Finding Neighbors With Niche Interests
On the Internet, it’s quite easy to find people with similar interests. When I first started thinking about building out a mesh network in my neighborhood, a quick search led me to the Toronto Mesh, a very active group which actively contributes to the global mesh building community. But no active members live near me.
In a smaller area, you might know all of your neighbors, but it would be unlikely that you would find someone with the same interest.
My neighborhood is densely populated - how do I find people who might be interested in dabbling around with a WiFi mesh? First, I reached out to someone that I knew might be interested. This is the best way - we immediately connected our networks, and our mesh grew to two nodes.
Next, I posted to Facebook. Unfortunately, the subset of my Facebook connections in my neighborhood don’t overlap with my technology connections.
I printed a few signs and posted them on some community bulletin boards, which did not generate any response. I decided I would try a small mailing, targeting the apartment and condo units within WiFi range of my unit.
I’ve sent out 47 postcards over the past week - I mailed some to a neighboring building, and hand delivered others, hoping I might get a response from one or two. So far, no such luck. Given the lack of a compelling application, and the attention I pay to all the material we receive in our mailbox, the limited response is not a complete surprise.
I’m not sure what I’ll try next.