In July 2005, we need to publicize the HistoricMississippiCommunityNetwork. Please offer ideas about how best to accomplish this. Some things to consider:
We want to contact:
- Network users
- Potential hosts for additional roof nodes
- Potential content providers
- Potential technical contributors
- People interested in learning how to manage the network
Mississippi Street Fair
The Fair is August 13th from 10AM to 7PM (setup begins at 8AM).
We'll need folks to man our table and demonstrate the wifi connection, and hopefully(!) some network services.
Give People what they Want
There seems to be some debate on how to get people involved in MGP Node. One group believes if an online community "meeting place" is made available, people will flock to it (an "if you build it they will come" mentality). The other group responds "wtf...lame?"
I think both are right. Simply building a community portal by saying, "yo! Here is something where you can write!" is naive and doesn't consider what people want ... and well ... wtf? A person can post a flier or call their neighbors if they want to talk or advertise something - there is nothing inherent in such a system that the Internet does better. So why would they turn to the Internet for a forum that a couple of dozen people right next door are reading? They wouldn't. It doesn't make sense.
What the project needs to do to succeed, then, is offer things that people in a neighborhood routinely find themselves wishing they had, solving common local annoyances, building a system that otherwise couldn't be built, etc. We must ask ourselves "what do people WANT that they ARE NOT getting elsewhere?"
Easy access to menus. I am lazy. I am not going to walk to every place in the city. But by god, when I have a hypoglycemic attack, I want somewhere that will deliver straight to my door. Making menus available online would be awesome. AlexisTurner
A list of restaurants within a mile radius. I also like to go out to eat. A lot. Sadly a lot. Using things like Citysearch.com is frustrating because the interface stinks and there is a list of things way too far away to be meaningful. A page populated with pre-defined citysearch data just for my neighborhood, however, and that looks pretty and is easy to read would sure be handy. AlexisTurner
Community radio station. I think Portland radio sucks, and that my taste in music is the best. I believe that others should be subjected to my musical taste so that they can see the light. Everyone else in the world also believes this about themselves. Community radio is expensive and illegal...but not on the Internet. The Internet makes community radio possible. AlexisTurner
Coupons. I would like friendly-neighbor discounts for the places that are near where I live. AlexisTurner
Hours for businesses. Self-explanatory. AlexisTurner
Traffic-cam. I don't know much about the Mississippi area, so possibly moot, but I know downtown it would be nice to know whether there is a protest (oops, I mean traffic jam) happening before I head out the door. A live traffic-cam solves this problem. AlexisTurner
Bulletin board. One-stop-shop for those irritating, tree-killing, old old old fliers that every coffee shop seems to have. A person can upload a flier with a _ (ad, concert, event, lost animal, drug induced paranoid rant, etc), expiration date, and type of flier. Voila!...the flier goes away when it is outdated. People can also choose what type of fliers to look at. It appears in all locations that connect to the node, not just one or two. AlexisTurner
On the other hand, things that ARE available among neighbors are forums (eg - I see my friend and start talking, or call them on the phone...I do not need the Internet to talk to people that live 50 steps away).