It’s nice to know that people connecting through blogs and other online social networking are interested in and willing to also connect face to face. Last week, we invited people involved in so-called virtual communities to meet and talk about why they use online tools to connect, and how local government could also use these tools for civic engagement (virtual communities is defined here as groups of people with similar interests who communicate and interact in an online environment).
A few people of a virtual community for mothers in the Charlotte area and students from UNC-Charlotte were kind enough to meet with us at Freedom Park on May 12. They shared some great insights about how social networking sites can make an impact on the real (versus “virtual”) community. Suggestions included using blogs to give information a more personal perspective to help people (residents) understand how things work at the individual level. Since they are using alternative media themselves, it’s probably no surprise that they also advised us not to rely on TV news to share information. All their comments and suggestions were recorded for reference as we develop a comprehensive approach to civic engagement.
So, special thanks to those who took their time to come to this dialogue session. We appreciate your interest and knowledge.
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Good on you for your initiative. I am also finding that there is a trend for people to start getting together in person after meeting each other on Twitter or other social networks. A recent example for me was the Twestival where we met and raised funds for Charity Water. I also had lunch last week with a group of telecommunications professionals, invited through Facebook.
Some people say that social networks are less personal and stop people from living in the real world, but I disagree.