The Age of the Armchair Activist.

It has never been easier to make a difference since the advent of social media. The keyboard has become mightier than the sword and is proving to be an effective defense throughout the world against crime.

I am pleased to announce that the next stage of the S.M.A.C. project is complete. The leaflets are ready and now if you want to you can print them off and distribute them to people on your street. The main stumbling block with a new Facebook group is you can only add your Facebook friends or invite people if you know their email. The leaflets make it easier to build your own group numbers by informing nearby residents, so they can then request to join. Alternatively, if you want to see if there is already a group for your area there is a new Notes section on the main Facebook page where groups are listed. Please let us know if you have a group, page or Twitter account that you want to add to the list.

I would like to thank Neighbourhood Watch for giving us their full support and the use of their logo on the leaflet. They hope to provide and distribute leaflets in larger quantities, that will help to extend the project across the whole of Derbyshire and beyond. Why not go over and see them on Facebook and Twitter and say hello. They even have a YouTube account to subscribe too.

We have also been recommended by Amber Valley Info and thebestof Alfreton who have both kindly offered to list details of SMAC on their websites for free. Thank you also to everyone who has already joined the Ripley group and liked our Facebook page. Hopefully you will never use this service, but it is great to know that their is already an ever growing network of support if it is required.

There is a full colour double-sided leaflet and we will be adding a black and white concise alternative. This is for those who wish to conserve printer ink or do not have access to a printer and just want to print a few copies at the local library. The link to the PDF. of the leaflet is currently available here until we are in a position to fund a unique web server address. It doesn't really matter which method you choose as it's the end result that counts, which is simply to find a way to open communications and raise awareness of your group to people in the local vicinity. I hope these leaflets help you to do this. The full colour leaflet includes security tips and useful contact numbers to keep at hand. It is a Z fold design and the last page can be used as a deterrent to place in a window if you so wish.

Printing leaflets from a home printer makes affordability feasible but there are a few practical issues to consider in comparison to using a professional printer, which can be an expensive option for an individual or for small print runs. The main difference is the method of printing and the type of paper used. Many home printers use dye-based inks which are not water resistant. The colours look great but with the slightest exposure to water the ink can run off the page. This is something to be aware of if you are delivering leaflets in typical British weather. Obviously ordinary paper isn't waterproof either, but it can dry out within reason. If the ink is of sufficient concern to you the problem can be solved by using a coated paper especially made for leaflets and brochures. Inevitably though, this paper would be more expensive. If your home printer uses pigment inks they are water resistant so there is no need to worry as they will not run off the page even on ordinary paper. Most printers can take a weight of paper or card up to 150gsm without any problem which is ideal for leaflets. Depending on how the paper loads and the settings of the printer head there are home printers that can take card up to 300gsm.

Social Media Against Crime is all about making things happen quickly, easily and if at all possible freely! The aim is always to bypass complications and dispel restrictions. If you have any problems or feedback please contact us so that we can continue to improve. SMAC does not belong to an individual or organisation it is an idea that is free to give to others and to grow and develop. You don't need to wait for authorisation, attend meetings or be on a committee. There is no red tape, financial influence or political pressure required. 

I do hope you take the idea on board and share it to help extend the network. You don't have to move to a better area you can make the street where you live the best place to be. As an armchair activist all it takes is one small click of a mouse to make a big difference.

A Beginner's Guide to Facebook

What is Facebook? If you already use Facebook it is easy to forget what it was like before joining and how long it took to become familiar with the service. We can be harshly reminded of this when Facebook updates it's features and we are left wondering how to find things again. According to Wikipedia, Facebook is an online social networking service. Its name stems from the colloquial name for the book given to students at the start of the academic year by some American university administrations to help students get to know each other. So then, let's begin.

Anyone over the age of 13 with a valid email address can join Facebook and over a billion users worldwide already have. Creating an account only takes a few minutes of your time. Using your browser navigate to Facebook.com. Under the words Sign Up enter your personal information and desired password. You can always edit this in settings later if you want to remove your birthday from what other people can view. After you have entered your information click Sign Up and you have a Facebook account.

