Virtual Communities

Geographical?

Submitted by mantruc on November 5, 2001 - 11:44.

"How do I build a virtual community based around a specific geographic area?" is indeed a tough question. All the communities i've known, electronic or not, are based on a specific subject of interest that can serve to glue people together around them.

The closest to a geographically based community i can think of would be the street where i grew up in: there were several kids of roughly the same age in the same block. We used to hang around and do all kinds of things toghether - our most important bond was physical proximity - friendship and common interests developed through time, but we first met because we lived close to each other, and i don't think it would have worked out by electronic mediums.

i believe the power of 'vitrual communities' is to transcend geographical barriers, the only way i could figure out a virtual community based on location would be information about a place in a specific subject: camping sites, political activities, sports, hobbies, etc.

i have learned though, that people who live far away from their birth towns use the internet to look out for news and images of their hometowns.

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The 'How' depends on the 'Why'

Submitted by spinhead on November 5, 2001 - 13:35.

Some community feeling is based on geography. Folks in my home town (San Diego, CA, USA) feel a certain bond with other San Diegans when we meet online, but we meet online for non-geographic reasons. If your purpose is to create a community based on the SD Zoo, US/Mexico border issues, the Symphony's struggles; something that strikes a chord with many folks living in this geographic area, you'll probably get a good response. Sites like SignOnSanDiego are obviously geographic in nature, because they provide information that's primarily useful to someone physically located in the San Diego area. Create a community based on something that itself is inherently geographic, and the community will align itself with the purpose.

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Remember the days?

Submitted by atdt1991 on November 6, 2001 - 09:53.

I was part of a very firm geographically based community, extremely tightly-knit. Our original methods and reasons have long-since disappeared, but we continue to keep in touch.

The local BBS (Bulletin Board System) community in the Detroit area was extremely active, having thrown many gatherings in the days before active Internet usage made BBS's obsolete. The main factor keeping our communities to a particular geographic area was, of course, price. Local equals nearly free, long distance equals a large phone bill. Similarly, Public Colleges are much less expensive for those in-state as out-of-state so you often find a community that, while plenty muddied with interstate and international students, still has a large degree of consistency.

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additional communities

Submitted by atdt1991 on November 6, 2001 - 09:55.

Also, there are many various communites that exist through the Livejournal website, including many based on location, or location and interest.

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Location-based communities

Submitted by fraying on November 6, 2001 - 16:15.

Location-based virtual communities are not only possible, but they're happening all over already! I started San Francisco Stories three years ago, which has drawn together a community of SF-based storytellers. The site also inspired other people in other cities to start their own city-based storytelling sites, which has given rise to the City Stories Project, which is devoted to fostering this kind of storytelling and community.

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community website <> proximity portal

Submitted by alliax on November 28, 2001 - 04:26.

Hello, thanks for doing this project, I am impatient to read the results in february 2002. There is an issue about community, it's that if people don't work for building it, they'll just use it, probably degrade it. The more people are making efforts to create the community, the more they will respect the community and become regulators for new comers. Building a community website with all facilities for local people to communicate, won't give them any work to do, they'll just have to use it. And most of them won't consider it as a nice thing, just as something that felt upon them from the sky, with no effort from their part, so they feel entitled to just ignore it or abuse it. I have no solution about this, just wanted to stress that issue. I have set up in may 1999 a single web page about my hometown when I was away from my country, I was interested in seeing how the site would evolve with the participation of future members and the synergie emerging from this situation, how naive was I.. :-) http://www.toulonparadise.com has been more of a technical playground for me, so it is what it is mainly due to my free time and own interest in my work, no external help, even when I requested it specifically, for things as simple as determining which titles for forums people would want to write into, I have had virtually NO answer, like if NOBODY cares anyway.. very encouraging :-) Thanks for working on that topic.

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