I live in a relatively new housing estate in Ireland. It’s full of people like me, people who aren’t from the area and who are busy working most days. We might know a couple of our neighbours, but there’s no real sense of community.

So, we set up a Residents Association. And, to save time, money and trees, we’ve decided that most of our communication to the residents will be via our blog / website. The site is a great way to keep residents up to date on committee activities etc. But more importantly, it helps create a virtual community.

We’ve posted a couple of items to the site which are already proving popular: “Babysitting” and “Advertise your wares”. The idea is that people can find the help they need from within their own community. Who knew there’s a 16 year old just around the corner just crying out for a babysitting job? Or someone to help with that planning application for an extension? Now, with the help of this site, residents can share information like this - and then get to know their neighbours.

I’m hoping that from our virtual community, a strong sense of “physical” community will grow. I’ll keep you posted.