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Wednesday Aug 02, 2006
Boston's wi-fi in the hands of amateurs
The Mayor of Boston needs to take his tablets and have a lie down.
No doubt this will be the response from commercial internet providers when they hear that Mayor Menino has decided that the US east coast city should have blanket wi-fi – and that this wi-fi should be managed by a not-for-profit. Is he mad? Everyone knows that non-commercial companies haven't a clue and should stick to knitting yogurt for disabled pensioners.
More from the Mayor: "What this will do is give us citywide service at a reasonable cost. We're not turning it over to someone else. We'll be able to control our destiny. One outside corporation shouldn't have a monopoly over this technology." Go Mayor.
According to at least one analyst, the model being used in Boston could become a standard if it works. Up until now, other US cities have basically put their wireless strategies in the hands of commercial providers which will, naturally, focus on where the money is. This is what is also happening in the UK where wi-fi provider The Cloud is wifi-ing up the financial city of London – a place where people might be willing and able to fork out five to ten pounds an hour for wireless internet access. ""We are building according to demand in the marketplace," says The Cloud.
There has been a rather strange development locally though, right in YouthNet's backyard. Upper Street in Islington has been wifi-ed up by Islington Council and dubbed 'technology mile' (we can pick it up from inside our offices). It seems like the oddest place to put wifi; every second shop is a café or pub with free or charged wi-fi. Islington has dozens of council estates – why not throw the free wi-fi there instead?
Posted by Dom Waghorn ( 3:51 PM ) Link to this post Comments[0]Creating community contributions
With the growing number of people setting up online communities, especially with the current 2.0 dash, we often get asked at YouthNet, through our work on TheSite.org, for some advice on how to set up and manage community offerings.
As the community manager I've been considering this for quite a while, so I thought it might be worth outlining a few pointers to how I think you can achieve a positive community offering.
Think about why you are doing what you are doing
If you’re planning to set up a community, then make sure you know why. The reason behind your service is going to determine how you run it, whether it’s moderated before or after post, who you want to encourage to take part; everything basically.
Remember who makes a community
Websites are run by companies or charities, but communities are made of real people. You need to maintain a balance of control over what goes on in a community and respecting and understanding your members. Without them, you’ve got nothing, so make sure they can shape what happens.
You’re never perfect
In your community you won’t always be liked by your members, you won’t always be agreed with, and you won’t always get it right. You should be ready to listen to any complaints people might have, and you shouldn’t ever be too proud to say sorry.
Be honest and open
Getting people to look in on your community can be managed with advertising, with incentives, but getting people to stay is much harder. One thing that matters is that people feel they are in a place they can trust. By being open and honest and making sure any changes or developments involve your users then everyone remains part of a community, rather than simply an audience to target news and promotions at.
Posted by Jim Valentine ( 3:41 PM ) Link to this post Comments[0]