Intranets and Local Community: 'Yes, an intranet is all very well, but do we still get free beer and a barbeque?

Abstract

This paper arises from a three year research project examining the development and implementation of a residential community intranet in Melbourne, Australia. At the time of writing, the level of use of the intranet by residents is low, and the paper explores possible reasons why this may be the case. These reasons include: a) the possibility that the aggregation of potential users and content is not appropriate b) the possibility that the technology is not appropriate c) the possibility that the conception of community relations on which the intranet is premised is not appropriate d) the possibility that residents’ perception of efforts to engineer community relations is not appropriate and e) the possibility that the identity of the intranet as a domestic artefact has not yet been recognised by the residents. A consideration of these five possibilities using the specific case study raises issues concerning both particular community intranets, and more general socio-technical relations.