It's nice to see it coming together -- why isn't this happening everywhere?

A little over a year ago in a post titled "The Death of Social Networking as we know it . . . Social Network Commerce" we suggested that social networking should be something more than sharing information, displaying our music and video preferences, making introductions, playing games, and poking each other. In that post, we made suggestions for Government and Private organizations to engage their communities in the social space.

And now it's here. Well, at least it is here where I live . . . is it here where you live?

Downtown Franklin is on Facebook, and they are hosting and inviting residents to a variety of events happening in (of all places) Downtown Franklin!

It's not the Digital Public Square in Washington D.C. that helped the recently appointed presidential technology adviser get a new gig, but I'm OK with that. Now, I think we'll see more of what Tim Tracey offers at YouGottaCall - a connection of local, trusted service providers with new customers using their network of customers, friends and neighbors (see comments on this post).

I think there's an opportunity for Customer Powered Service, as noted previously - a return to the mindset of the marketplace. Customer Powered Service is the empowering of the customer, where companies are successful only if they provide customers with what they need (and are asking for). When we speak of Customer Powered Service, it's not just about the customer -- it's also about the service!

What do you think?