Using Internet as a resource for social innovation

Nicholas Albery

I steered clear of Internet for a long time. I'd tell myself: 'I spend enough time in front of a computer screen as it is.' And I liked the poster that proclaims: 'Internet, the International Exchange of Loneliness'.

But partly as a way of keeping in touch with my son at university, I succumbed. And here are some tips from a beginner for any others wanting to use the Internet as a tool for socially innovatory work:

Hardware, software and service provider

First you need a fast modem - mine for an Apple Mac is 14,400, a US Robotics Mac and Fax for about £130 (inc. VAT). Better still would be the faster 28,800 model at £183 (inc. VAT) if you can afford it (price quoted by DABS Direct, tel 0800 680000, July '95). Then a connection to the Internet. Avoid like the plague services such as Compuserve which charge you for time online and are not even a direct connection to the Internet, and are only just getting around to adding the main facility you need, access to the World Wide Web pages. The cheapest in the UK seem to be: Demon, which has tended to be overcrowded with poor connections; Cityscape, likewise giving poor service; and the BBC, which I use and am very happy with so far.

The BBC has few connection problems and has an excellent helpline which answers relatively quickly. It costs about £12 a month for unlimited time online - although of course you have to pay the (local call rate) phone charges. There is also an initial package you get from them which costs £30 or so (details from the BBC on 0181 576 7799).

Then you need software. So far I have got by happily with just two pieces of software: Eudora for sending e-mail letters and taking part in subscriber-only e-mail groups, and Netscape (free to individuals and non-profit groups), by far the best software for surfing the Net, and adequate even for taking part in open newsgroup discussions.

Surfing the Net

Once you have Netscape up and running, progress is easy by trial and error without any need for a manual. You could try clicking the Netscape buttons marked 'What's New?' and 'What's Cool?'. If you then come across any underlined subject that interests you, click on that and you will be 'hyperlinked' off to that page, wherever in the world it may have originated.

Useful World Wide Web pages

Under the Netscape File menu, by going to 'Open Location', you could try copying in some of the following World Wide Web page addresses, these being my pick of pages that social innovators might find worth visiting:

- http://www.newciv.org/worldtrans/ISI.html

This is the Institute for Social Inventions' home page, with examples of its favourite ideas and projects.

- http://www.newciv.org/GIB/

This is the main page for the Global Ideas Bank - An International Suggestion Box. At this address you can also access the complete The Book of Visions - An Encyclopaedia of Social Innovations see previous article).

- http://www.newciv.org/worldtrans/naturaldeath.html

This is the home page of the Institute's project, the Natural Death Centre - with everything from addresses of green burial grounds to where to get a cardboard coffin mail-order. The page is accessed on average by 50 to 60 people a day at present.

- http://www.newciv.org/worldtrans/newcivnet.html

The New Civilization Network, co-ordinated by the excellent Flemming Funch. Through this page, under the heading 'Teams', you can join an interesting Creativity Group, hosted by Institute for Social Inventions member Keith Hudson. For further details see the next article.

- http://www.newciv.org/worldtrans/

World Transformation, another part of Flemming Funch's network, with links to all sorts of interesting areas from the spiritual to the environmental.

- http://query2.lycos.cs.cmu.edu/lycos-form.html

You type onto the Lycos search form the obscure subject you are interested in, and Lycos searches through millions of references and normally comes back with as many responses as you have asked for.

- http://vnu.ib.com/cgi-bin/links

This page, called Dynamic Hotlinks, allows the viewer to nominate their favourite Internet site which is immediately listed on the page and opened for rating (as 'good', 'bad' or 'neutral') by the public. The top 30 or so such sites are listed.

- http://www.yahoo.com/new/

What's new and worthwhile on the World Wide Web, in Yahoo's opinion.

- http://www.links.net/

Links to the Underground: what's weird, wild and wonderful on the World Wide Web, in Justin's opinion.

- http://www.newciv.org/worldtrans/whole.html

'Whole systems': how things fit together, everything from Bucky Fuller to Whole Earth Review.

- http://www.islandnet.com/~deathnet/media_email.html

The e-mail addresses of media editors around the world (although mainly the States) whether newspapers, magazines, radio or TV. Useful for press releases.

- http://www.webcom.com/~whocares/whatsnew.html

'Who Cares?' Resources for helping others.

- http://www.einet.net/galaxy/Community/The-Environment/Environmental-Activism/wayne-pendley/plankeep.html

The Planet Keepers: 'networking for the health and well-being of life on Earth; you can meet the needs of the present while still preserving the health and beauty of this planet for future generations.'

- http://www.envirolink.org/

The EnviroWeb, resources, marketplace and news.

