Virtual communities: Are they for real?

A short ride on the information superhighway

What is a Community Network?

• People
• Services
• Values
• Internet

How are communities using the internet

• Share information
• Increase participation in government/community affairs
• Provide training, especially in Internet use
• Help people find other people

Issues

• Accomplishments
• bringing people together
• aggregating information about services
• helping businesses to compete
• telling the world about the community
• promoting lifelong learning
• providing technical skills
• providing opportunities for more people to participate
• Strengths
• grassroot involvement
• working together
• strong human and social values
• understanding technology and its implications
• reflecting the diversity of a community
• providing community wide training
• supporting volunteerism
• Concerns
• Internet as a community
• Loss of identity/separateness
• Content of the Internet
• Legal and regulatory issues
• Behavioral issues

Some success stories

Alaska

Florida

Seattle

Peoria

Oak Park