After contacting Prof. Daena Goldsmith upon recommendation from an ENVS colleague, she sent back a plethora of rich resources to look into. Initially my work focused on the role of trusted organizations, with the idea of a third place as a means of further exploration, but in this research I found that actually they are one in the same, at least for the purposes of my research. I can see the idea of a third place being an instrumental part of my thesis and my research this semester, and so in this post I will detail an article written by Steinkuehler and Williams that explores online games as third places. This article was particularly relevant given my work with Nextdoor, which is also online.
The frameworks that this article deals with are actually originally from Oldenburg’s 1999 book The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Community Centers, Beauty Parlors, General Stores, Bars, Hangouts, and How They Get You Through The Day. I checked his book out of the library after scouring the bibliography of Steinkuehler and Williams’ piece, but have yet to read it in depth. Consequently, I’ll rely on the article instead of the book for this review. There are eight characteristics, which I will list below, copied from the aforementioned article.
[table]
Characteristic,Definition
Neutral Ground,Third places are neutral grounds where individuals are free to come and go as they please with little obligation or entanglements with other participants.
Leveler, Third places are spaces in which an individual’s rank and status in the workplace or society at large are of no import. Acceptance and participation is not contingent on any prerequisites; requirements; roles; duties; or proof of membership.
Conversation is Main Activity,In third places conversation is a main activity in which playfulness and wit are collectively valued.
Accessibility & Accommodation,Third places must be easy to access and are accommodating to those who frequent them.
The Regulars,Third places include a cadre of regulars who attract newcomers and give the space its characteristic mood.
A Low Profile,Third places are characteristically homely and without pretension.
The Mood is Playful,The general mood in third places is playful and marked by frivolity; verbal word play; and wit.
A Home Away from Home,Third places are home-like in terms of Seamon’s (1979) five defining traits: rootedness; feelings of possession; spiritual regeneration; feelings of being at ease; and warmth.
[/table]
These characteristics will help me formulate survey questions to pose to Nextdoor users in my neighborhood to see if this app is in fact an online third place, a trusted organization that can foster a sense of community and belonging over the internet.
This whole project stems from the idea that there is an increasing push for people to knock on their neighbors’ doors in order to get to know them before a crisis occurs. I’m wondering if Nextdoor can actually promote more lasting and potentially deeper connections than the traditional knock on the door since people can access it from their own homes, yet have to be part of the neighborhood to see it. However, there have been criticisms toward social media in general in impeding this kind of human connection that disaster preparedness experts are encouraging. I see Nextdoor as a bit different from other social media platforms though, and one of the biggest reasons for that is its’ membership requirements: anyone signed up in your neighborhood had to confirm that they were in fact residents of that neighborhood. Because of this, I imagined there would be a deeper sense of trust because of a location commonality. Additionally, since Collins View in particular is mostly residential, I saw Nextdoor as basically an online community center where people could come and go as they please, make conversation, and connect with neighbors that they would never run into otherwise. We’ll see what my neighbors think next week, when I create and distribute my survey!