Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
"Please Change to Haringey Online"
We received the following message via our Facebook page today:
Hi, I am wondering why you don't switch to calling yourself haringey online, as opposed to the more limited geographically specific area of harringay. It's just I have noticed that a lot of the activities you cover happen outside of that strict geographical area you have in your title and I also think you would appeal to a wider audience. I know lots of people who don't live in harringay who feel slightly excluded by your name; I know that might sound slightly ridiculous and I feel sure I am not the first on to point this out to you, but I just think we all live in haringey and we all attend many of the same functions and events so why not embrace the wider name. Just a thought, not necessarily a criticism, more an observation. Kind regards.
Here's my reply:
Many thanks for your comment. It's certainly a thought. When the site was set up it was very specifically aimed at the neighbourhood of Harringay. We thought we were setting our sights high at 200 members. We never imagined it would grow into what it's become with 6,000 members and almost the same number again on Facebook and Twitter.
Sites like this certainly work at the neighbourhood level once they get their head of steam and with enough gentle steering from the folks who run them. Outside London, they can also work at a city-wide level (Sheffield Forum, for example). As yet I haven't seen one work in a major subdivision of a major metropolitan city anywhere in the world. It may just be that no one's tried, but my suspicion is that there's a good reason for it.
Nothing's fixed in stone, but for the time being we're likely to stick with focussing on Harringay. However, we will also continue to reflect how people live their local lives, so we will carry on including some stories and all events from other areas nearby. As always anyone's welcome to join in.
Thanks for the thoughts though. We always need to keep rethinking what we are and where we're going.
Any thoughts?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Bethany Burrow Atherton on
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Don't change it. If they want a site for their area, they can make their own - changing the name would either make the site have the wrong name (because the content doesn't change), or it would mean that stuff relating to other areas would start appearing, which might make the site even more enormous or dilute the content or both. While I'm happy to hear some news about what's going on in wider Haringey (given that we are part of the borough after all), including events that are either big or sufficiently nearby that we wouldn't be much out of Harringay if we went, I'm really not that interested in hearing granular detail about things going on in Muswell Hill or Tottenham, for example (no offence meant to those areas, of course), unless it has a direct impact on where I live. If I fancy doing something elsewhere, I tend to look at the relevant site for the area, e.g. stroudgreen.org or one of the Finsbury Park forums.
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Permalink Reply by Rachella on
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I agree. I think that a hyper-local community network should be exactly that. If it gets too wide it will end up diluting the purpose of creating a valuable connection and anchor to a specific neighbourhood and the people in it. As someone who lives outside of Harringay but in Haringey I've still found it a valuable resource and have always felt welcome in the discussion rooms and at physical events I occasionally attend.
In fact, you've inspired me to do exactly what Bethany suggests and start a site for my own neighbourhood: Noel Park net, based in Noel Park, Wood Green. It's a fledgling site, so I still participate in Harringay Online also, which I'll probably continue to do. Kudos to Hugh for starting such a great resource and for offering moral support and advice to other communities such as mine.
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Permalink Reply by Stephen Middleton on
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The best would be to split it and have both! (, but maybe with a different name to stop confusion... say Haringey Borough Online or something a lot more catchy) - but that is probably too much work for you. You're the boss, do as you like - it has worked very well so far.
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Permalink Reply by Isabelle on
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I live 'just outside' Harringay ;) and felt almost like an imposter when joining this community! But I also felt very welcome – and no comment was ever made about the fact that I am not exactly on the spot.
So I think that it should remain Harringay. This is its birthplace and its heart is there. Anyone who lives within walking distance, or wherever not too far, or is likely to hang around there for socials or shopping, or just likes the area... can participate in the forums, join in the events, make friends etc.
Changing to 'Haringey' would just displace the issue. What if someone in Hackney lives closer to Harringay than someone in the eastern part of Haringey? Then Edmonton would want to join and we'd head towards 'North London Online'... But would they all know where Café Lemon is? This could lose all the features and benefits of a local community.
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Permalink Reply by GillianM on
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Definitely stay as is. The whole point is it's local. I don't understand why anyone who doesn't live in Harringay should feel excluded by the name -it's about Harringay! Not that people from outside should not be welcome of course.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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I think the strength of this site it that the people it's aimed at (people in Harringay) share similar experiences in the area, go to similar places and so on. I think this strength would be diluted by it being a Haringey site. I think it would end up being about borough wide issues rather than very local ones.
Not that there's anything wrong with that and if someone were to start up a borough wide site I'd probably join, it's just that hyper-local sites work in a different way.
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A further thought - I wonder, if this site covered, e.g., Noel Park (as Rachella is planning for her site) instead of Harringay, whether this person would have suggested changing the name of Noel Park Net to Haringey Net just because it covered some news and events in Harringay, West Green or South Tottenham - my guess is probably not, and it's just the similarity of (and confusion caused by) the names that prompted the comment.
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Permalink Reply by Abi on
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I do feel a tiny bit excluded by the name sometimes. Because I live very near but not IN Harringay I see it as my local area - if I 'go out locally' on a weekend that generally means Harringay shops, markets, pubs, etc. Equally, the issues on the site generally relate very closely to things happening in my local life: I've got most trades recommendations from the site, advice on how to fix problems, tips on where to eat - even my two pet cats came from the ladder!
So yes, I suppose I would personally be happier if it were called 'Haringey' because then I could fully feel a part of it all and not like a bit of an imposter when I know in reality I'm dealing with mostly the same issues as 'true' Harringayites!
However, I suspect there are bit of Haringey that are hardly ever touched on here - I think I loosely see it as covering things that are 'walking distance' from the Ladder. This again is problematic though as that definition seems to vary wildly. I think perhaps just a bit more recognition that a lot of members are slightly outside the 'catchment zone ' would be nice - I think there are quite a lot of us now, and we don't all live in Hornsey or Crouch End!
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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I don't have time to read about lost toms and tabbies in Tottenham, cake shops and crochet clubs in Crouch End or modernised mansions in Muswell Hill. Keep it lean, keep it local
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Sure, but people in those areas do use the site in this way already, because it's a great site and has an established user base where others do not. Does this mean you'd rather we didn't post at all?
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