- http://www.igc.apc.org/

Environmental and progressive news, people and issues.

- http://www.igc.apc.org/igc/people.html

A directory of progressive organisations.

- http://www.ai.mit.edu/people/ellens/non.html

Select non-profit organisations on the Internet.

- http://www.foe.co.uk/pubsinfo/infosyst/other_services.html

Friends of the Earth's list of environmental information services on the Internet.

- http://www.mojones.com/mojo_interactive/environment/resource_guide.html

The American Mother Jones magazine and its green news, articles and links.

- http://caster.ssw.upenn.edu/~restes/praxis.html

Resources for social development work.

- http://www.uio.no/~mwatz/futurec/

Future culture - cyberculture, raves, social and public policy issues.

Forming social innovation groups online

- Primarily though, I would like to encourage everyone interested in social innovations to join together in the same Internet group so that we can all swap ideas, and polish up each other's projects. The best forum for this could be the New Civilization Creativity group, hosted by Keith Hudson, mentioned above http://www.newciv.org/worldtrans/newcivnet.html. Or if you have access only to e-mail this can be joined by sending an e-mail message with no subject or signature to: <creativity-request@wise.xs4all.nl> with the simple message: <subscribe (no name)>.
- Another open group we could all join is the Alt.Newsgroup reachable at URL location news:alt.society.futures. This is open to any member of the public. Comments made seem to stay visible for varying periods and it is not intensively used at present. But it seems to make more sense to develop this group than to go through the complex voting procedure to set up our own Alt.Social Innovations Newsgroup.

Other groups I have found interesting to join are:

- A group on the future of work, in which Keith Hudson is again a key participant. To join this group, you send an e-mail message to: <listserv@csf.colorado.edu> and in your message you type:

<sub FUTUREWORK your firstname your last name>.

- A group discussing LETS systems and their potential. To join this group, you send an e-mail message to: <mailbase@mailbase.ac.uk> and in your message you type:

<join econ-lets your name>.

- A group for people professionally interested in issues surrounding death and dying. About 100 thanatologists around the world are part of this group. To ask to be allowed to join this, send a CV to Dr Ivan Goldberg at <ikg1@columbia.edu>.
- A group that discusses mysticism - or more specifically 'Western esoteric spirituality' - in a non-dogmatic way. To join, apply to: <HERMES_OWNER@cofc.edu>.
- A group that discusses issues surrounding euthanasia, and puts out news releases from around the world. This is best accessed via links reachable through the interesting DeathNet site at: <http://www.islandnet.com/~deathnet>.

World Wide Web pages worth visiting

Lively and socially innovative World Wide Web pages I have enjoyed visiting, although not necessarily themselves about social innovation as such, include:

- http://bigdog.engr.arizona.edu/~fischerm/poetry.html

A poem-a-day online. You submit your poetry and the editor for this page puts one poem online each day and has an archive of previous appearances.

- http://www.columbia.edu/cu/healthwise/

You can get medical answers here to any health query you may have, just type in your problem.

- http://www.cs.cmu.edu:8001/Web/bookauthors.html

Links to a library-full of books which you can read online or print out, everything from Socrates to Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

- http://www.bookshop.co.uk/V3/bin\ssearch6.exe

The details of every published book in print that has an ISBN, searchable by title or author or publisher, and also the possibility of ordering a book.

- http://www.cityscape.co.uk/users/bt22/

Nicholas Saunders' information on the drug Ecstasy (MDMA), interviews with monks who have taken it, test reports and photos warning which pills contain what, etc.

- http://gnn.com/cgi-bin/gnn/currency

A clever currency converter which instantly displays the value of your selected currency in all country around the world.

- http://sashimi.wwa.com/hammers/comedy/python/cheeshop.htm

The text of a very funny Monty Python sketch.

- http://www.padd.press.net/news/headlines.html

The latest news headlines from the Press Association.

- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/register.html

The online version of the (London) Daily Telegraph.

- http://www.padd.press.net/weather/1.html

Weather for the London region.

- http://www.homecom.com/global/pointers.html

If you have made a World Wide Web page and want others to get to know about it, use this page to find out who to tell.

Making a World Wide Web page

It is relatively simple making a World Wide Web page. One way is just to save someone else's page you see online whose layout you like - and to save it as 'source' rather than 'text'. This will show you the little introductory coding bits you have to put in diamond brackets. You then just alter the words and pictures (saved as Gif files in Photoshop or similar software) to suit. Your service provider will no doubt let you have space to display your World Wide Web page at a low cost.

I would be interested to know of any other sites or groups you would recommend for those interested in social innovations. And I look forward to meeting you online.

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