Westford Web Online Forum
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Hi Dean, that is a fair question. Let me give you my thoughts on this.
We're served by multiple newspapers, multiple TV and radio stations, multiple pizza restaurants, etc. They all compete for our attention (and in some cases dollars) based on the relative value they offer us. Since our needs and wants are diverse, we support a market of diverse suppliers of goods and services. This is a good thing, IMHO.
So why another forum? Let me explain the thinking that went into this. I started putting this together back in early December. I looked around at other community web sites in other towns, and how they were being used. I looked at what the state-of-the-art was in online communities, the technologies that we all know and use, Facebook, WordPress blogs, Twitter, etc. I also looked at the participation level in the other towns' forums versus their town population, and then compared that the level of participation in the Westford Web Online Forum. If seemed to me that we could be doing a lot better than we were.
So I then looked at the special role of an town online forum. It is in a very special position. The web today gives us every opportunity to associate directly with those who share our exact interests, religion, political affiliation, age, hobbies or whatever. Even the smallest niche has an online community. For example, I have a friend at work who participates in a Jewish vegan homeschooling discussion group. Clearly I cannot compete against that. At the other pole, there are the political super sites, the Blue Mass Groups, A-list blogs, and such that attract everyone with interests in that area. I cannot compete against that. Why not? Because I cannot add value in those areas.
So what is the role and focus of a town forum? In my thinking, it would focus on truly local topics. So not just neighbors discussing national politics, or neighbors discussing the latest dancing cat on YouTube, but neighbors discussing the one thing that we all have in common: Westford itself, and life in Westford, in all its dimensions. That is the logic of the choice of forums on Westford.com. This is not intended to be an all-inclusive open-ended forum for Westford residents to discuss all topics in the universe. I think the "sweet spot" is to focus on the Westford Experience. (Hmm... sounds like the name of a 70's band).
From a technology perspective, I'd like to take a leap forward on the kinds of services we have on a community forum. What you see here is just the start. As I mentioned in my invitation note, I want to do much more with the forum, and I'm willing and able to make it happen. Of course, the point of this is not just technology for technology's sake. It all serves my goal of making the online experiece more social, for friendly and more fun, bringing in some approaches from succesful social networking tools like tagging, social bookmarking, live chat, etc.
So have I talked to Tony about any of this? No. When I started on this effort, his forum was down and had been for almost a month, with no return in sight. The fact that his effort and mine seem to be coming to fruition at the same time indicates that we both spent way too much time on our websites over the holidays!
Regards,
-Rob
Originally Posted by deanwo
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