A virtual community is a social network of individuals who interact through specific media, potentially crossing geographical and political boundaries in order to pursue mutual interests or goals. One of the most pervasive types of virtual community include social networking services, which consist of various online communities [Wikipedia].

Here’s a list of the various social networking sites where you can find BDPA Chicago members online. Want to get connected? Come join us!

BDPA Chicago on Facebook

Moderator: Milt Haynes

http://www.facebook.com/pages/BDPA-Chicago/103364180985

Facebook is a social networking website that is operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc.^[1] Since September 2006, anyone over the age of 13 with a valid e-mail address (and not residing in one of the countries where it is banned) can become a Facebook user. Users can add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves. Additionally, users can join networks organized by city, workplace, and school or college. The website's name stems from the colloquial name of books given at the start of the academic year by university administrations in the US with the intention of helping students to get to know each other better [Wikipedia].

There are more than More than 400 million active users and More than 3 million active Pages on Facebook.  

BDPA Chicago on LinkedIn

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?homeNewMember=&gid=2824570

Moderator: Anthony Woods

LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking site. Founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003, it is mainly used for professional networking. As of 11 February 2010 (2010 -02-11)^[update], LinkedIn had more than 60 million registered users, spanning more than 200 countries and territories worldwide [Wikipedia].

BDPA Chicago on Yahoogroups

Yahoo! Groups is one of the world’s largest collections of online discussion boards. The term Groups refers to an Internet communication tool which is a hybrid between an electronic mailing list and a threaded Internet forum. Group messages can be posted and read by e-mail or on the Group homepage, like a web forum. Members can choose whether to receive individual, daily digest or Special Delivery e-mails, or they can choose to read Group posts on the Group’s web site. Groups can be created with public or member-only access. Some Groups are simply announcement bulletin boards, to which only the Group moderators can post, while others are discussion forums. The variations of Yahoo Groups are virtually endless [Wikipedia].

BDPA Chicago Yahoogroup

Moderator: AW Bolden

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/BDPA-Chicago/

Founded January 31, 2000, the purpose of this list is to provide supporters members of BDPA in the greater Chicago region with a means to communicate with one another. You can post meeting announcements, special events, important industry news, contact information and so forth. You can also ask questions to other BDPAers about information technology issues.

BDPA Chicago Jobs Yahoogroup

Moderator: Milt Haynes

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/BDPA-Chicago-Jobs/

Founded November 28, 2001, this is an OPEN group where anyone may post Information Technology Job opportunities or contracts and anyone (particularly BDPA members) may retrieve and apply for employment. The job postings are expected to attract candidates in the metropolitan Chicago area. Anyone may also post their resume in the files area or as an attachment in a message announcing their availability.