"Questions you may have to ask yourself in the near future, as online content fades and is replaced by communities."

What would happen if web content suddenly didn't account for anything? If you couldn't trust an online source for news? What if online articles, videos, and networks all suddenly became obsolete?

The truth is that these are questions you may have to ask yourself in the near future, as online content fades and is replaced by communities.

Online communities are becoming prominent resources in the news today; with CNN featuring YouTube community videos, websites like Digg.com being featured in printed news articles, and other websites like NewsVine.com being picked up by major news corporations, online communities are rapidly becoming acceptable for accurate news and information.

But enough to replace regular online content?

Yes. Why? Because your safest bet is in numbers. When one person blogs about something that could be considered important news - even if it's only about how their neighbors dog got run over by a car - it will not be considered "accurate" or "important" until an entire community gets involved, determining whether or not the story is important and/or breaking news.

So what does this mean for you, the average internet user? It means that you can stop relying on a single person's view (or that of an evil corporation running advertisements instead of news on the television) and look deeper into online communities for reliable news and information.

And what about webmasters, bloggers, or computer savvy nerds? The time is now to join in online communities and social networks. Eventually online communities will ultimately decide what needs to be seen by the world, and what doesn't. If you're not in the loop when that time comes, the important things you have to say may be overlooked.

Ok, ok, it's a wild jump; but one that we can already see the beginnings of, through YouTube, Google Video, NewsVine, Digg, and other community websites that are rapidly overtaking the mainstream and becoming the new norm.

It's better to start considering the future of online news and content right now, so that you can be prepared in the future.