We mentioned, a short time ago, about our plans to hold a regular surgery for voluntary and community groups, assisting and supporting them with all the gubbins that the Internet has to offer. Well, we now have a launch date, so put Sunday 23rd November in your diaries as the ‘We Share Stuff’ team will be at The Red Couch cafe, Erdington each Sunday morning from 11:00am to around 1:00pm. The surgery will be free to attend and the cafe itself serves a wide selection of drinks and snacks. So if you’re curious about the Internet, want to know how to get a voice online, or merely want to drop by for a chat, please do. The atmosphere is real friendly and we promise not to bombard anyone with jargon. It’s all about showing you how easy the Internet is becoming. If you want to let us know in advance of any particular things you may be interested in, or just to let us know you’re coming along, please add a comment to this blog post or give us a quick call. We look forward to seeing you there!

We turned up at Blog Action Day a tad late due to other engagements. By this time, things were in full swing. All the tables were full, the surgeons were talking their stuff and the patients were listening intently on the benefits of blogging. This is exactly how it happened.
Again, it proved a healthy demand for this knowledge exists within the community but we kind of knew that. What the group, and more so, Nick Booth for being the lead organiser, proved was a way of making it happen that proved useful to both attendees and hosts. It wasn’t just a case of filling spaces to satisfy funding requirements. One question came up about how the event was organised so quickly and effectively. I heard Nick mention that it happened because “we’re all networked”.
The event worked well, the people who attended came because they knew, or thought they might gain something from attending. This event didn’t really look at the real crux of the Digital Divide. Exchange the people in that room with people who didn’t want to be there, who couldn’t care less – then what do you do? how can you use the technology to encourage them to be more active? get involved with community stuff? improve their education?
Ideally, those who attended the surgery will take back what they ‘learnt’ to their projects and groups and promote the technology. Hopefully it will encourage further exploration. The event was a great starting point though, and proved what can be achieved with a little organisation and belief.