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COMMUNITIES
BY MARYANNE MURRAY BUECHNER
It's a small world, after all, and the Internet can make it seem even smaller. Each of these sites, in one way or another, and for one reason or another — practical, personal or professional — does a good job of connecting people.
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Play "Six Degrees of Separation" with your friends and other friendsters at Friendster.com
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| COURTESY FRIENDSTER |
Craigslist.org
Sell your old couch, or buy someone else's. Find a house cleaner, a roommate or a beach house. The free classifieds are grouped by city, category and subcategory (Boston/For Sale/Furniture) and are as easy to post as they are to search. More than just a place to sell things, Craigslist is a true community, a source of gossip, stories and the inspiration for blacktable.com's sparkling "Week in Craig" feature.
Friendster.com
Rather than sift through anonymous profiles to find a date, Friendsters work their personal networks and meet people through mutual friends. Set up your own community and invite everybody you know. (They can be single, married, married with kids or whatever, because Friendsters can also work the network to find new friends, or play matchmaker for someone else.) Encourage them to invite everybody they know, and so on. The farther it goes, the bigger pond you'll have to fish in.
Freecycle.org
Advertise things you want to give away for free on Freecycle.org, where nothing, apparently, is too old or damaged or useless to try to unload. Identify the freecycle group in your area (there are 800 across the U.S.), join the e-mail list, agree to some rules and you're in.
iPodlounge.com
If you're one of the millions of consumers who now seem permanently attached to an Apple iPod, here's your home base. Get the full run-down on all the device's available accessories or head to the Forums to swap tips and tricks. If you recently acquired one of these portable digital music players, iPod 101 (see Articles) offers a primer. The site is independently run.
Meetup.com
A convenient, non-threatening way to connect to other people who share similar interests and live nearby. The gatherings are off-line — what a concept — and can take place anywhere, such as a coffee shop, bar, bowling alley or dog park. Browse by topic/type (graphic design, cat rescue, atheists, moms) or zip code to find a group to join. Members vote on where to meet next.
Sittercity.com
Calling itself the Match.com for child care, Sitter City provides an invaluable service at a reasonable rate: $40 gets you access to hundreds if not thousands of potential babysitters in your area (the site has 50,000 registered users in 10 U.S. cities, including New York, Boston and Chicago, and is expanding into Philadelphia, Washington and Baltimore in September). Use Quick Search to cast a wide net or set preferences to find candidates who don't smoke, know CPR, speak Spanish and wouldn't mind the cat. Warning: the site acts as a liaison only, and does not screen.
Tolerance.org
This site is full of ideas on how to fight discrimination and bigotry. Read the articles to learn ways you can battle hate and promote tolerance where you live and work. The Teens tab links to Mix It Up, home base for student activists working to break down social barriers. Articles in the For Parents section suggest ways to talk to the kids about same-sex marriage, gender-bashing and other issues.
Triggerstreet.com
A place for aspiring filmmakers and screenwriters to get feedback on their work and, possibly, some exposure within the industry. Register, upload your masterpiece and subject it to the scrutiny of thousands. The site hosts its own festivals; judges include industry heavyweights like Danny DeVito and Cameron Crowe. You'll need RealOne player and QuickTime to watch the shorts; if you don't already have these free programs, the site provides links to where you can download them.
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