While MySpace is a great way to keep up with friends and check out new music, many people feel that it lacks a certain local flavor. After all, it’s owned by News Corp, one of the great media monoliths (Fox, New York Post, HarperMorrow Publishers, just for a start), causing a bit of cognitive dissonance in some parts of the indie-loving community of Asheville. So, what is a local-loving, internet-savvy, socially-inclined person to do?
Until recently, not much.
But that was before TalkAsheville, a WNC-based social networking site that aims to incorporate many of the elements of MySpace and Friendster while keeping the content and users local. While the site is still in an early stage, TalkAsheville does offer free classifieds (think CraigsList), profiles, forums, chatrooms, blogs and video uploads—the staples of today’s internet.
And for those of you who like your content a bit more old school, check out the forum-driven AshChat.net. While it’s nowhere near as Web 2.0 as TalkAsheville, it’s still a good place to converse with other locals about all things Asheville.
And if you’re looking for polarizing political debate (i’m not generally, but would rather corral the argumentative types into not invading the social world), there’s always Freakin’ asheville
Freakin Asheville: http://disc.server.com/Indices/178984.html
and if you are tired of the “argumentative types” (such as those admittedly at Freakin Asheville) you may wish to explore options with more open minded individuals who can feel comfortable in building relations and communicating with the great diverse community of Asheville, NC. That is what makes Asheville such a great place to live and http://www.talkasheville.com such a great place to hang online!
and after all the article is about talkasheville and ashchat, the footnote comment is merely spam. we dislike spam in a can, in our mail and on the web :-)
Thanks 360. After the MountainX article, i’m already there with Icon, Profile and Forum questions! :)
i better head over there and answer those for you LOL
Actually, I’d have mentioned Freakin’ Asheville if I’d known it was still around. I’d assumed that the whole thing had caved in under its own weight by now. Thanks for the reminder, Zen.
While we’re on the topic, are there any other local message boards or social networking sites I’ve overlooked?
well there is always the citizen times community, but if you do not share the same beliefs as the paper you are kicked out. if i wanted that kind of treatment i would apply for a bush white house position :-)
Wow MountainX thank you for the mention and great support! As in other forums, I think the Asheville Magazine still has a forum, but I am not sure. Oh by the way Zen and Freaking Asheville folks, everybody is welcome to join TalkAsheville without discrimination. While our public forum has a politics area if someone wanted heated and argumentative political discussions, an individual could always create a club(group) which comes with its own individual club forum and Chat room.
It took me a while to respond, but thanks for the mention. Our little project is doing surprisingly well. Word of mouth is spreading and more people are finding their way over. There aren’t really any rules on the forum other than no flooding/spamming, so a tough skin might not be such a bad idea for new people joining up. So far there haven’t been any issues, though. Most people in the Asheville area seem laid back enough to moderate themselves. If anybody has any questions/ideas/put downs feel free to let me know.
– AshChat.net
for some funny, somewhat asheville related news…
deezlee.com/gfe
Talk Asheville recently underwent a renovation to add new features and become more user friendly. Additionally, the site added a music section for local musicians and bands where they can customize their own pages and upload music for listeners to listen to and post their gigs on their own Gig calender. Musicians can also sell Cds, MP3 downloads, band merchandise and advance (digital) tickets to upcoming events. The music section also has many other features that musicians should find very useful and helpful with their music career.