SXSW 2012

From Meet(ing)Up to borrowing Neighbor('s)Goods, civil society has come a long way since the days of Locke and Hobbes. In this era of 'Civil Society 2.0,' social web tools continue to transform local landscapes across the globe, connecting the digital with the physical with a few clicks of the mouse. But does the social web enable more informed and engaged communities? More important, does it enact significant offline change? With these questions in mind, this panel will explore how the social web connects individuals over shared interests in real time, from fixing pesky potholes to discovering drink specials at the local pub. Considering this convergence of technology and public space, it will also discuss how the social web facilitates co-presence and works to create more efficient and sustainable neighborhoods. Through online interaction, crowdsourcing tools allow us to see through the eyes and hear through the ears of people we haven’t physically met yet--emphasis on the "yet."