Community Media in Transition

I recently discovered these three geographically-focused UK websites (above) through my thesis adviser’s del.icio.us feed. They are UpMyStreet, AreYouLocal, and MyNeighborhoods. They were interesting to me because of their location-based orientation within a global communications medium (the web), combined with their use of social software.

I was trying to imagine a version of this site where PEG Access TV centers and the communities they served were the focus. A social website that used online media to share geographically-based community stories. The purpose being not only to connect and empower physical communities, but to highlight and share stories being produced across cable access TV centers using the web.

Placeblogger is an example of a website that aggregates “hyperlocal” citizen media sites. Indymedia, “a collective of independent media organizations and hundreds of journalists offering grassroots, non-corporate coverage,” might be a closer example of location-based (and non-commercial) community media groups working together online for civic storytelling and engagement.

I’m sure there are more examples to consider, but again, what would a version of these UK sites above look like if PEG Access TV centers were the focus? What purpose might a tool like this serve for access centers and the communities they serve?

The time seems right for PEG Access TV to harness its many years of experience in community-focused video production and to serve as a non-commercial alternative to YouTube and other commercial video sharing sites. Many access centers are doing it on an individual level, but what about on a larger scale?

Mapping Access, PEGSpace and the ACM website are all examples that perhaps come closest to this vision. Maybe a site that combined all three?