Communities Online: Next Generation Online Community Technologies and How They Can be Used to: Build Social Capital, Restore Natural Capital and Enable Sustainable Development

Von Behrens R¹*

1. Australian National Sustainability Network, Canberra, ACT, Australia

Experience in Australia and the US has shown that increased social cohesion, political engagement and civic involvement result when communities are provided with effective means of internet-enabled communication and collaboration. A sustainable and participatory society can be achieved even with our widespread population once such mechanisms are widely available.

Imagine discovering a range of individuals who live close to you that share your passions or have complementary skills and then forming spontaneous community groups as a result. Imagine your entire neighbourhood negotiating a large discount on the purchase and installation of water tanks or solar hot water heaters. Imagine how much easier the job of a council would be if their constituents could be instantly surveyed on a difficult issue.

Australia’s technical capacity (competitiveness), aggregate social capital and environmental sustainability will be directly affected by the speed at which these technologies are implemented here. The National Sustainability Network has been formed to speed the roll out of next generation collaborative technologies in Australia. The imitative will support thousands of independent groups, communities and networks whose common theme is a commitment to a sustainable Australia.