Those of us on NationStates know the idea of running a nation online or being part of an online community that runs itself as a nation. But what if an online community is a better fit for people than their IRL nation? What if because of that an online community could grow to the point of becoming a IRL nation?
That's the idea of what's being called "internet countries", which I learned about today in
this article, and there's a few communities actively trying to become one. The article heavily references a book called
The Network State by Balaji Srinivasan, which gives a sort of blueprint for an online community to try to become a nation-state.
1) Start an online community
2) Organize community members for collective action
3) Build an economy and physical presence (meet-ups)
4) Crowdfund physical nodes (AKA buy land) - Anyone remember the Wintreath teamhouse idea?
5) Connect physical communities digitally
6) Conduct a census to prove population size, income, and total real estate portfolio
7) Gain diplomatic recognition from other countries
The article makes a compelling case for doing this buy arguing that Citizens of an online community will tend to have more in common than those of a real-life nation, and highlights existing communities trying to work at doing this such as
Asgardia and
Cabin City, which is now several physical neighborhoods connected as a single digital community. Of course, it goes without saying that it's easier said than done...is it something that's even possible, or is a a pie-in-the-sky dream?