You can choose to find friends who you are already connected to via email or who share your previous education or workplaces or simply skip this step. The next step is to upload a photo to use as your profile picture and confirm your email address. Then you are ready to search for and add your friends, find groups to join or pages to like that you are interested in. You can private message people or post directly on a friend's Timeline/Wall. You will receive notifications if anyone contacts you or requests you as a friend. It's best to only accept friend requests from people you know or trust.
If you require further help their is an excellent free tutorial with videos by GCFLearnFree.org. that I highly recommend. The most important things to remember are:

Choose a strong and preferably random password.

Avoid using the word "password" or obvious number combinations such as 12345. Passwords provide the first line of defense against unauthorized access to your computer. The stronger your password, the more protected your computer will be from hackers and malicious software. You should make sure you have strong passwords for all accounts on your computer as well as Facebook.

Edit your privacy settings. 

You'll need to decide how much you want to share on Facebook. If you just keep up with family and friends, you might prefer to share updates only with that close circle of people. This free video gives you all the additional help you will need to make sure your privacy settings are set to your personal requirements rather than Facebook's public default setting. For your own safety and protection it is important to consider who can see your posts and photos.

 

Understanding the Timeline.

The Timeline is your Facebook profile. It’s called a timeline because you can include information, important milestones and memories spanning your entire life. It's up to you, how much you want to reveal to your friends and followers. For more information you can click on the Facebook Help center or go to the Glossary of Terms.

News Feed.

Once you’ve logged into Facebook, the first thing you'll see is the News Feed. There you’ll view friend's status updates, new photos, links to articles and so on. Think of it like the front page of a newspaper where you can choose to view stories that are most recent or in order of importance determined by an algorithm. Simply click the "Sort" option at the top of your feed to determine the order of posts. To return to the News Feed after looking at other features simply click Home.

Status Update.

A status update is anything important to you at a particular moment in time that you deem shareable with Facebook friends. It's the equivalent of composing a new tweet on Twitter but without a limit to the number of characters you are allowed to use.

The Like and Share Buttons.

The “Like” button communicates your support of activities, brands, articles and products to fellow users.  When you click the Like button, the content also appears in the News Feed of your friends. It's a way to give positive feedback and connect. You can also "Like" Facebook pages which will enable their posts to show up in your Newsfeed. When you share a post it is added to your timeline and shows up in your friends Newsfeed for them to read.

So there you go, that's a basic lesson on using Facebook. There are more features to discover as you get to know the service such as Apps, Games, Tagging and Chat, even Poking! or you can just keep it simple. If you feel the need for more reassurance their is a great article specifically for the older generation joining Facebook by Julie Masis of The Boston Globe here and don't forget when you are busy catching up with your News Feed or playing Facebook games to search for the Social Media Against Crime page and your local group!

Adopt a Granny! Adopt a Grandad! Adopt any Technophobe!

Never mind the penguins, there are people near you with no knowledge of the internet who inevitably are on a route to extinction. They equally deserve your concern. You can look after the penguins as well of course.

People left behind, whatever their age are more at risk, their isolation can render them vulnerable. The horror stories we hear are not acceptable. Certain individuals are already befriending elderly residents for sinister purposes. When they have wormed their way into a trusted position they recommend people to carry out repairs at extortionate prices. Tens of thousands of pounds can be taken from a single victim. Whether young or old, nobody should have to go through the experience of an intruder entering their home and taking what they want. Being aware and instantly able to communicate suspicious activity is our main line of defense. If a burglar really wants to break in to your property, no amount of security will stop them. Think Meerkat. Think Granny, and Think Penguin!

Safety in numbers: Meerkats work as a team with some keeping lookout, thereby allowing others to forage and dig.

What's in it for you? The elderly neighbour is probably in whilst you are out. Whole villages are left empty when people leave for work. No matter if they are batty or cantankerous or sweet and wise they could be the only set of eyes that sees a burglar entering or leaving your house and can provide vital evidence. It is irrelevant in a court of law if you know who the perpetrator is, if they don't leave any physical evidence and get away unseen they cannot be convicted. Burglars wear gloves, they rarely leave evidence, if you are lucky they will leave a footprint or accidentally provide DNA.

