CONTEXT: This level of "Citizenship and Enlightened Expections" presents the highest level of benefits, but is also the most difficult to understand, particularly without the direct hands-on experience of the previous levels.

Expectations increase with experience. As you gain experience using Internet collaborative tools, it soon becomes clear that there is incredible untapped potential for working together with others as a good citizen, both locally and globally.

We’re seeing many organizations using the web for advocacy for their cause and for activism to take organized action toward specific goals. A course in virtual activism is found at http://www.netaction.org/training  It is a fact, that transnational activism, working with others online globally to advocate a cause, such as human rights, is dramatically on the rise!

Involvement in the process of identifying emerging needs, and meeting those needs with genuine value and services, can be taught through a project-based approach to real community issues and problems. Due to the Internet's increasing efficiency and popularization, new opportunities, with a global significance and reach, are being continually created. One only has to look at those who are successfully providing services and products via the Internet to see why home-based businesses are flourishing.

With the very nature of work changing, as youth grow up, they will need to identify new processes for identifying emerging work opportunities in their communities. The jobs they will likely perform in the future may not exist today.

We’re already seeing many online businesses realizing the value of online collaboration and they are inventing new collaborative capabilities to enhance their web sites. Free Ebusiness web sites are now available to anyone! (Listed at http://lone-eagles.com/webdev.htm and http://lone-eagles.com/entrelinks.htm)

While the Internet itself can indeed be a window of unlimited opportunity, one must develop the capacity for envisioning that which is yet to come. These emerging trends are typically based on common sense application of the new capabilities to meet existing needs as the Internet evolves.

ACTIVITY:   Explore the following ‘Building Learning
                     Communities’ Web Tour resources,
                          also at http://lone-eagles.com/teled.htm

ACTIVITY:   Explore the following E-business Start-Up
                     Training Resources Web Tour
                     and perform an Internet search using the following
                     terms: "youth+entrepreneurship"
                     See http://lone-eagles.com/entrelinks.htm

ACTIVITY:   Explore the following Community Networking
                     Clearinghouse at
                     http://lone-eagles.com/community.html and the
                     Community Network Planning Guides
                     at http://lone-eagles.com/chap11.htm to get ideas for
                     what your community can do for itself.

ACTIVITY:  Explore the Electronic Democracy Web Tour
                     at http://lone-eagles.com/democracy.htm
                     to appreciate existing resources for citizen activism,
                     home businesses, telecommuting and community
                     networking!

ACTIVITY:  Explore how various causes and organizations are
                     empowering themselves using the Internet
                     http://www.netaction.org
                    and http://www.netaction.org/training/
  
                     Think about the implications for your own impact on
                     the world via Internet during your lifetime!

ACTIVITY:  Read the Good Neighbor’s Guide to Community
                     Networking, particularly Chapter 2.
                     http://lone-eagles.com/cnguide.htm

                    Take the Smart community quiz at
                    http://lone-eagles.com/smart.htm and
                    note this is the most complete listing
                    of our community networking articles and resources.