In York, PA an active community of bloggers share stories about the past and Jim McClure, a York Daily Record columnist, has written about the transformations associated with these and other web 2.0 products.
Here are some of Jim’s observations:
- “For the past 75 years, those doing York-area history were a successive handful of serious-minded, well-intentioned scholars who wrote some, but mostly spoke and gathered research about our past. Others doing history navigated their ideas and research through this filter. With the Web, what some call the democratization of information is playing out, and York County’s longtime vertical world of historical research has flattened out”
- “The Web offers a wide open opportunity for other historical, cultural and community groups. Many are struggling to retain membership and gain an audience at their museums . . . “
- “People gather virtually in this digital space to exchange information about their diverse local history interests.
The article mentions Blake Stough’s preservingyork.com website as a prime examples of a site that is providing engaging content while growing a “virtual community.”