You never know, what a conversation may lead too. Your neighbour's relative could be visiting and turn out to be the love of your life, they may have an idea for a multi-million pound invention, they may just feed the cat whilst you go on holiday. It is still a small world and with the help of the internet we are close to being artificially telepathic with anyone who has access to the internet. Even if you are apathetic and hardened by life's experience, make sure it isn't your relative being conned. The thieves are stealing your family's inheritance

If you know an endangered species in your family or street, help get them up to speed. Maybe you could even organise an event with hot drinks and biscuits for a group of technophobes in your area. Many libraries already offer free classes for sociable types. If you are unable to adopt, try to keep others updated of crime alerts that may be of concern.

First they need an internet service provider. Many companies provide internet at little extra cost than phone line rental, you may even be able to get someone a cheaper phone deal with internet included. If they are hard of hearing you could ask to speak on their behalf to set up the service. If they cannot afford a landline, you could share an ISP account or Internet connection with a neighbor, friend, or family member, this could lead to benefits in return. You each may have something the other needs. In exchange for the service, they could offer to take out your rubbish if you are away or receive a delivery that is due over a 24 hour period that would ordinarily result in you taking a day off work. Don't forget to check if they are near a free internet WiFi hotspot.

If you are on a contract and regularly receive updated mobile phones why not donate your old phone to someone who hasn't got one. Buy a voucher on their behalf whilst they learn the ropes, or pop in a pay-as-you-go top up card. If your computer is obsolete, could you find someone local to donate it to? Maybe there is a local business or school getting rid of perfectly adequate computers, if all you need to do is go on Facebook or Twitter.

Be aware, hearing loss creeps up on people and they learn to adapt, not realising they are disabled. Set the sound settings on mobiles to maximum and the ringtone to vibrate. If you know someone who is hard of hearing let them know they are eligible for many free adapted products such as alarms that vibrate under your pillow to alert you to an intruder or fire whilst you are asleep.

A mobile phone can be a lifeline if it is carried on your person and you have a fall, and cannot get to the landline to call for help. An increasing number of people are succumbing to dementia and Alzheimers. If they carry a phone they could potentially be tracked by GPS if they leave their homes and get lost. This could have been somebody's million pound invention, inspired by adopting a local person, but it's too late, a GPS bracelet or watch for vulnerable citizens is already available if you want one.

It is hard to expect a senior citizen to be on Facebook if they can’t afford to heat their home. Photograph: MBI /Alamy

So now they have internet access, and a device to receive it. First they need virus protection and next they need an email. There is free virus protection software available for download, such as AVG. Make sure you click the free option and always check or uncheck your options that supply you with hidden extras you may not require.

Once this is sorted you can introduce them to social media. This can be a real gift, it's not just about information and alerts that help protect us from crimes. The brain is often referred to as a muscle and exercising it in new ways keeps it young. The internet can literally give someone a new lease of life by opening up a world of interest and new skills. You can read an excellent article about this by 90 year old, Harry Leslie Smith, here. It can alleviate feelings of isolation and depression, give people a reason to get up on a cold winter's morning if only to check their updates. Reconnect with relatives on the other side of the world, or see a grandchild's prom photos. The possibilities are endless. They will soon be taking photos on their newly acquired mobile phones and learn to upload them onto Flickr and Instagram..

If they don't want to be bothered by updates on their timeline by a friend on Facebook, of potty training and teenage squabbles, or are annoyed by chain-letter like memes professing the love of one Sister to another and such like, you can hover over a friend's name with the mouse and uncheck show in newsfeed, you don't have to unfriend them. People sending game alerts can easily be turned off by hovering over the notification to play on the right hand side. Click the X and turn off notifications. On Twitter it is very easy to just unfollow.

Once they have joined social media, it's important to adjust their privacy settings on Facebook so that only their friends can see their updates and photographs. Now you can add them to their local Social Media Against Crime group or a similar site. In no time you will have helped create another silver surfer and valuable member of an online community. I know from experience, in fact my 82 year old mother is just about to like and share this post, come on Mum, where are you ?

A Beginner's Guide to Twitter.

What is Twitter? When you first use Twitter it can seem unfathomable. Links and hashtags can look like gobbledegook. Yet very quickly you realise it really is quite simple. The Twitter home page explains it best:
  
"Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?"

The main difference between Twitter and Facebook is you can only enter 140 characters at a time. This means that you must post very short, to the point messages. Another difference is the ability to connect with a greater number of people. Even the Royal Family are on Twitter.

