501derful.org
In trial since early November, the service allows users to create a profile mapped to their postcode, and enter into discussions with people close to their location. It’s this element of location, which has lifted UpMyStreet Conversations out of the old bulletin-board arena into the trendy new area of social software.
[Guardian, 9 Jan. 2003]
This web site sounds a bit like a community organizers dream and in England it appears to be working for all kinds of purposes. Where Meetup.Com lets people of common interest get together to further their interests UpMyStreet.com starts with the commonality of location and the idea of multi purpose conversation. For good or ill it puts organizers effortlessly inside community networks. Community events like RELAY are a natural fit.
No doubt there’s still a lot of community-org power in location. Be interesting to see if location affinity groups use the Net to link together to build and extended it. Best of both. Relay seems like a natural.