I realize that if we have anything in common when it comes to what we all do online, it has to be Facebook.
It has become so popular that it seems everyone you talk to has an account and hangs out there. But what I'm also realizing is it has become a lot like AOL used to be: a place where people go and stay for the most part, without venturing out of Facebook to other sites on the web.
One of the problems for locals has been there wasn't much else to do to meet up with people in our area and find out what's going on.
Many have complained about Waynet.org being the only source of information in the Wayne County area. (And that it needs to be better funded, among other things.)
But the web is changing and there are other bloggers and websites from our area working hard to bring local flavor and news to the web where we can all benefit.
The problem comes when such site owners cannot get people to leave Facebook, Twitter or other social sites to come to the sites they work so hard on. Eventually those sites are abandoned and inevitably someone complains about there being "nothing to do online beyond Facebook to find local people and information."
It's a vicious cycle which can be remedied by seeking out and supporting local bloggers and other local community websites with your visits. The more encouragement we give locals, the more they are likely to keep up their sites and make them better for us.
For our part, we've started a local site directory and post as much as possible about Indiana and Wayne County sites when we find new ones.
We'd like to shed light on more sites in the Wayne County area, so if anyone has a site not linked above, please feel free to submit it.
And, if you are a Facebook junky, get off that site for a bit and support the sites in our area that are answering everyone's call for more local sites, by locals for locals.
I think most people fall into
I think most people fall into line. It's something everyone else is doing, so they do it as well... even though there might be a better place to go to find out about more local info and goings on. It's hard to break into that market when something like facebook has become such a household name. I mean even my 75 year old grandmother knows what facebook is. But I do love the idea of local social sites. It's nice to have a place to go and find out what's going on in my surrounding area with just a click of the button. This will catch on and will be the next big thing.. mark my words.
Brad Meyers
So true...best idea is to not
So true...best idea is to not give up....rule of thumb (a horrible old phrase) is that it takes about 2 years to get a business going steadily and it takes 17 repetitions to get people to remember something....Patience and innovation go hand in hand in business... community sites are GREAT idea! As soon as people realize we have them and get caught up in the great stories of local people and places like they did with the old Grapic--they will be hooked.