You don't need to know people to follow them, just be interested in what they have to say. If they follow you back you will be able to Direct Message (private message) them, even if they are a celebrity. They may well never see it amongst their thousands of messages, or just disregard it as spam, but in theory you could send a tweet and directly connect to anybody, anywhere in the world and they will instantly receive a notification on their phone or computer.

So, how to get started, it takes less than 60 seconds to sign up:

1. Set up your account.

Go to Twitter. Enter your name, email, and a password. If you don't have an email we recommend typing Hotmail or Gmail into your internet search engine. Click Sign up. You will now be asked to select a username. This is the name by which you will be known on Twitter which will be seen by other users with @ symbol preceding it. If you aren't happy with your username you can change it later.

What name should you use? You can use your real name if it’s available, or a version of it if not, or you can make up a name, it's up to you. Now click on the Create my account button. That’s it. You are now officially a member of the Twitter community. Congratulations!.

2. Twitter Teacher.

Twitter will assist you in getting started. It will explain what a tweet is and give you the opportunity to “follow” a few friends, popular people, or brands if you wish. Twitter will also give you a chance to see if some of your friends are on Twitter by checking your online address book.

3. Adjust your Settings.

Make sure you are on your Twitter home page. Click on the Settings link. You should be on the Account tab. Set the time zone. If you don't want to be inundated with emails you can also adjust this in Email notifications. 

Do not check “Protect my updates” unless you only want those whom you approve to be able to get your updates. If you check this, it will seriously limit the fun of Twitter as it restricts who is able to read your tweets and interact with you. Make whatever other changes you want, then click the Save button.

4. Creating a Profile.

If you don't upload your own profile picture Twitter will give you an image of an egg. It's important to avoid this, as eggs are often viewed as spammers and other users will ignore you. It does not have to be an image of yourself. You can upload whatever image you want but it should reflect your personality. Remember the image used will be square and their is a maximum upload size, so you may have to re-size your image to meet this requirement.

Don't be an egg.

You can also add a Header photo, which serves as a background to your profile pic. If you want to further personalise your account click Design to add a background/wallpaper.
Next enter the rest of your information, including your location, website or blog (if any), and a brief bio. This, too, is important to keep you from getting flagged as a possible spammer. Your bio can either be serious or fun, but it must be brief—no more than 160 characters. When you are finished, click the Save button.

5. Follow People. 

You can search for family and friends or people who share a common interest or location. Simply go to their profile and click on the follow button. There are follow limits, but unless you follow more than 2000 people without anyone following you back or more than a 1000 people in one day you won't have a problem. This is just how Twitter limits spammers who use the service purely for marketing purposes. If someone follows you, there's no requirement to follow them back. If someone is tweeting too much and clogging your feed, feel free to unfollow them immediately. There is even a block option if required.

6. Twitter Terms and Commands.

Using twitter is like having a conversation. Everyone who follows you can hear what you have to say. If you want to tweet or reply to a specific person the tweet should begin with their username that starts with an @ symbol. Everyone who is also following that user as well as you will see the tweet. (Those who are not following both will not see the tweet.) Usernames are also clickable links that will take you to the user's profile.

If you want to send a private message send a Direct Message to people who follow you. although be aware that many people ignore "DM"s as they can be used to send spam or links that send you to a fake page and spread viruses. If you do click on a link that is a virus by mistake, go to Settings and change your password. You can also favorite tweets you want to bookmark to read later and press the retweet button if you want to share a tweet with your followers. Retweeting is like quoting someone or citing a source. To find out more check out the Glossary.

7. Tweet.

Compose a new tweet and start twittering. All your followers can see your tweets in their Twitter Feed (like the Timeline on Facebook). You can share your thoughts, news, information, jokes or photos. You can even never use it and just receive tweets from a local Social Media Against Crime account and other people you've followed. If there isn't a local account for S.M.A.C. you will now know how easy it is to set up a Twitter for your area and start following people in your location.

If you add a hashtag (# symbol in front of a word e.g. #SMAC) anyone who searches for that hashtag can find your tweet whether they follow you or not. Hashtags can trend, this means lots of people are involved in the same discussion and tweeting about the same subject. Don't be scared to tweet to people. Twitter is very open and promotes talk. Mentions and Interactions are where you will find tweets directed to you, and notifications of new followers, favorites and retweets.

