Susan says

When the World Wide Web first entered the homes of computer-users in the early 1990s, alarmists warned that the interpersonal networks that shape and support society would dissolve. As the buzz and snap of analog modems filled the air, they feared, computer users would turn their backs away from families, communities and social interactions to face computer screens instead.

Two phenomena developed as soon as the medium went mainstream that proved critics wrong. First of all, virtual communities mirroring their “real” counterparts thrived as groups of people with common interests (but not necessarily common locations) used email, forums and chat to find each other and develop real connections that occasionally extended offline. Thus a “new” kind of community emerged that enriched, rather than replaced, already-existing groupings.

Secondly, everyone from “Mom and Pop” store owners to venture capitalists seized on the Internet as a tool for enhancing their off-line ventures. Retailers built online shops to support “brick and mortar” stores. Film marketers created online buzz to fill offline movie theaters.  Furthermore, families, schoolmates and already-established networks of friends used the Internet to enhance offline connections. On- and offline thus work hand-in-hand.

Thanks to advanced connection speeds and standardized online communication, the line between life on- and offline has become even blurrier. Professionals the world over are already accustomed to meetings, gatherings and other group activities that occur in “virtual” and “real” spaces—sometimes at the same time. XING’s weekly meetings, for example, involve real-time video feeds from our offices in other time zones. 

XING has thus arrived at a moment in Internet history when professional relationships are neither “real” nor “virtual,” but a little bit of both, depending on the time of day and the task at hand. XING’s platform provides members with an ideal means to create and nurture professional connections and communities both on- and offline. XING’s Hamburg-based employees, for example, work in the same building, but often use the platform to communicate with one another. Sometimes, busy days simply don’t allow face-to-face interaction.

Our group function is a particularly exciting demonstration of the way in which online communities form and add value to offline activities.  We are home to over 7,600 groups that cover a dizzying array of topics and themes—banking and architecture to sailing and golf. Groups include both online inventions designed to gather individual XING members around a similar theme. Industry-themed groups, for example “Telecommunication Business”, serve this purpose. Groups also include “virtual” representations of “real” world institutions and businesses. Alumni groups, for example, bring together graduates of the same university program, many of whom have already met in person. Networking groups similarly serve as enhancements of offline interactions. The members of Global Business Women, for example, set up events in cities throughout Europe that gracefully bridge the on- and offline worlds.

Forums and newsletters allow group members to forge common ties that can and do lead to one-on-one business deals, job hires and even friendship. The fact that most members accompany their profiles with photographs make online connections mirror offline interactions more closely. Our groups—as well as our platform—reveal just how close on- and offline worlds can grow and benefit members of a community.