Not only is the change on a world scale, the Net is having local effects as well. Local social communities are being redefined more and more by the global online community. This is happening in New York City. The topic of community is one of the themes which Sally Banes explores in her book, Greenwich Village 1963. Banes' study of this bohemian community at the beginning of the 1960s presents an interesting model with which to compare today's growing online community in the Big Apple.
Bender proposes that it is important to examine the technological structure behind a community.
The technological structure upon which today's online communities exist is that of the Internet. The Internet is the interconnection of smaller networks. As such, the Internet provides the glue which connects other networks together. Banes' initial definition of community translates into saying people living in New York City are part of the community of New York City. As everyone knows, New York City is a large place.