If you have any problems you can find answers to almost every Twitter question in the Twitter Help Center. Just be yourself and get involved with the Twitter community. Don't forget to follow us @SMACRipleyDerby!. We look forward to tweeting you.

A Positive Reaction.

When a crime happens to you it forces you to deal with difficult emotions and circumstances. Disbelief and shock initially serve to protect you, slowing down the ingestion of what has become your new reality. As the full consequences begin to dawn, it is natural to feel anger at the injustice of your new predicament. It's important to utilise this passion and transform the event into something positive before fear serves to immobilise and dissociate you. It's too late to change what happened, but you can be better prepared for future possibilities and use your insights to warn others.

The internet has opened up our world, removing many physical restrictions and allowing one person to connect and communicate with the rest of humanity from the comfort of their own living room. This new power can be used for good and bad, and we constantly have to strive to keep up and also protect ourselves from online crime. A good source of information, can be found on BBC Click, a comprehensive guide to all the latest gadgets, websites, games and computer industry news.

Information is now shared openly, the criminals already know, and it's the rest of us that need to get up to speed. We are all part of the problem and the solution. Even criminals do not want other people committing crimes on their doorstep. A wider outlook that encompasses everybody's doorstep is a possibility with the communication available through social media.

Volunteers near Clapham Junction station wait to be allowed to help with the cleanup operation following riots the previous night. Photograph: Matt Dunham/AP

Retreating into escapism, can give temporary shelter to help you on your way through difficult times, but ultimately awareness and clarity are a necessity. We need to get real, and live your life before the rest of the cast dies. To take hold of your life, whatever it is, before time takes it from you. You may have been made a victim, you may have suffered great loss, but others cannot not take away your smile or your will/soul, whatever you choose to call it, that and your reaction are always yours.

Personal circumstances may leave you restricted as to what positive changes you can make outside the home. The potential of social media however is vast. It is fast, effective and free. In response to the London riots, Twitter was used to organise a clean up operation. An excellent example of social media being used as a tool to organise individuals who want to claim back their community and the streets where they live. The instigator of the Twitter cleanup project, Dan Thompson, recently delivered this TEDx talk about placeshaking, a term for individuals inspiring communities and redefining the places where we live.

Before discovering this video, I had been thinking about my own town and how I had never felt particularly attached to it. It is a typical market town with little outward evidence of historical interest. An online search to unearth something interesting about it led to the revelation that there are in fact many interesting things and stories of ordinary citizens, past and present. So many things that I decided to share them on an additional Facebook page.

From revelation to re-evaluation, it has given me a new perspective and dare I say, an ironic and then heartfelt sense of pride, for a commonplace area that was taken for granted. Just as we tend to fantasise about our lives rather than stare harsh reality in the face, we also tend to daydream of being somewhere else rather than truly looking at where we are and engaging with it. It seems to me that reconnecting with our environment can help with an overall solution towards crime. People only want to hear about bad news for so long, and then they are likely to move on. Cultivating interest leads to a natural progression towards enduring worth and caring.

After being burgled recently, my first response was to go on Facebook and inform my friends, to warn them and also to lessen the burden of what had happened through their instant sympathy and understanding. I needed someone to listen and acknowledge the unfairness. I also wanted information and asked the small number of my local friends to share my status, to discover who had come into my family's home whilst we slept and taken what they wanted and then the following night broken into my mother's house. I did discover who the perpetrator was and why they are doing it, and also other people in my area to be aware of, but there is no concrete evidence to convict them. Social media gives you the option to remain anonymous and share sensitive details privately and it is important to note that publishing names online can later lead to civil action if you are mistaken. The purpose of this project is not scaremongering of vigilantism. It's about providing a support system that is there to listen in real time and look out for you, replacing the sense of community that has been lost whilst still retaining the personal space we have become accustomed to.

Although awareness of the local community to the individual committing burglary in my own town has not yet led to a conviction, it has acted as a deterrent. It has also led to the realisation, that a network was required that reaches out across the entire region, and was the catalyst that has formed Social Media Against Crime, a tool that can be used by anyone if and when they need it. It's about small steps, we can all do, you never know what it will lead to. Already I am in talks with the police and crime commissioner for Derbyshire, and Neighborhood Watch to fund awareness of this project to cover the whole of Derbyshire. There is no reason why every county and even country cannot do the same. I will soon be publishing a downloadable leaflet that can be printed and given to nearby residents.

