The Nabuur Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Giethoorn, Netherlands. It aims to help in the development of impoverished communities by enabling people from other countries to help the community members through Nabuur's website.
Nabuur started operating on 30 October 2001. Its founder, Siegfried Woldhek, is a former director of the Dutch branch of the World Wildlife Fund. Nabuur is an old word in Dutch meaning "neighbor".
The core of the system employed by Nabuur is the concept of village. There is a simple mechanism at the website for registering a village. Communities in all parts of the world can register in Nabuur's website and state the issues they face. Such issues might be Aids epidemics, low literacy rates, the construction of water wells, gender inequalities among others.
From that moment on this community is called a village, in spite of the community's current geographical status. Some are as few as 50 people, some as many as a million. Then a facilitator (a volunteer worker trained by Nabuur) is appointed for this village's web page.
Now other users can sign in as virtual neighbors for this village. The neighbors will look for possible ideas concerning the issues raised by the village, and then present possible ideas for the community to consider. If project funding or expert involvement is to be sought, that is for the local community to do—with support from the virtual neighbors.
A wiki is a knowledge base website on which users collaboratively modify and structure content directly from a web browser. In a typical wiki, text is written using a simplified markup language and often edited with the help of a rich-text editor.
An internet relationship is a relationship between people who have met online, and in many cases know each other only via the Internet. Online relationships are similar in many ways to pen pal relationships. This relationship can be romantic, platonic, or even based on business affairs. An internet relationship is generally sustained for a certain amount of time before being titled a relationship, just as in-person relationships. The major difference here is that an internet relationship is sustained via computer or online service, and the individuals in the relationship may or may not ever meet each other in person. Otherwise, the term is quite broad and can include relationships based upon text, video, audio, or even virtual character. This relationship can be between people in different regions, different countries, different sides of the world, or even people who reside in the same area but do not communicate in person.
Taos Pueblo is an ancient pueblo belonging to a Taos-speaking (Tiwa) Native American tribe of Puebloan people. It lies about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the modern city of Taos, New Mexico. The pueblos are considered to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the United States. This has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
A virtual community is a social network of individuals who connect through specific social media, potentially crossing geographical and political boundaries in order to pursue mutual interests or goals. Some of the most pervasive virtual communities are online communities operating under social networking services.
An online community, also called an internet community or web community, is a virtual community whose members interact with each other primarily via the Internet. For many, online communities may feel like home, consisting of a "family of invisible friends". Those who wish to be a part of an online community usually have to become a member via a specific site and thereby gain access to specific content or links. An online community can act as an information system where members can post, comment on discussions, give advice or collaborate. Commonly, people communicate through social networking sites, chat rooms, forums, e-mail lists and discussion boards. People may also join online communities through video games, blogs and virtual worlds. The rise in popularity of Web 2.0 websites has allowed for easier real-time communication and connection to others, and facilitated the introduction of new ways for information to be exchanged.
Social software, also known as social apps, include communication and interactive tools often based on the Internet. Communication tools typically handle the capturing, storing and presentation of communication, usually written but increasingly including audio and video as well. Interactive tools handle mediated interactions between a pair or group of users. They focus on establishing and maintaining a connection among users, facilitating the mechanics of conversation and talk. Social software generally refers to software that makes collaborative behaviour, the organisation and moulding of communities, self-expression, social interaction and feedback possible for individuals. Another element of the existing definition of social software is that it allows for the structured mediation of opinion between people, in a centralized or self-regulating manner. The most improved area for social software is that Web 2.0 applications can all promote cooperation between people and the creation of online communities more than ever before.
A virtual world is a computer-based simulated environment which may be populated by many users who can create a personal avatar, and simultaneously and independently explore the virtual world, participate in its activities and communicate with others. These avatars can be textual, two or three-dimensional graphical representations, or live video avatars with auditory and touch sensations. In general, virtual worlds allow for multiple users but single player computer games, such as Skyrim, can also be considered a type of virtual world.
Digital currency is a type of currency available in digital form. It exhibits properties similar to physical currencies, but can allow for instantaneous transactions and borderless transfer-of-ownership. Examples include virtual currencies, cryptocurrencies, and central bank digital currency. These currencies may be used to buy physical goods and services, but may also be restricted to certain communities such as for use inside an online game.
