How online communities acted as an antidote to Covid crises in recent times

The notion of community has been at the heart of the Internet since its inception

- Arthur Armstrong and John Hagel III, Harvard Business Review

The online world has always had tremendous community-building capabilities. The vast web of social media networks, the tremendous reach of online businesses are only a few of its consequences to name. It is impossible to imagine what the Covid crisis would have looked like in the absence of these communities which kept cohesion and interaction afloat. As we soldier on to a post-pandemic future, it might be worthwhile to assess the true value of these communities on the internet, for our professional and social advancement.

The internet had fundamentally transformed the world of business decades ago, by weaving a web to provide consumers the platform to interact with businesses. Commercial networks soon proliferated into social blankets of their own with consumers building fraternities and informal collectives of their own. This led to businesses fostering a deeper and complex equation with their base of customers. From the buying and selling of goods and services to the communion of people with similar tastes and interests, communication on the internet enabled the meeting of several needs. This has compounded in the present scenario, with challenges linked to the pandemic and the emergence of new and specific needs, alongside the unprecedented expansion of online business.

The UNCTAD noted that the 2017 value of global e-commerce was estimated at $23.8 trillion, based on a revised methodology. The value of global B2B e-commerce in 2018 was $21 trillion, representing 83 per cent of all e-commerce, comprising both sales on online market platforms and electronic data interchange transactions. More recently, IBIS World estimates that the percentage of business conducted online increased 27.9 per cent in 2020 alone, reaching 30.8 per cent of business activity. These are prodigious numbers which tell us that online communities are worth a lot economically and deserve all the attention when it comes to public discourse and collective rational consideration. Furthermore, innovative online networks have impacted real communities as well. For example, The YAFE app in Nigeria used artificial intelligence to educate users about dangerous speech, provide a reporting mechanism, and create a digital community of practice to build capacity among local leaders, and by extension, their communities.

It is safe to claim that digital spaces have acted as an antidote to crises in recent times. In the deadliest of times encountered during the pandemic, transactions and conversations never stopped thanks to the electronic medium. Essentials were purchased under lockdowns, new products were launched and received, telemedicine was administered and conversations which cut across divides occurred. All of this happened due to the vibrancy, buoyancy and resilience of online ecosystems which kept fuelling our social and intellectual pursuits while ensuring robust economic gains and satisfaction of needs.

Sales and impact creation can know no bounds after what technology has accomplished in the co-Covid world. The unbroken flow of human activity flourished thanks to the digital medium in new and previously unimaginable ways. The Work-from-Home regime was a blessing for commercial and professional activities, while the internet kept our interpersonal and social bonds alive in tandem with business. Global searches for "online gift" increased by 80 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019, as per Google's statistics, which exemplifies how online communities have had both economic and social efficacy, to the benefit of our unities. Several shows premiered during the lockdowns and were runaway hits, generating huge amounts of revenue. At the same time, the flow and verification of information as well as discourse on the handling of the viral spread alongside conversations about pretty much everything were facilitated.

To ensure that the fluidity and bounce back ability of these communities continues well into the future, we must be committed to a freer internet and greater protection of the rights of people using it. The regulation and monitoring of internet access by governments and corporations alike has to be ethically examined to protect freedoms of actors on the world wide web and for transactional and relational needs to be satisfied. At the same time, it is necessary to consolidate cybersecurity to protect consumer and business privacy, security and integrity. This balancing act would need progressive legislation as well as raising awareness on cyber issues in general. For businesses, it is time to build mechanisms to further their digital investments, while for people, it is time to become better-equipped to handle the empowering digital behemoth.

On the whole, it can be safely concluded that communion through the internet has wide-ranging possibilities for the impact we create, the benefits we reap as well as the people we become in this world. A spectacular future is ours to carve and clinch in the same regard, with the communitarian potential of the internet propelling our personal, professional and social journeys to glorious destinations.

(The author is Founder Upsurge Global and President SAHE (Society for Advancement of Human Endeavour)