I will end this post with another TEDx video, this time by the amazing Anna, otherwise known as @heardinlondon on Twitter. I hope this inspires you as much as it has me today.

Building your online community.

 

At first it can seem an impossible task to build followers for a new Twitter account or inform Facebook users other than your friends of a new group. It is all a question of time, if you persevere it will happen. Obviously it does depend on content but I believe using social media against crime will prove to be popular with everyone. All you need is the people and businesses in the nearby vicinity to be aware your group exists. If you have friends, relatives or neighbors who are not familiar with social media you could follow or join on their behalf and keep them updated.

The reason for starting this campaign is a recent spate of four burglaries on my street in a week, including my own and a relatives. I live in a typical town and had been blissfully unaware of the crime in my area but this left us vulnerable and unprepared. All neighborhoods experience crime, the idea is not to be alarmist but to be enabled. After being burgled in the middle of the night whilst we slept it became apparent that the main advantage the criminals had was surprise and confidence and the main problem in identifying possible suspects could be a lack of coordination and communication. Knowledge is power, and awareness and preparation are our best defense. I am not happy that all decent residents can do is wait and worry to see who will be next. 

Now I have been made a victim I have been added to a Neighborhood Watch scheme. This is great and I am intending to include this and the local police force with social media against crime. The combination of all three could be a winning formula. However, previous to this incident there is no way I would have thought to be involved voluntarily. Today's society is already time stretched. If you have a young family you are probably already maxed out on meetings, events and fund raising demands. The sense of community people had years ago has been eroded and many of us are averse to coming across as nosy or interfering. We no longer have the luxury of a local bobby who knows everyone. This creates a certain isolation with us all in our own separate boxes, caught up in our own affairs which has created an advantage for criminals. 

Social media can enable people to form a network of eyes and ears working as one in real time for mutual benefit. Participants can choose to go about their usual days remaining largely anonymous and hopefully never need to use the service. Equally, if you are so inclined it could be a way to get to know people nearby, reforming lost communities. It can be whatever you want it to be without obligation. 

I chose to set up a Facebook page to highlight the potential of social media on a international level, connect groups that wish to be linked and to share affordable and simple tips on home security. I have also set up a Twitter account and Facebook group for my local area, as groups notify members by default when there is a new post or alert. Also group members can participate in chats, upload photos to shared albums such as lost and found, missing pets, stolen property or public safety issues (burned out lights, overgrown walkways, abandoned cars, broken windows and so on). In addition to an open setting, groups have more privacy settings. In closed groups, posts are only visible to group members and secret groups could be useful if you live in a high crime area and want to remain anonymous, inviting only people you trust.

After thinking about the various options I think an open group may be the way forward if you are targeting a larger area. It would be easier to include local businesses and schools and spread the net further. It's important to try and include local businesses, especially the service industry workers such as, restaurants, milkmen, taxi firms, corner shops, checkout operators and cleaners. These people are often the last ones going home at night or starting early in the morning and can be your best eyes and ears. Inform local newspapers that you have started an online community for your area. Publicising you are a member of a social media against crime group could act as a deterrent against becoming a target of crime. I want potential burglars to know that the residents of my street can report their activity in an instant.  

A note to all - when posting alerts to your group or Twitter be mindful about posting information that feeds details on your short comings in personal security. This is the very thing criminals use to help them identify weaknesses:

1. Share crime incident descriptions and descriptions of perpetrators. Give the street name but not the address.

2. Private message nearby neighbors if you want to inform them you are going away so they can be extra vigilant. Think about posting holiday news or days out onto social network sites after you have returned.

3. Check out your current Facebook privacy settings. If they are open or you do not personally know all your Facebook friends consider turning off your location settings on your posts and photos. Be extra careful when using social networks such as Foursquare.

 We will be designing a window sticker that can be downloaded and a leaflet so that you can inform your neighbors if you start a group. Also posters for supermarket notice boards and local businesses to display. There is strength in numbers and I believe the more people involved the better the results. The whole point is that it is simple, quick and free. This is a brand new venture and we are open to ideas to make it a effective tool against crime. Please leave your comments and share any ideas with us. Whether you are living in a busy city or rural community we can make this work.