In this video by Lisa Gansky, author of The Mesh, talks about the intergration of business in the online community and the transformation business is going through to communicate/connect/mesh with the public.
Clay Shirky NYU professor, expert on social media, discusses the benefits of social media engagement through: online communities, blogs, networks, and groups etc. He encourages people to participate in online interactions and communities in the sense that people who share common interests can interact online to form new ideas to better their specific interest and culture.
I found this article by Mary Chayko to be most interesting in which she discusses how people create social media communities and bonds based on commonly shared pleasures and interests. She focuses on the "sociomental connections" we form with others.