Welcome to Napa Local. There is a history behind this name and for more on that we suggest you go to the history link (coming soon0. In this introduction we simply want to outline some of themes and resources we wish to present. First and foremost is to simply highlight existing businesses, groups, and organizations that already exist in Napa County to the extent the community finds appropriate Second is to create feedback loops which promote discussion, and problem solving strategies involving said organizations this would include things like Angie's List, YELP, news stories and other sources which offer a kind of feedback loop on the entity in question. Third is to develop methods for envisioning new and alternative forms of business and organizations that may not presently exist or whose present configuration needs alteration beyond that which the present feedback systems seem to be providing. However all these aspects are guided by our attitudes and understandings on a broad variety of issues which will also need consideration in evaluating and changing our local institutions and the way we communicate with one another locally
Among the many questions that are likely to arise, one obvious one is how are we going to highlight such groups At the initial level rather simple applications such as a virtual on line yellow pages or something similar would serve as a perfect starting point. The main point of this would be that we as a community would have opens source ownership of any such list, and would serve as an asset for the community rather than a source of income for private sources. If the community wished to go further in having organization become more transparent than simply advertising their general contact and general advertising message then the subject is of course going to get stickier. so in a sense such listings should not just be seen in the traditional yellow page kind of sense, but instead as public portals for deeper discussion and interaction between customer, citizen, and the organizations which serve them
In a different sense but similar tact, such community databases or indexes could serve as a a registry of individuals who are looking to offer goods and services to offer others, or may have other interests beyond economics which they are interested in advertising for. the first part of this is pretty similar to what time banks do and we can come to back to that idea later, but they basically create work exchanges outside of the regular economy but are nonetheless tracked in a public manner. The database or registry being suggested here however could combine the alternative time bank idea together with large numbers of individuals who are offering goods and services in the conventional economy at least roughly speaking. The assumption would be that fairly large amounts of individuals would be able to advertise on such site since the advertising cost is near zero, but who were unable to previously advertise on the yellow pages due to cost. Such an added influx of those advertising their productive capabilities would likely create some additional hurdles in terms of licensing, certification and other legal hurdles Hopefully grassroots democratic processes can determine how to balance the safety issues with what would be likely an increased local labor supply that could portend of an improved local economic capacity
To return to the feedback mechanisms we mentioned earlier such as YELP, etc It is understood that many individuals think YELP and many systems like it are flawed. This may or may not be the case, but we are citing YELP, and others to illustrate an idea rather than offering any kind of sheer proof of success. but a community needs to be more than consumers leaving feedback about economic transactions. A matrix of ideas, emotions, dreams, biases, and beliefs is interwoven with our economic lives. At some point those complexities enter into the equation, and the idea of simple business and organizational listings no longer seems sufficient to integrate this wider swath of considerations. While it is true that deeper examination and processes will be necessary, this indexing function may still be of some additional help. Depending on the type of process used we may be able to build profiles which could more effectively link those working on certain issues with others interested in those same issues and strategies
Such goals will need to utilize a broad range of modalities, and groups interested in the process. While it is presumptuous for any person or group to take on the mantle of being the umbrella group for all the conversation and issues in a given locality it should nonetheless be clear we feel such a central nexus for discussions and concerns of a community is generally a primary concern. While a centralized source is not necessarily essential, an alternative distributed system should serve the same basic function which is to create communication pathways which are understood and accessible to the widest amount of the citizenry possible and which functions in an integrated manner to provide for interdisciplinary congruity In other words perhaps we have a grand central website, or other form of central hub, or we have a web smaller sites that are integrated in a way that meets the needs of a well networked community infrastructure. You could say it is the function that we seek and form follows from that , but others will contend it is the form that provides the function. Clearly it is a highly nuanced balancing act which will require a careful focus
Part of the project suggests certain types of outlines or categories