Built in Oak Cliff.
Made to get us
out in it.
CliffDweller is made by a long-time Oak Cliff resident (who also moderates /r/oakcliff) with a simple goal: help neighbors find what’s happening around here and spend more time being part of it.
So why build this?
There’s a ton going on around us. We’re lucky in Oak Cliff that way. But I kept hearing about things after they’d already happened. Something at a local shop, a neighborhood event, something that would’ve been fun to take the kids to. My reaction was usually some version of, “Wait, that was this weekend? I would’ve gone!”
I’m not on social media all that much, which probably explains some of it. But I figured I couldn’t be the only one who wanted to know what was happening without having to keep up with a dozen different feeds.
And honestly, I’d like to spend less time on the internet anyway.
The internet, and especially social media, was supposed to help us connect. Somehow it often feels like we’ve gotten better at keeping up with people on screens and worse at spending time with the people around us. Myself included.
As Sherry Turkle wrote about keeping up with friends on Facebook, “we too often use it as a substitute for spending face-to-face time with them.”
I’d like more of the face-to-face part. More getting outside, meeting neighbors, and actually doing things together. This website is a small attempt to help that happen.
Find something nearby,
put the phone away,
and go.
Yes, I realize I built a website to encourage people to spend less time on websites. I’m hoping you’ll use this one only briefly, and to enrich your time instead of steal your time.
A little local inspiration.
Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters
“Do not simply
consume. Create.”
That slogan has stuck with me. I’ve spent plenty of time enjoying the things other people make around here. That little nudge to make something myself has been hard to shake.
The Hidden City podcast
Those guys clearly love this neighborhood as much as I do. Hearing them tell its stories and interview the people who make it special made me want to give something back, too.
They’re doing it through storytelling. I know software, so I figured I’d start there.
That idea reaches beyond making a website. Humphrey Obuobi’s essay Searching For My City helped me put words to it: there’s a difference between looking at a neighborhood as a collection of things to enjoy and seeing yourself as one of the people helping make it what it is.
I’d like to do more of the second part. Learn somebody’s name. Come back next week. Lend a hand, bring a neighbor along, or help get something started. Those little things add up. Over time, the people you keep running into become people you know, and you have a hand in what happens here together.
Finding something to do can be the beginning of that. My hope is that CliffDweller helps you find a place to show up, then a reason to keep showing up. A few minutes online that lead to an afternoon together, and eventually to relationships that last beyond any one event.
For the places that make this place.
You’ll notice a lot of small businesses on this site. They aren’t the only focus, but I do try to give them some extra attention. They’re a huge part of what makes Oak Cliff special, and they won’t be around forever just because we’re glad they exist. We have to walk through the door, buy something, and keep coming back.
I’m always looking for ways to make this site better. If I’m missing something, something isn’t working, or you have an idea, I’d love to hear it. I’m making something I want to use myself, but I’d be pretty happy if it turned out to be useful to you, too.
If you’re part of a local Oak Cliff business or organization and have an idea for a partnership or collaboration, let’s talk. If the idea is right, I’d love to work on something together.
Or let’s just grab a coffee.
Davis Street Espresso, Wayward Coffee, Slow & Steady, or any of the other excellent coffee shops we’re lucky to have around here.
Getting out and meeting a neighbor is kind of the whole point.
jeremy@cliffdweller.netSee you around the neighborhood,Jeremy