"A SOSNA Online Community Bulletin Board?"

For some time, the issue of a SOSNA online community bulletin board has been under discussion by our funder, our board, and various members of the community.

Aninformal poll of neighbors toward the western end of the community in spring 2004 revealed conflicting data. Although many members polled were enthusiastic about such a bulletin board, fully 50% of the respondents did not provide e-mail addresses.

This informal survey underscores the concern that has often been expressed by SOSNA's principal funder, the Office of Housing and Community Develpopment, about the digital divide and the pitfalls of relying on electronic media to disseminate information in a community where many residents are low and moderate income, and where there is no library or public computer center to provide online public access for those who do not have access to the internet at home, at school, or at work.

Thus, SOSNA itself is not yet ready to launch a bulletin board service. And, given the difficulties of reaching the entire neighborhood electronically, I acknowledge more than a little justice to that hesitancy.

However, I personally embrace electronic communications as long as we all also embrace our responsibility to provide alternate channels for communication. Thus, I established an online community for our neigborhood at Yahoogroups! last August. I think that such an online community can be helpful in identifying emerging issues, which can then be brought to a broader membership via newsletters, leaflets and other means.

I am committed to the free exchange of ideas and will only remove personal insults and ads for singles bars and related commercial materials.

If you find generally useful information via this online community, I hope that you will share it with those of your neighbors who do not have ready access to the internet.

Laura Blanchard
(volunteer webmaster)

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SOSNA is the Neighborhood Advisory Committee for the area from South Street to Washington Avenue, Broad Street West to the Schuylkill River, funded by the Office of Housing and Community Development to provide citizen input into their redevelopment process in our community. SOSNA is a registered nonprofit corporation exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Site contents copyright SOSNA except where indicated.