Although many may try and compare this article to facebook and other social networking sites of today (as I myself did at first), the subject matter involving the Whole Earth Catalog and its transformation into WELL was derived from a much deeper understanding of the false sense of community that people were turning into. Not to say that WELL didn't evolve and turn itself into something it didn't know it was capable of in the first place, but the intentions were to provide a space where the individual could 'conduct his own education, find his own inspiration, shape his own environment, and share his adventure with whoever is interested.' The idea for this community didn't begin with the same intentions as Facebook or Twitter. It worked to provide knowledge and erase ignorance, without the pressure and judgments of any person higher or lower on the chain. Facebook allows users a 'freedom' of a certain globally shared domain that everyone we know and don't know is apart of. This 'freedom' allows us to work within the confines of a domain that encourages us to make more friends and stimulate social interaction while they simultaneously sell out our personal domains. Although I am not against facebook, it isn't something that has helped me gain knowledge, share opinions or feel comfortable within the equal confines of a community.
WELL seems to provide users with a stable space that promotes not self-promotion but self-improvement. This article referenced 1960's music festivals featuring iconic bands such as the Dead. While even the article seems to portray the band and their general following as hippies through certain quotes, the sense of community and following connected both the fans and the band members in an equal bond. Music festivals today seem to provide the same sense of community- no matter who you were before, everyone is in an equal space without any type of heirarchy or pressure, liberating its participants from the outside world. The band Phish does a good job in my eyes creating this equal space where a massive community has evolved, not only through festivals but through the internet. People are connected in a non threatening way where they not only converse about Phish but about topics that stimulate personal knowlege and growth. The article compared modern day WELL to a 'village' in which people could partake in both business and pleasure. This isn't the Whole Earth Catalog selling itself out to keep up, its simply providing an alternative way of looking at the way we go about life. Do we want to trod along and follow the dominant ideology- well in a way most of us do, yes. Should we look deeper into subjects that are outside of our realm of comfort? I think so.