Getting to node your neighbors

Would you like to get to node--I mean know--your neighbors? How about getting to know them through your computer? Imagine a bulletin board only accessible by those physically closest to you. Put a name to that face at the laundromat. Find someone to feed your cat. Even make plans for peak oil. WorldChanging reports on Neighbornodes, which makes it all possible:

Neighbornodes are group message boards on local wireless networks. And local here means really local -- the nodes transmit a signal for about 300 feet. When you get online using your nearest Neighbornode, you have access to the node's bulletin board, where you can both read and post. Not on the node? Can't read the board.

... A Neighbornode is thus more than just a local wifi hotspot. "What I wanted to do was reintroduce the idea of an old town center in a big, modern city," Geraci told WiFiPlanet.com. "To create a non-threatening place where people who didn't know each other could have a dialog." It can feel easier to get to know someone online before meeting them in person, even if they live right up the block.

How cool is that? And its easy to join. "First, look for a Neighbornode near your apartment. If none currently exists, then just create a new node and add it to the network." And you don't even have to be in New York:

You can be anywhere in the world and set up a Neighbornode. The process is very easy - if you can set up a wireless access point for your own living room, you can set up a Neighbornode. Even if your living room is in Bangladesh.

"Node thy neighbor" indeed!