There is a second sub-plot to this exercise which needs to be made clear - and that is our hope of opening up these multi-level networks and to push them to investing a very great part of their energies, resources and skills in the search for the near term transportation reforms that are called for by the quite literally emergency circumstances facing the planet and our society.

Certainly one of the keys to any networking approach in this fast moving era has to be our ability to harness usefully the full range of available and potentially appropriate tools which are already out there and for the most part freely available. In the months ahead, we intend to expand and refine this first set of tools, which we take as starting points based on our own daily work experience and testing of them in various combinations. In order to get a useful bite into this, there has to be a lot of testing and playing as we go along. And this with the help of many of our colleagues who not only share our concerns about sustainability and social justice in the new mobility world, but also who are themselves using these tools in different ways and with varying levels of expertise

Back to top

Multi-media

This is a key phrase for this exercise since we are all well aware that everything we need to turn the corner to new mobility will not necessarily be found between the covers of a book, report or article. Thus, our ability to reach out and get access to information and guidance which is housed in other forms will be critical. These include film, videos, television, audio and radio, pictures and graphics, discussion groups and list-serves.

We also need to keep a careful eye on media which facilitate discussions and exchanges, of course also in print but also through voice and video contacts, one-on-one and groups, and various forms of virtual conferencing systems.

Back to top

Tools we use -- & intend to test and expand for these networking uses

You have here a collection of tools -- toolsets really since most of them offer multiple platforms and levels of service -- that we use every day for our international information and communications purposes. Few if any of these will be surprising for those of you who show up here, but there may be one or two wrinkles that you may in time wish to add to your toolbox. (Moreover we expect in time to develop more detail on each of the specific platforms and tools, which in fact account for the major utility of these programs.)

Communicatoins and information

• http://www.Skype.com (multiple platforms and uses)

• http://www.Google.com (multiple platforms and uses)

• http://groups.yahoo.com (group management and shared information)

• http://www.SightSpeed.com (multiple, layered uses)

• http://www.wikpedia.org (including language editions)

Social/business networking

These are of course not the only ones out there, but they happen to be the ones we are working and playing with these days. (A good quick introduction to these two similar but somewhat different categories will be found on the Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_networking and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_networking respectively.

• http://www.LinkedIn.com

• http://www.Facebook.com (and the like)

Back to top

Media sharing:

• http://www.YouTube.com (and the like)

• http://www.Flickr.com (and the like)

Back to top

And for quick translation help:

• http://translate.google.com/translate_t

• http://babelfish.yahoo.com/

Back to top

Trial Search - test:

Here you have a small example of what we might call "passive networking". What you have here is a rough and ready in-process cross-platform search engine for your indicated key words which we have popped in here for friendly use, testing and commentary, with a view to fine-tuning and improvement. You can use normal keyword procedures to narrow and refine your entries. You'll lsee. It already provides some interesting results and food for thought.

Please share with us your views and thoughts for improvement on this. Again, it is very rough and purely experimental at this point (results appear in separate window).

Back to top

---

Site optimized for browsing with W3C standards and best viewed with resolution of 1024 x 768
The Commons has welcomed international visitors since 3 July 1995.
Europe: 8/10 rue Joseph Bara 75006 Paris, France, Europe. T: +331 4326 1323
USA : 9440 Readcrest Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90210. T: +1 310 601-8468
Copyright © 1994-2008 The Commons ® Last updated on 19 August 2008