With the internet invading every aspect of daily life, it is no surprise
that websites are slowly starting to mirror the addresses of the brick and mortar
world. Country domains and websites were quickly followed by city websites, and
now neighborhoods, streets and even apartment buildings are starting to get their
own internet and intranet sites: not just to promote the many qualities they have
to offer to their (prospective) inhabitants, but also to provide communal interaction
and localized services.
Some random global examples of what TRENDWATCHING.COM has dubbed NETHOODS:
In New York: visit Morningside
Heights, Lower East
Side, and trendy Williamsburg.
Or step inside the soon to be finalized Hamilton
Apartment building and swanky One
Columbus Place with its Dual Star Cybercerge.
In London, look for Clapham
High Street (whose webmaster we hope will get better soon), and PutneySW15.com.
Meanwhile, Down Under, Resinet
is Australia's largest residential network community, connecting residents
in apartment buildings in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. It provides a 24/7 online
communication and content portal between residents in a password protected intranet/internet.
TRENDWATCHING.COM can't wait to spot the first intranet exclusively for the
14th floor of a Sydney or New York Midtown high rise ;-)
Back to business: for smart urban entrepreneurs, NETHOODS
open up an opportunity to exploit a large portfolio of small,
highly targeted web venues, structured after urban grids and addresses. And for
those marketers who believe the holy grail is in 'think global, act local'
(WE still do!), NETHOODS are the
ultimate and most intimate environments for marketing neighborhood specific branches,
services and goods.
Note: Lessons in this field can surely be learned from too-early-adaptor EdificeRex.com,
a company that tried to roll out building-specific online services in New York
a few years ago. EdificeRex.com was the first real-estate-based portal for New
Yorkers, designed to create a unique online community for residents in upscale
apartment buildings, who would receive passwords that allowed them to use the
interactive, highly local, customized offerings. Time for a SECOND
.COMING?
MAY 2003 | Does your apartment building have a residence-net yet?
One building that should soon have one, is San Diego's One America Plaza: it is
the first major building that comes with standard WiFi access, every square foot/meter
of it: from its apartments and offices to its four parking decks. (Source: hotspot.nl.)
Now let's see if One America Plaza's residents can get their hands on www.oneamericaplaza.com!