see the social effect and people’s behaviour and patterns coming out in their posts.
So, get off your chair and join a board today. There’s boards about anything you want, so if you want a Dance Music or Poker Forum or even a World of Warcraft forum, you can be sure to find out out there.