Equinox today / Announcing Idaho Common Adventure Network

Vernal Equinox - Today or Tomorrow - March 20 or 21, 2007 ? Natalie Angier in the New York Times today, has written a good article explaining the variation in dates for the spring Equinox.

Today, also I am announcing the first phase of the Idaho Common Adventure Network - for Earth and Climate Opportunities.

Over the past several months I have experimented with various social networking applications that I have noted earlier in this Blog. I thought a Wiki, that anyone could edit, would be the best approach. However, I found myself trying to structure a complicated beginning outline of topics and locations. As I noted in my post of February 14, I found that the local.wikia project for Idaho had already created a very interesting logical structure that can also be used. The Earth 911 -Making Everyday Earth Day web site also has created a structure for finding, and submitting environmental events and resources in Idaho.

And, I believe there are probably other similar Internet networking efforts that can be located by others. The Idaho Common Adventure Network is an available web site space where resource lists, topics and discussions can be initiated by anyone who wants to participate.

Finally, a few days ago, I decided to start out using one of the new 2nd Generation of Social Networking applications that are emerging. Ning.com - Create Your Own Social Network for Anything is one of these new user friendly applications that promises to evolve with useful features as needed. I created a network using the Ning template to create an experimental Common Adventure "Bulletin Board" discussion project where people can discuss social environmental networking, start topics and invite others to add comments and resources. Over time this project will probably change as people use it. And I expect other people to develop similar projects using other applications. My hope is that we can create a communication network to share our efforts. The experimental Idaho Common Adventure Network is my personal contribution at this time.

Please feel free to join in the discussion or to start your own projects. I welcome any comments.

Gary Grimm

User Created Content & Democracy

“We’re just at the very beginning,” Bill Gates, Microsoft Chairman said during a speech at the Center for Democracy and Technology's (CDT) annual dinner yesterday. An IDG News Service article by Grant Gross today, provides more detail.

"The world is just at the beginning of the potential of the Internet coupled with personal computers, Gates added. Coming advances in storage, in bandwidth and in user-created content will make the Internet an even greater tool for democratic ideals, he said."

That's what I have been talking about on this Blog and the time has arrived to start experimenting with the Common Adventure Network concepts I have discussed in earlier posts.

On or before March 21, I plan to present a simple and flexible web site structure which will promote common adventure sharing of ideas, opportunities and projects related to environmental and climate issues we face in Idaho. We are timing this project to coincide with the Vernal Equinox and the spring season when new plant and animal life begins to flourish. Hopefully individuals, families, neighborhoods, organizations, businesses, communities, and government agencies can also begin to plant some new concepts for cooperative networking communication related to earth and climate actions and opportunities during the 2007 year.

I will post more details soon.