mySociety once tried GroupsNearYou: http://www.mysociety.org/projects/groupsnearyou/
It was a good idea before its time perhaps. It meets a need that we see unfulfilled but didn't have the organisational context to further it along. We have that context ... (I hope. :-)) ... at least to test out something regionally with intensity and some funding to bolster involvement (volunteer and some paid). (Note - we have the domain BeNeighbours.org too ...) Please help pass this along ... I've outlined my current thinking about a new outreach campaign website dedicated to helping people find and then join local neighborhood, block-level, etc. online groups *across* many hosts. http://pages.e-democracy.org/BeNeighbors_specification In short: 1. See local map 2. Click on icon for a local online group in your neighborhood, get info 3. To join follow link off to the group itself where it is hosted I am interested in hearing from developers about the tools they'd use to build such a thing. I am interested in how to leverage and contribute back to an open source content management system with this work. I'd rather leverage something with legs and compromise on features than start from scratch. Drop me a line with feedback here on this group or directly: http://e-democracy.org/contact * Why does this matter? Millions of people are being left out of the neighbor connecting revolution online. Most people find out about such opportunities via word of mouth (yes, powerfully important). An open and comprehensive directory that is also reliably found via Google searches can help connect millions more. * Why now? With E-Democracy.org's Inclusive Community Engagement Online funding from the Knight Foundation we have a window of opportunity to test the concept in the Twin Cities (especially in St. Paul down to the block level) to see if it works and to refine it before spreading the outreach campaign to other communities. If it works really well, then of course there will be an opportunity for "local everywhere" expansion IF directory data can be cost-effectively sourced and maintained. * If you are interested in this concept, where to land based on your skills/interests 1. Neighborly Open Source - http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/neighborly - For open source coders interested in neighbor connecting - MAIN group for exchange on the technical input for this effort 2. Locals Online - http://e-democracy.org/locals - If you host local online groups/sites and want to connect with hundreds of your peers (non-technical) 3. LocalLabs - http://e-democracy.org/labs - Hundreds of locally interest geeks for technical exchange on anything local communities and tech 4. E-Democracy Project Volunteer Group - http://e-democracy.org/projects - Landing place for anyone interested in volunteering with any E-Democracy project with various skills (not just technical) 5. More Online Communities of Practice - http://e-democracy.org/practice (like CityCamp Exchange, Digital Inclusion Network, and more) Steven Clift - http://stevenclift.com Executive Director - http://E-Democracy.org Twitter: http://twitter.com/democracy Tel/Text: +1.612.234.7072 _______________________________________________ developers-public mailing list [email protected] https://secure.mysociety.org/admin/lists/mailman/listinfo/developers-public Unsubscribe: https://secure.mysociety.org/admin/lists/mailman/options/developers-public/archive%40mail-archive.com
