I got involved in a short term virtual community (if you can call 2 years short term) a while back. July 7, 2007 was the 100th anniversary of the birth of one of the authors who shaped my life, Robert A. Heinlein. A group of fans decided to throw him a birthday party and what followed was one of the most interesting experiences of my life. The committee, whose membership stretched from wilds of the Washington D.C. suburbs to the wilds of northwest Canada, operated via email and a mailing list, wiki, live journal, a usenet newsgroup, skype, regular telephone, USPS and telepathy. (Okay, telepathy is a stretch, but Tina came close. )
The Centennial was a rousing success. Over 700 people from multiple countries were present. People from all walks of life…authors and astronauts, liberals and libertarians, semanticists and strippers, naval officers and hippies…for one brief moment we were all connected by our love and respect for one man…