A business incubator is a company that helps new and startup companies to develop by providing services such as management training or office space. The National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) defines business incubators as a catalyst tool for either regional or national economic development. NBIA categorizes their members' incubators by the following five incubator types: academic institutions; non-profit development corporations; for-profit property development ventures; venture capital firms, and combination of the above.
Internet identity (IID), also online identity or internet persona, is a social identity that an Internet user establishes in online communities and websites. It can also be considered as an actively constructed presentation of oneself. Although some people choose to use their real names online, some Internet users prefer to be anonymous, identifying themselves by means of pseudonyms, which reveal varying amounts of personally identifiable information. An online identity may even be determined by a user's relationship to a certain social group they are a part of online. Some can even be deceptive about their identity.
Social entrepreneurship is an approach by individuals, groups, start-up companies or entrepreneurs, in which they develop, fund and implement solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues. This concept may be applied to a wide range of organizations, which vary in size, aims, and beliefs. For-profit entrepreneurs typically measure performance using business metrics like profit, revenues and increases in stock prices. Social entrepreneurs, however, are either non-profits, or they blend for-profit goals with generating a positive "return to society". Therefore, they use different metrics. Social entrepreneurship typically attempts to further broad social, cultural, and environmental goals often associated with the voluntary sector in areas such as poverty alleviation, health care and community development.
In 1915, Robert E. Park and E. W. Burgess introduced the idea of "neighborhood" as an ecological concept with urban planning implications. Since then, many concepts and ideas of a neighborhood have emerged. Milton Kolter defines a neighborhood as, “…a political settlement of small territory and familiar association, whose absolute property is its capacity for deliberative democracy.” While most neighborhoods are difficult to define geographically, anyone who lives in an urban setting relates to an area that they call their neighborhood. As such, it is a useful level to engage in planning practice.
Action Without Borders is a New York-based non-profit organization founded in 1995 by Ami Dar. A global network of people and organizations, it aims to make the world a place where people can live with freedom and dignity. This organization is about reaching out and connecting individuals with opportunities to volunteer, work, and intern.
BrettspielWelt is a large, popular, and free German online gaming site. Its name translates as Boardgame World. It contains online versions of over 70 popular classical and modern board games and card games, such as Backgammon, Bluff, Carcassonne, Can't Stop, Go, Settlers of Catan, and Tichu.
Ravelry is a free social networking service and website that beta-launched in May 2007. It functions as an organizational tool for a variety of fiber arts, including knitting, crocheting, spinning, and weaving. Members share projects, ideas, and their collection of yarn, fiber, and tools via various components of the site.
Miniconomy is an online, browser based, economic and trade simulation game developed in the Netherlands. The game has over 141,000 registered players from 100 different countries that can play the game in English, Spanish, Danish, Portuguese, German, French and Dutch. As of March 2016, 149 rounds have been completed.
The sociology of the Internet involves the application of sociological theory and method to the Internet as a source of information and communication. Sociologists are concerned with the social implications of the technology; new social networks, virtual communities and ways of interaction that have arisen, as well as issues related to cyber crime.
The term tribe or digital tribe is used as a slang term for an unofficial community of people who share a common interest, and usually who are loosely affiliated with each other through social media or other Internet mechanisms. The term is related to "tribe", which traditionally refers to people closely associated in both geography and genealogy. Nowadays, it looks more like a virtual community or a personal network and it is often called global digital tribe. Most anthropologists agree that a tribe is a (small) society that practices its own customs and culture, and that these define the tribe. The tribes are divided into clans, with their own customs and cultural values that differentiate them from activities that occur in 'real life' contexts. People feel more inclined to share and defend their ideas on social networks than they would dare to say to someone face to face. For example, it would be ridiculous to 'poke' someone in real life.
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over US$34 billion was raised worldwide by crowdfunding.
In gerontology, an Elder Village or Senior Village is an organization, usually staffed by volunteers, that provides services to the elderly in order to allow them to remain in their homes as they age. Villages are a part of the "aging in place" movement, and are found in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands, as well as South Korea and Finland.