Social Networks & Online Community
Jun 15th, 2007 by Tom Murphy
DURAND & ELECTRIC MINDS
In 1996, my adventures in the nascent online social networks led to creating an EPK for Durand Corporation in Santa Barbara, CA. Andre Durand’s dazzling technology was a commerce portal centered around a news press hub. Casey Hughes, CFO, navigated with a clear vision of the future.
Durand’s NT technology and CommunityWare, deep stuff even for a technophile like me. In 1996, Andre and Casey’s vision of the Internet was about building communities and enabling transactions. So after poring over a stack of documents, what Casey called the “court dump”, I decided on a journalistic approach. Armed with a camera and minimal crew, I followed them as they negotiated deals and conducted think tank sessions. The center piece was their presention of Mindwire technology to the Board of Directors. Those guys were serious players in the VC world.
Time has proved that the Mindwire strategy is at the core of what the web became. In 2008, Web 2.0 social networks wield increasing political influence, common man journalism rises to the shared media space.
In the mid-90s, the foundation of online communities was being set. I worked for a while as a public relations writer/journalist for Durand Corporation in Santa Barbara. Durand’s Mindwire Client/Server Network was a front runner in online applications built on community models. I created media for their Venture Capital presentations and CD video and audio for their programs. It was inspiring to be part of a team of technology innovators. Now, so many take the Internet for granted and benefit from a VC fueled push to make the technology transparent so everyone can take part. In the early days the social theories were translated into technology by some brilliant folks.
Being a technology evangelist meant monthly meetings with a group of fantastic people – technology pioneers, corporate leaders and social journalists.
Max Gail hosted LAP (Local Access Place) meetings in Malibu. LAP was a technology think tank focused on social networking. Casey Hughes, one of the coolest guys ever, surfer, technology guru with CFO brilliance was a powerhouse at Durand Corporation. Through Casey I met Howard Rheingold, an influential writer and creator of Electric Minds, a leading online community at that time. The future Howard wrote about is now in full bloom. Clifford Figallo had a special insight into communities which were based on deep understanding of social networks. The foundation he spoke about were communes, which some folks misinterpret as a hippie idealistic lifestyle that evolved in the 60’s. Not exactly. These guys are living examples that social consciousness works.