tiny internets: sidewalks, geocaching, and more · tiny internets

A dazzle of Slack bases, Discords, Telegrams, and Circles later, and it feels like we’ve arrived somewhere. Maybe it’s the post-social media era, where people move off the open platforms and into a curated mosaic of niche, private, and cooperative spaces. Or, maybe it’s just that the web we needed was here when we needed it.

on the tiny internet, it is so nice to encounter others or the evidence they were there.

How can we use tech to develop more informal place-based ties? As we spend more of our time online, how can we make virtual space for social capital to form?

For those who remember a time in the last century when things were less homogenous, and different geographic regions might have their own distinct music scenes or culinary traditions, it’s easy to understand the appeal of an online equivalent to different, connected neighborhoods that each have their own vibe. While this new, more diffuse set of so... See more