In most of my musings so far I have been mainly concerned with the development of new communities online.  It's been brought to my attention that this is a very narrow viewpoint.  In particular Mike Cannon-Brookes has turned me on to NYCbloggers which aims to be a directory of every blogger in New York City.

I've not had a chance to really delve into it but it blew me away immediately by being such a powerful idea.

Just recently I listened to a radio (I mean real FM radio!) article about how people are more interested in live lives of soap actors and celebreties than they are about the people around them.   How people bemoan news about old people shut in their homes, but do not acknowledge that those same people live in their street.  I'm definitely guilty of this.

I know very little about my local community.  I know almost nothing about my neighbours.  I've been that way more or less since I moved to London.  It sucks.  It shouldn't be this way.

The idea of a directory of bloggers in my area is a cool one, an easy, passive way of getting to know people around my area who may be interested in similar things to me, or things I might want to become interested in.  A way of reconnecting and maybe meeting some of these people.

That would be cool.

It would be even cooler if we could figure out how to get all those people who don't have computers and don't identify themselves as people who are users or consumers of technology involved in this.