Social Communities

Coming from a small town of Margaret River in the south west of WA; I know what its like to live in a tight-knit community. We all look out for one another, ‘bad’ neighbours are few and far between. Since living in this town for the last 16 years I have seen it grow both physically and digitally.

Now there is a slightly larger community out there that grows everyday: Facebook – Me along with 1.49 billion other monthly active users are currently utilising it for all its worth!

I personally love Facebook it’s a great place to connect with people, not only in your friends list but also in various Facebook pages. I am currently a member of the Margaret River Community Notice Board Page,  which currently has 5,300 active members. Now your page has to be set to currently living in Margaret River to be accepted however have a look and see if there is one for your community. Now that you are accepted you can post any piece of information you may feel necessary to the community, except promote your business or the sale of items.

Yes that’s right, gone are the days when you would walk down to the town square to be overwhelmed by a pin board full of yellowing pieces of paper. Now we have an online space where the town can have their say on all maters of the community.

Facebook and social media has revolutionised the way in which small communities can operate. It gives the people a voice and the ability to come together. I am sure there are people out there that will disagree because well, there always is.

However here is one example (out of many) – just recently an elderly lady was struggling to pay for her bills and buy food with her pension, a friend of the lady shared this information on MRCNB and before the end of the day had over 100 comments of people donating food, services and assistance. The response was overwhelming. They were able to organise a busy bee at her house (as she is not 100% mobile) and supply boxes of food. Without Facebook’s assistance and the MRCNB Page this would not have been possible.

Share the Facebook love and have a look out for a community notice board page for your town and if one doesn’t exist it may be worth starting one up! They truly are a great source of community communication.