First, it doesn't look like too many people have been using the community group so perhaps we don't even need a subgroup, at least, for the time being.
Can we distinguish between a 'social networking site' and a 'local community site'? A community site shouldn't necessarily be for just social networking. Drupal doesn't have the edge on Ning, Facebook, and MeetUp.
I think that a community website should paradoxically inspire people to get out of the house away from the computer and tv to participate in their community. A community website should create paths of communication between people, communication that is connected and related to local government, local news, local events, local people, local business and local organizations.
Some things that a local community website should do. It should connect seniors with children and seniors and children with stray animals. It should promote and support small local homestead farmers and -- in the case of a city -- urban farming. It should connect the urban farm with restaurants and restaurants with the children, seniors and their new pets. It should connect the unemployed with the newly created urban farms to be put to work.
A community website is more than an business listing, news, events calendar and photo gallery. Who ever administers it needs to also be in the community and interacting with the community not just in the cyber world but also in the real world
These ideas are extending from a discussion in the business directory group. Most business directories in this day and age can't stand on their own. Is it possible to connect all these functions of a community website -- an events calendar, a job board, a business directory, a local restaurant directory, news and happenings -- into an installation profile?
The questions are
what does a local community site look like?
what are the features built into the community site?
can they be generic and configurable?
can we create a Drupal profile that can become the voice of every region?
Comments
My thoughts
Yeah, the main group is a mess with OT posts. I started clearing them out and then found one I consider OT posted by Laura so I stopped until I get some confirmation from her that it's OK. She started this group and I don't want to just come in and take over.
As for SN, not all SN sites are local community sites but I think all local community sites have some element of SN. At least in the sense that I define it. If you mean a site for a physical community then a page with minutes from town hall meetings would qualify. But my meaning when I say "local community site" is a site for the local community to get together so that the community is part of the site. Otherwise it's just a travel guide or a business directory or government page. For me, the community being active on the site is the key.
For my own site, I split it into two parts. There is the Explore side that is more informational and the Connect side that is more interactive. There isn't a rigid line and there is some interaction in Explore in the form of reviews and rating (coming) and some information in the Connect side in the form of text in forum, group, and blog posts. But I do think the site serves two different needs and so I distinguish them.
My feature list (not all of these are in place, yet):
EXPLORE
List of communities covered (each of these has its own subsite)
Event calendar
Photo & video gallery
Area directory & information - Basically an expanded business directory including things like parks, clubs, bands, personal websites, and more
Local stories - News RSS feeds as well as articles and features about the area
Reviews and rating on all items
CONNECT
Forum
Blogs
Groups
Member list & profiles
Activity
Following / friending
Other various SN features
Michelle
It's really hard to get user
It's really hard to get user created content into a blog, forum or to have users submit articles. Is the content going to be created and maintained by a writing and editorial staff or is it user driven? These are two important distinctions to make. If the content is user driven then it will be a lot harder to create a successful website. If the content is created by a writing and editorial staff there will also have to be a business model to generate revinue.
I think that sites that just start out make a big mistake of having blogs, forums, articles, and other forms of 'story' type content. 'Story' type content is node with title and body. All the content becomes diluted. It's better to have one type of content and different views under different conditions. For example, if a person submits numerous stories, rather than have a blog, create a blog style view under their profile page. Is it possible to consolidate blogs, forums, and articles into one type of content that is repurposed with different views based on context?
There are plenty of successful websites that are just a forum but that forum functions as new site where in certain forums only admin can submit a topic, a photo gallery, a job board and still function as a forum.
This are just things to think about.
Marine job board with Drupal 7 at http://windwardjobs.com
Hi
Your on the right track You two hang in there. You are asking and answering all the right questions. It is Fri and i am Brain Dead right now, will write more next week.
Ran