Amanda Lenhart joins Talk of the Nation with guests danah boyd and Parry Aftab in a series of interviews on the phenomenon of the popular social networking website Myspace.com.
This report examines how institutions in five cities (Austin, Texas; Cleveland, Ohio; Nashville, Tennessee; Portland, Oregon and Washington, D.C.) are adapting to the Internet as an economic development and community-building tool. The experiences in these communities suggests that the Internet is best used to encourage bottom-up initiatives, encourage and nurture catalytic individuals in communities, encourage public funding for technology programs, encourage “bridging” among groups, and encourage experimentation.