One of the things that really appeals to me about putting the world online is the possibility that nearly everyone in the community can both offer and receive resources seamlessly.
We are very far from realizing this ideal at the moment; there are many digital divide issues that must be resolved.
However, the Freecycling movement is an excellent example of internet-based community sharing that can work wherever obstacles to access have been solved. It has one central web site, and thousands of intensely local email distribution lists.
The process is simple: you begin by joining (or creating) your local Freecycle list. If you have one to give away, you post a message with the subject heading "Offered: Toaster Oven." If you're looking for one, you post a message with the subject heading "Wanted: Toaster Oven." If you see a possible match, it's up to you to take it off-list and arrange for a pick-up; various guidelines are in place to ensure that this is done in a manner suitable to civil society. For example, no payments or barters are allowed; anything posted to a Freecycle list must be freely offered and freely taken.
This is not a solution to all of the world's problems or even a perfect instrument for fulfilling its modest goals, but Freecycling is an excellent way to combine the internet with community-building, recycling, and volunteerism. The potential exists for effective, local, pin-pointed giving that goes beyond - and complements - what institutions such as foundations and nonprofit agencies are able to do.
Now that Freecycle.Org has been invented, it seems simple and obvious. But that's the way it seems with many innovations in information technology - after the fact!
NPtech
