How does the introduction of a community network, a community computing facility, the internet of e-mail affect the way that communities work? Technology has often been used in the search for solutions to social problems. It is often put at the centre of change and social reactions to technology are measured, evaluated and assessed. But technology on its own does not have the power to change anything.By exploring the experiences of community activists and organizations working with information and communication technology (ICT) to build communities, this book offers a grounded and informed study of the place which ICT plays in people's lives. The author emphasises the importance of networks built around trust, shared spaces and local knowledge bases in the formation of significant relationships in contemporary Western societies and in doing so, questions many of the assumptions which inform the rhetorics of the information age.