Connecting over a passion

Although I was born during the era of bloggers and video-bloggers I have yet to find myself actually becoming part of this culture. That being said I do spend a good amount of time on a web forum directed towards the free-ski community of today. I suppose one could argue that forums are just another version of blogging, but I find myself more often than not just lurking (being a quiet observer) and seeking new information. The forum site is: www.newschoolers.com

I think this fits in with our class discussions of convergence and the connectivity of today's world because it creates an community in which any one and everyone around the world who enjoys a similar passion can come to discuss ideas, share media, and help others out who are just getting started. I feel that the connectivity that newschoolers creates is easily found on thousands of other sites but I chose to point this specific site out to exemplify how one hobby can be a bases on which hundreds of thousands of people can connect.

I thought this site was also very important, because in today's free-skiing world it acts as a trailblazer for the sport. What I mean by this is that the members of the forum are truly guiding the sport in the direction they want it to go by putting their input and feedback into the site. Not only are the members just regular people who like to ski but there are also pro and am skiers, along with company leaders and filmmakers. This creates a world in which the head people in the sport can listen and interact with the members that make up this worldly community.