Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Preliminaries
During the summer of 2004, many offices were vacant in downtown Haddonfield as a result of abrupt changes in the rules for lawyers to practice in the state. The town officials were looking for ways to re-attract lawyers to Haddonfield, and the landlords were considering conversion of the space to other uses. Instead to trying to fill empty rental space, it seemed like a better idea to ask what Haddonfield needed, and try to use cheap rentals as an attraction.
Haddonfield needs to become a computer center. The internet makes it possible to locate computer activity on the top of a mountain, or on an island in a lake. But computer people need to gather together and interact. They work alone but they need to talk in person with their own kind, they need a place to buy supplies and equipment, and they need to be close to transportation. Most of all they need to bump into people with skills that fit with their own skills. They need to bump into people with the gossip of the trade.
At the same time, Haddonfield needs to have more occupational buzz of some sort. Almost any new industry or technology would do, just so long as it doesn't increase the need for more downtown parking space. It would be great if a major occupation in town could take place here within walking distance of home. Merchants are fine, and commuters are fine, but we need a core of people who live here and walk to work -- here.
In a general way, that's how the Haddonfield Computer Society came to get started. Once a month for lunch, locally. There's an agenda, but there's a lot of show and tell.
Haddonfield needs to become a computer center. The internet makes it possible to locate computer activity on the top of a mountain, or on an island in a lake. But computer people need to gather together and interact. They work alone but they need to talk in person with their own kind, they need a place to buy supplies and equipment, and they need to be close to transportation. Most of all they need to bump into people with skills that fit with their own skills. They need to bump into people with the gossip of the trade.
At the same time, Haddonfield needs to have more occupational buzz of some sort. Almost any new industry or technology would do, just so long as it doesn't increase the need for more downtown parking space. It would be great if a major occupation in town could take place here within walking distance of home. Merchants are fine, and commuters are fine, but we need a core of people who live here and walk to work -- here.
In a general way, that's how the Haddonfield Computer Society came to get started. Once a month for lunch, locally. There's an agenda, but there's a lot of show and tell.
