This post isn’t about finding help online– it’s about finding help online! haha! I’m not talking about finding technical help online, but emotional and mental support online– the ability of online communities to enrich our lives and help us overcome problems and obstacles. Social networking is hot right now (I do a lot of it as a professional blogger), but a good deal of social networking is filled with incessant blabber about meaningless things like celebrities, amusements, and other drivel. But some folks have taken it on themselves to use social networking as a service to help people. How cool is it that?? Social networking is amazing– through it we can meet new people from all around the world, get advice or support, and receive and give the accountability we need.
The “wiki” is a unique form of social networking. A wiki is simply defined as “the simplest online database that could possibly work.” It’s basically a website where users can create and edit pages using their browser. Wikipedia is probably the most well-known wiki, but there are loads of others.
One such community wiki is InTheRooms. This is an online, editable database of meetings. Right now, the InTheRooms Meetings database includes current Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), Overeaters Anonymous (OA), and Gamblers Anonymous (GA) meetings, and they expect to add more. The goal is to help users help each other, and notify users of particular groups of meetings and updates. Consider it an adaptable, malleable encyclopedia or phone book of meetings! Information is up-to-date and current, and all information submitted is moderated. InTheRooms is currently adding more groups to their wiki, so it’s a great one to monitor.
Social networking has come of age!
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