(2005-05-04) Zanga Internet Fourth Place

John Zanga ponders whether the Internet can become a Fourth Place. I know I have to go to the internet all the time to find stuff, to find people, to learn etc. But is it really up to the vision of a special, comforting, welcoming place - a la the Third Place of StarBucks, etc.? And it hit me. Why can't the Internet become a 4th place. A place that we've never really had before, where we get many of the things that we get from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd places but without the physical limitations. A 4th place where we can feel happy, safe, relaxed and totally connected, on top of ALL the things, information and people we need, anywhere, anytime. This vision seems all the more tantalizing because we don't quite have it yet... What would happen if instead of just thinking yourself simply in terms of your product or service - no matter what product or service you offer - instead you were driven by the vision of the internet becoming this 4th place, if you saw your mission to help make the internet exactly that? What would you do, what would you need?