Twenty years ago, American communities were falling apart. That bleak view was promoted by Robert Putnam in his book, Bowling Alone. Putnam’s research showed that increasing numbers of us would rather watch television than join clubs. I knew exactly what he meant. I was one of those people who would rather watch television than go bowling.
Our lack of interest in each other began to change in the early 2000s, when I and millions of other people started to blog. At first, blogging looked like an activity you did alone at home. Then, over the next few years, individual bloggers found each other and formed online communities of like-minded learners. A few years after that, meetup.com started bringing us together in person. Community engagement was making a rebound.
This July 16, we’re going to celebrate this renaissance at Lehigh Valley’s first WordCamp. The event is sponsored by one of the great community building organizations of our time, WordPress.org – through their promotion of WordCamps, they have turned individual bloggers into a social force.
We’re meeting on the south side of Bethlehem, thanks to the hospitality of another great institution, Northampton Community College. Of course the fundamental role of a college is to educate students. In addition, Northampton Community College adds another dimension to their charter. They enrich citizens of the Lehigh Valley through programs in dance, cooking, manufacturing automation, writing, jewelry making, acting, English as a second language, and many other subjects.
Fowler campus is adjacent to two other symbols of community renaissance, the popular Steel Stacks and ArtsQuest buildings. These have all been refurbished from the infrastructure left behind by the great empire of Bethlehem Steel.
Back in the old days, when Bethlehem Steel was king, thousands of workers saw these buildings as crucial centers of their community. At the end of their workdays, I’m sure many of them went bowling. Nowadays, in the Age of the Internet, we have changed our reasons for getting together. Now, many of us get together to learn and grow, whether in monthly WordPress meetups, in classes offered by Northampton Community College, or this July 16, at the first annual Lehigh Valley WordCamp.
