Marcus, I think the answer is yes, but I think we need to break-down the ethos of anonymity that has grown up on the web, or at least provide some spatial information that people can access, perhaps on a privileged basis.

Dating sites are sites which are designed to introduce people who are proximate to each other, and were probably the earliest social networking type of site. They provide geographical information on a qualified basis once you're sure you actually want to meet the person.

While MySpace appeared originally to be about sex, it doesn't these days appear to have the impetus towards necessarily meeting up. And it's not the sort of site most of us would want to spend any time on.

Maybe you need a MySpace for adults, or just need MySpace to grow-up. And maybe there is a role for a site like ours to provide alternatives, although to do that I think we would also need to break the convention of anonymity.

Hi Marcus, I am yet to fully read your articles, but I certainly get the gist of the case you are making, and the ideas are really interesting with respect to our increasing propensity to post our opinions, stories, photographs - infact to almost exist online, with new tech options to profile/publicise our identities and lives and messages in some mediated form or other turning up all the time.

Two main points interest me here. Firstly, the notion of connecting neighbours or those living/relating in close proximity via online forums and mechanisms interests me in light of a blog I posted recently. This blog is being used as a research tool to gain insight into the perspectives, opinions, and experiences of people who are living in government supported housing at the Kelvin Grove Urban Village regarding how healthy/active their lifestyles are.

Among loads of other things, I found that they really wanted to organise and support each other in pursuing a healthy lifestyle rather than being receptive to a top-down mass communication /health promo/TV campaign type of 'blanket' approach, and an e-network or some kind of e-forum for this would greatly enhance the social links they have already formed, and provide a health-focus for them to discuss and pursue... it would also allow the diversity of activities to flourish, eg some were interested in birdwatching, tai chi, walking groups, a swimming carnival etc in their neighbourhood.

Secondly, the problem of disadvantage (poverty, physical disability, NESB, mental illness) rose as a major inhibiting factor to online connections for offline activities, with access, confidence and ability not being present in equal portions among residents! However, if a portal or computer with wireless access were to be situated centrally (ie kiosk or similar) in this kind of condensed, planned living environment, from what I am hearing from residents this would be embraced with much enthusiasm, with many people very keen to learn how to use the tech and use it to meet their social and health goals

Thanks for these postings, Julie and Graham. I think a discussion forum such as this provides a platform for interest-based communication. The motivation for people to contribute and interact online is based around a shared interest, that is, the topic of the particular discussion thread to which they are contributing.

I think that MySpace follows a different model of interaction. It is more selective and networked, rather than homogeneous and collective. Those are the attributes that interest me in the context of social interaction in a city. Basically: MySpace plus proximity and/or location.

The reference to how online dating sites work is great. I think it would be nice to have some sort of whitepages directory of an apartment building acessible only to residents living there where they can find out who lives in that building, and selectively reach out and connect with people they feel socially compatible with. What do you think?

Plazes has been heralded as the world's first geo-location community bringing physical presence to the Web. Users can share their whereabouts and favorite locations with friends and family and explore what's nearby while on the move. The site connects with other popular social networking tools such as MySpace, Flickr, Skype and Google Maps.

http://www.plazes.com/

I think there is great potential in this approach to allow residents to find each other.

Marcus, thanks for the pointer to Plazes. I've signed-up to see how it all works, and maybe even use it. My point would be that geography is an interest like any other, and people will start using the Internet in a geographical sense when they have an interest in doing so.

Plazes might provide that, although I suspect from what I've seen so far that it will facilitate group behaviour between me and friends I already have, if enough of them sign-up.