How many times have you logged onto the Internet looking for information to help you make decisions or develop solutions to your public works-related challenges? Although the Internet has helped us access information, sometimes, the enormity of the information on the Internet can actually prevent us from efficiently finding help.
APWA has done a great job of helping to facilitate the sharing of knowledge by setting up their infoNOW community. But many are not subscribed or do not access it often enough so we are not, as a profession, getting a comprehensive organization of our collective knowledge.
Now imagine if there was one site where you could always go that offered a collection of knowledge and experiences from all of us who are working in public works across the United States and even the world. A place where you could always find the answer because someone else had that same problem and shared their solution. A place where those new to the field could get a better handle on tried and true approaches.
Well, at one time that idea may have seemed impossible, but with the wiki approach, a site such as that is now within our reach. All we have to do is CONTRIBUTE! All of us have valuable experiences and knowledge so if you see some subject to which you can add a comment - hit that edit button and get typing.
PUBLIC WORKS IN SECOND LIFE
This wiki was also created to help organize members of several Second Life groups who are working together to explore using Second Life to enhance our real life work. Second Life is a 3-D virtual world that offers its users many tools and opportunities to explore designs and plans with little to no cost. This community also provides a place where people from our profession can meet and collaborate with each other and with our citizens. So if you have not yet checked out Second Life, go to the Web site at www.secondlife.com, download the free software, set up a free account, and log on to visit us on Public Works Island.
You can also check out some of the projects we are working on by visiting the related links on this site.
