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Internet Watch
Building Community
On Our Web Sites
by David Dubov
A powerful advantage
of the Internet is that it is an electronic common ground - a place where
those who share related interests can meet to exchange information and
discuss issues. These virtual meeting places are increasingly referred
to as communities of practice, and the concept of the Internet as a Community
on the Web is especially hot right now. Transportation professionals rely
on each other for the information they need to address common issues in
their work. Because they're geographically dispersed, building online
FHWA communities of practice is an extremely effective way for FHWA staff
and their transportation partners to stay in touch with each other - and
to keep the information flowing.
Any Internet community
takes the shape and form that meets the needs of its members. For example,
at a recent E-Gov meeting in Washington, D.C., Dr. Andrew Cohill, director
of Blacksburg Electronic Village (http://www.bev.net),
discussed how he and his team developed, grew, and continued to nurture
a virtual Blacksburg community. Blacksburg, Va., a rural town of 36,000,
is home to the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia
Tech). The Blacksburg electronic village is a project that developed a
community-wide network that gave citizens online access to local government
and health and social services agencies, businesses and other economic
interests, civic and volunteer groups, and local schools and higher education
facilities.
The online experiment
has proved to be very popular and the people of Blacksburg use the Internet
to access and exchange information - everything from e-mail, to paying
utility bills, to voicing opinions on government procedures and programs.
The general consensus is that the people of Blacksburg feel more connected
to their community.
This Blacksburg experience
is a local virtual community of diverse interests that correlates nicely
with an online community of nationally - sometimes globally - dispersed
transportation professionals who share a common interest. Whether it's
a program, a material, technology, or technology transfer, the Internet
is an effective, timely medium where information providers and information
seekers can gather to solve problems. The immediacy of Internet technology
affords community members the just-in-time knowledge that can enhance
productivity just as just-in-time management systems revolutionized manufacturing.
However, building a productive community of practice is more challenging
than it may sound. The caveat of a successful community of practice, one
based on sharing knowledge, is that only providing an Internet site, a
home page, and a few links does not guarantee that people will find it
or use it. The worthwhile community depends on people, the information
they create, and the use to which it can be applied.
And information changes.
As surprising as it may seem, a site that was last updated in December
1998 is out of date, and out of touch. Maintenance is important - whether
it's keeping the streets clean and repaired or ensuring that content on
a Web site is fresh and appropriate. Organizations that build effective
communities are those willing to dedicate time and staff to develop, maintain,
and nurture them.
FHWA's Rumble Strips
Community of Practice sets the stage for other FHWA communities of practice,
and its success has been rewarding. The site continues to attract professionals
throughout the national and international transportation community and
it will serve as a model for other communities that the FHWA is currently
pursuing. This next generation of FHWA community-of-practice Web sites
is designed to be even more community-minded and client-focused. E-mail,
discussion forums, and ask-the-expert sections will offer more options
for customer interaction. This is important because each of us is unique
in the way that we gain and use information, which underscores the need
for offering both private (ask-the-expert) and public (discussion forums)
communication choices for community members.
To see the Rumble
Strips community of practice in action, point your browser to >http://mchs.fhwa.dot.gov/rumblestrips
David Dubov is an
employee of Avalon Integrated Services Corp. Prior to his work there,
he was Web master for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) and designed, developed, built, and implemented the successful
Mars Pathfinder Web site, which reached more than 56 million people around
the world.
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