Outside.In is "an attempt to collectively build the geographic Web, neighborhood by neighborhood. "  How might we use this concept – or this site – in education?

From Salon.com interview with writer and Outside.In developer Steven Berlin Johnson:
The idea animating it is, there’s this amazing, beautiful wave of local amateurs out there today. They’re writing about their neighborhoods, sharing all this information, writing about all that passionately important stuff that makes up the day-to-day existence of people’s lives right outside the zone of the family: the school down the street they’re worried about, the park that maybe’s going to open or not, the new restaurant that may be there.

Salon magazine interview with Outside.In developer Steven Berlin Johnson , 10/30/2006.

Johnson’s essay at stevenberlinjohnson.com: Introducing Outside.in explains the core principles in detail; I’ll outline them here:

1. The natives know best.

2. The post’s location is more important than the blogger’s location. 

3. Neighborhoods are more important that maps.

4. Geo-tags are only the beginning.  It’s just as important to know when something is happening, as it is to know where it’s happening.

5. Local news often has a long-shelf life. […] outside.in is designed not just as a "latest headlines" service; it’s also an evolving neighborhood encyclopedia, capturing all the things that have been said about specific places.