It’s fast, it’s free, and it’s as easy as checking your e-mail. Internet communities and blog sites have become a popular medium for networking with college students.

“I think [blogging] works better as a supplement,” said Kurt Bartnik, a sophomore pre-computer science major. “They’ll never replace face-to-face communication. Blogs are kind of one way, but an online community is better for meeting other students.”

Free online encyclopedia service www.wikipedia.org defines a weblog, Web log or blog as a Web application that contains periodic posts on a common Web page. People use them as either a journal or a forum to post regularly about anything they want.

“I use Livejournal to stay in contact with people I don’t see very often,” said Eric Vicencio, a junior health administration major. “I’ve even found people I went to high school with who have online blogs.”

Blogs are a popular way for students to socialize about different subjects, but online communities provide easy access to individual members. Often, potential students can contact current students at colleges before attending them.

Popular blog communities such as Livejournal, Xanga and Blogger offer both free and paid accounts. All a person needs to sign up for a free account is a valid e-mail address.

Blogrings, also called webrings, are blogging communities to which multiple members can post about a common subject.

At Livejournal.com, there is a community specifically for NIU students. The site allows users to search their mainframe based on interest, region, username, e-mail address or even which instant messaging program a person may use. A search for the term “NIU” revealed 17 communities and 199 individual users who cited NIU in their profile.

Online communities differ from blogrings because they do not contain regular posts but allow users to create a personal profile and then list other users as friends. Online databases such as these also allow members to seek friendships, activity partnerships, dating or relationships.

Through networking communities like OkCupid, Friendster and TheFacebook, members can create extensive friend networks and meet new people with the click of a button.