In my opinion Caithness Community web site is a Community Network, serving a new community established online. It is essential to verify differences between Caithness as a physical community, and Caithness as a ‘virtual community’. Both complement each other but Caithness is not a ‘wired neighbourhood’, all residents throughout Caithness are not communicating with their neighbours via email. Instead it is a community made up of active individuals, with innovative ideas, who are expanding Caithness globally.

Within this rural community ‘Caithness Community Web Site’ has enhanced tourism. Local businesses use it to advertise, local people use it to check up on local activities, expatriots use it to keep in touch with ‘home’. It offers education, tourist information, local news and weather reports, and community bulletins. It provides links to web pages from football to archaeology, to family history. Most importantly it gives people a voice.

Through both quantitative and qualitative results it is clear that the majority of people participating in this site do not live in the county of Caithness, but do associate themselves with it. This site provides identity and a collective solidarity to those who cannot visit Caithness physically. It also provides practical means of communication and information.

A common ideal is that Community Networks should provide free access to all (Graham, 1995; Morino, 2000; Schuler, 1996). However, Caithness community web site facilitators do not share this view, it emerged from qualitative findings that access in rural areas is not practical if provided in libraries or village halls. Alternatively the government could provide access from individuals homes, especially those with children. This ideal is ambiguous as it appears that community networks will exclusively enhance networks between computer literate, educated, middle-class users. Making this form of social capital only available to the wealthy.

‘...often community networks are founded by one or a few volunteer members of the community, who work from their own homes in many cases’ (Graham, 1995:3).

This has proved true in this case study. There are a shortage of volunteers and funding in this type of project. The research and literature review suggest this is because community networking is ‘too new’. New technologies take a long time to be accepted, especially in rural areas. This leads us onto answering the research questions proposed at the beginning of the study.

Putnam (2000) describes social capital as the glue that holds communities together. Caithness community web site links the community together, as well as offering a link to a global community. It has been previously stated that the aim of Community Networks is to increase inclusion and enhance communication. Caithness community web site has been successful through creating a global community with a genuine interest in Caithness. In response to the question proposed at the beginning of this research: Can new technologies be employed to enhance communities? This particular community has enhanced communication and increased social inclusion, with international users participating in discussions about Caithness along with locals.

Caithness community web site is successful in providing a ‘third place’ as proposed by Oldenburg (cited in Schuler, 1996). As a ‘third place’ it offers: a ‘chat-page’, photographs of the area and some of its residents, games, and a message board. It also adheres to Oldenburg’s rules in that it is away from both work and home, conversation is the main activity, there are regulars, there is a low profile, and the mood is playful (Schuler, 1996:42). Oldenburg’s third place theory outlines that an ‘other’ place is essential for identification and belonging, social support, participation, and inclusion. I would describe Caithness community web pages as a ‘third place’, therefore, I would also state it enhances identification and belonging, social support, participation , and inclusion.

Whether the county of Caithness is experiencing a renewed sense of community has not been answered. However, Caithness community web site has created a new global community which contributes to the local community. Caithness community web site has created a “pride of place” within local people and offers both virtual and physical Caithness inhabitants a voice, identity, and sense of belonging. Caithness Community Web Site has been defined as a Community Network. It has also been concluded through its existence as a Community Network social capital has been enhanced. Now the focus is on the future of Community Networks and ways of cumulating social capital.

‘Caithness Community Web Site’ was a site offering community information, as this grew it developed into, what I would describe as a community network. Now, after achieving record numbers of users, the site is having to reorganise and establish itself as a business. Whether it will remain a community network can only be answered in time.

As society evolves and time passes local governments and local people will be more accepting.

From the data collected in this study we can conclude that new technologies can enhance social capital in rural Scotland by connecting local communities with a global community. However, this study has left room for much more work to be carried out in this area. This study could be expanded by investigating other community networks. Perhaps a comparative study with an urban and rural network could be carried out. Issues such as social inclusion and exclusion need to be developed further, alongside gender and age discrepancies. Further questions to be examined include:

If essentially community networks cannot be businesses, how can they survive without adequate funding?

If community networks replace local newspapers only elite groups will have access to local news and events. Will community networks contribute to social exclusion?

What other areas of society can Computer Mediated Communication improve?

In order to understand Community Networks more fully these questions and theories must be developed further. At the moment this phenomena appears too new to be judged in terms of success or failure. However, it can be concluded as holding enormous potential for the development of communities.