Theme: Contributing

The web sites here all have one feature in common. All their content is provided by users — people like you contributing your knowledge, experience, memories or energy. To become a contributor to one of these sites, you must first register. That means you create a unique identity for yourself, so that your contribution can be recognised as yours. Registration at any website usually requires that you have an email address to which a confirmation message may be sent.

The Hackney Silver Surfers partnership is not responsible for the content or privacy practices of the external websites listed on this page. To open a link in a new browser window or tab, click on your right mouse button for the context menu.

1. Blogger.
   

   http://www.blogger.com/
   There are several sites where you can sign up for a free blog. This looks like the best one (in February 2006).
2. del.icio.us.
   

   http://del.icio.us/
   "A social bookmarks manager. It allows you to easily add sites you like to your personal collection of links, to categorize those sites with keywords, and to share your collection not only between your own browsers and machines, but also with others."
3. Flickr.
   

   http://flickr.com/
   An online photo management and sharing application. You get your own page to display photographs which you upload. Other people can see them and may post comments (if you wish). Flickr has recently been acquired by Yahoo, which means you need a Yahoo ID to participate.
4. Global Ideas bank.
   

   http://www.globalideasbank.org/site/home/
   "Aims to promote and disseminate good creative ideas to improve society. It further aims to encourage the public to generate these ideas, to participate in the problem-solving process."
5. Icons of England.
   

   http://www.icons.org.uk/
   "Stonehenge? Shakespeare's plays? A cup of tea? What are the icons of England? ICONS is putting together a collection of our best-loved cultural treasures."
6. Moving Here - 200 years of Migration to England.
   

   http://www.movinghere.org.uk/
   "The vision of Moving Here is to explore, record and illustrate why people came to England over the last 200 years, and what their experiences were and continue to be. Offers free access, for personal and educational use, to online versions of original material related to migration, including photographs, personal papers, government documents, maps and art objects, as well as a collection of sound recordings and video clips."
7. Open Directory.
   

   http://dmoz.org/
   "The largest, most comprehensive human-edited directory of the Web. It is constructed and maintained by a vast, global community of volunteer editors."
8. Protopage.
   

   http://protopage.com/
   Personalized news, sticky notes, bookmarks, calendar, all on one page. This looks genuinely useful. Example HSS page: Gruntled.
9. Storymaker.
   

   http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/london/storymaker.html?ixsid=eUp4kS4TsWO
   "We are looking for groups and individuals to send us trails, histories and features that represent different aspects of the heritage of London. Everyone from individuals to school and community groups is welcome to use Storymaker."
10. Time Capsule.
    

    http://www.thetimecapsule.co.uk/
    Time Capsule is a web site to which anyone may contribute. You can submit stories and photographs from any period of your life (or the lives of your ancestors). The search engine does not work, but the site is easy to browse by timeline or category.
11. Your History Here.
    

    http://www.yourhistoryhere.com/
    "Do you know something unusual about a place, building or street? Some odd factoid, rumour or tidbit? Share it here, and if you're lucky someone will follow up with more info on your place".

1. Computers and Internet : Making Websites.
2. Hackney : Community Engagement.
3. Lifelong Learning : Online Learning.
4. Services and Advice : Volunteering.