source: href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/northlewis/pool/">http://www.flickr.com/groups/northlewis/pool/
I have recently become aware of a situation where a range of web 2.0 technologies have been organized and leveraged to support an interest in creating a greater sense of community (and awareness) specific to a Land Trust (Galson Estate Trust) located on the Isle of Lewis in NW Scotland.
http://www.galsontrust.com/wiki/index.php?title=The_Trust
This matter is of particular interest as the resources that are being allocated to the development and enrichment of this site are provided from within the community and for the most part appear unpaid – at least not directly (this may represent an interesting point for a future discussion). If successful, the technologies that are being leveraged are expected to raise both local and non local interest with the net result being a greater sense of community and an increase in the level of local tourism – and perhaps prosperity. Tourism in Scotland is an important contributor to domestic prosperity with over 6.75M visitor trips being made to Scotland in 2005 and over 204,000 of its people being employed in tourism and tourism related industries (2005).
http://www.visitscotland.org/tis_summary2005updated.pdf
The Galson area is comprised of approximately 56,000 acres in NW Scotland and its residents retain strong ties to Gaelic culture and arts. The structure of the official web site for the Galson Trust has been engineered to provide local residents and interested parties to contribute to the enhancing regional awareness through the use of a number of related technologies.
Participants and supporters of this site are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the technology offering for the purpose of creating and sharing content specific to the richness and potential of this unique geographical area.
Interest in the site is generated and supported not just with text related content but with both images and directional support.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/northlewis/pool/
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=112438234943937771767.0004345db8c08acf57d08&z=11&om=1
The strategy that has been deployed by sponsors of the trust seems to be a compelling one. Think about this.................
"we are in possession of a resource rich asset - the Galson Trust"
"we have the potential to reach out and engage both local and international markets with a set of robust, highly available technologies (Web 2.0"
"we now have the capability to mobilized a knowledgeable and motivated labour force to provide and enrich our content reservoir and we can do this at a very low cost to the trust"
If you think about it, this seems to be an excellent strategy for all affected, including those who are considering investing time and resources for the purpose of visiting the Galson Estate Trust.
This approach would also seem to raise some concerns that should be discussed. For example,
How is the information that is provided authenticated or validated? What if the information provided that is misleading or inaccurate? How can trust stakeholders ensure that the and risk of damage to the reputation of the Trust and the corresponding region is absolutely minimized? How can the site be kept current? It would seen that there would be interest by the stakeholders in seeking repeat visitors. Potential repeat visitors who may have leveraged the site when considering their initial visit may find a lack of new content may limit interest when considering a repeat visit.
There are other matters specific to this strategy that merit discussion. The owners, sponsors and contributors to this site do not have a monopoly on Web 2.0 technologies for this type of purpose. In, fact the Galson Estate Trust seems to have a very worthy competitor already………………and they seem to be right next door.
http://www.secretscotland.org.uk/index.php
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