nationally - http://hackforchange.org
I stuck in a simple idea around helping "community sparks"
(those people on your block who connect people) create simple
nearest neighbor directories. The result would be something print
and online.
The core idea might be something simple enough that you can
stand up it at a single hack-a-thon.
See:
http://hackformn.org/idea/code-neighbors-simple-neighbor-directory-app
http://bitly.com/codeforneighbors
Join this online group if you want to get involved:
http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/neighborly
We can use the hashtag #codeneighbors if need be.
If you'd like to help lead work this idea at your own local hackathon or
put some serious effort into it, please let us know:
<email obscured> http://e-democracy.org/contact
Our experience is that regardless of the technology used by nearest
neighbors to talk online (cc: email, YahooGroups, Facebook Groups, NextDoor,
E-Democracy, i-Neighbors, Front Porch, etc.), simply gathering digital
contact information for neighbors is THE NUMBER ONE action that
unleashes everything else. You want this core information to be collected
independent of any platform for freedom of choice block by block.
At E-Democracy, we are fundamentally interested in inclusion - so
a web app that results in something of community building
value to those offline and online alike really interests us. Something
that goes beyond what an isolated "community spark" who
gets technology might do with Google Docs, etc. to something that
does this one thing really really well in a more distributed and
supported way really interests us.
If this idea resonates, June 1 will be a great day to roll up our sleeves and
see what can be built.
Cheers,
Steven Clift
E-Democracy.org
P.S. Be sure to join the online working group:
http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/neighborly
Steven Clift - http://stevenclift.com
Executive Director - http://E-Democracy.org
Twitter: http://twitter.com/democracy
Tel/Text: +1.612.234.7072