About this Mason-Fairfax Hub

July 16, 2017 Scott Joy

Summary

We are a digital public square for those who live, study, and work in and around the Mason Fairfax campus ... to share interests, knowledge, and innovations to help create a more supportive, dynamic, and healthier community.

Imagine

What if we had a Town-Gown community where … everyone helped each other … to be the most … well nourished, physically fit & emotionally resilient … economically productive & prosperous … socially connected & civically involved … accomplished & work/life balanced … enriched by the arts & informed by science … sustainable & prepared for any hazard … meaningfully engaged & more!

This Hub can enable us to make it so. It’s the participatory and curated social forum by which each of us in the neighborhood can easily get to know each others interests as well as to meet, share, plan, collaborate, and ultimately create the best environment possible … for us all to flourish – together.

Why be a Hub member?

Promote your program, project, or ideas for the community … Post your stories
Offer & receive feedback … Comment on others posts
Find & connect to neighbors with shared interests … Find others profiles to connect online or offline
Be visible to potential collaborators, mentors, volunteers, investors, donors, & employers … Build your profile in the Directory (using text, images, videos and more)
Forge Town-Gown relationships … Find & connect with GMU resources via the Directory profiles
Create & engage in a more enlightened, collaborative & innovative community … Collaborate & innovate with GMU; begin conversations on their featured posts

Curators & Advisory Board

All content in this site is under the Creative Commons Non Commercial license. We are looking for people in the Mason Neighborhood to become Hub Curators. Contact Scott Joy if you are interested. If you can use a word processing program, you can be a curator. Curators currently are volunteers. However, as the the Expo develops, we expect to share that revenue with Curators.

We are also looking for six people from the Mason Neighborhood – one Mason student, faculty, and staff person and three Fairfax City and nearby County people – to serve on a Mason Neighborhood Advisory Board. Contact Meredith Cary at DrCary@mac.com if you are interested.

What’s in the Hub?

Home Page

Curators will showcase the posts by Hub members who share what’s hot/happening in and around the Mason Neighborhood. These posts will include multimedia, including interesting short videos or even live-streaming of events.

About

Here you can learn how to get started. Become a member and participate in the Hub. Be a curator, an Expo exhibitor, or a sponsor. Or, simply get tips for how to get the most out of the website as a viewer. Learn how to post (for free) so that you can share information about your interests. Learn how to develop your profile (for free) so that others can find you, related to your interests.

Featured

Here you will see all the current and archived posts that are or have been ‘featured’ on the home page. They may include Hub members’ posts regarding: Education, Research, Service, New Projects, Resources, Streaming TV, People, or News & Events in the community.

Education

Here you will see Hub members’ posts regarding anything/everything related to local/online educational resources in the community. That could include: Mason colleges, schools, and programs, all public and private schools in the area (as well as after-school programs) for all grades, lifelong learning, etc. Share your information if you are looking for community member participation (e.g., volunteers, mentors, sponsors, etc.) in your educational endeavor.

Research

Here Hub members’s posts include any research project including: Business & Economics; Culture, Media & Society; Education; Healthcare & Biomedical; Physical & Biological Sciences; Regional, National & International Policy; Security; Sustainability; Technology & Information; Wellness & Well-Being. Share your information if you are looking for community member participation (e.g., clinical trial participants, community-based collaboration, etc.) in your research endeavor.

Service

Here you will see Hub members’ posts about their services, including: Fairfax volunteer groups; Advocacy organizations; Student clubs (all educational levels); Government and NGO’s that encourage business and innovation, etc. Share your information if you are looking for community member participation (e.g., volunteers, mentors, sponsors, etc.) in your service endeavor.

New Projects

Here you will find out about how the area is planning to grow, innovate, and develop – both from the City or County perspective as well as Mason’s development projects. As well, you will see Hub members’ posts about their exciting new start-up’s and plans or ideas for start-up’s. Share your information if you are looking for community member participation (e.g., volunteers, mentors, sponsors, etc.) in your new endeavor … at whatever stage it might be.

Events

Here you will see Hub members’ posts about what’s going on around town, including events by Mason, the City, and the County … from civic elections and Rock the Block to Fall for the Book and the Arena. No event is too small. If you’d like community members to join in your Brown-bag lunch event or school play or conference, share your information.

Resources

Hub members’ posts will share information about community resources, from libraries & community centers to job opportunities in the City and at Mason … to you-name-it resource.

Expo

Here is the only place on the website where you will find advertising. Think of the Expo as if it’s like visiting the exhibit hall at a conference. Sponsors of the website and others can be visible for a fee – which is expected to be able to financially sustain the cost of curating and other operating expenses of the website.