The intersection of current arguments about the role of creative industries in economic development, online user-generated content and the uptake of broadband in economically disadvantaged communities, provides the content for this article. From 2006 to 2008, the authors carried out a research project in Ipswich, Queensland involving local creative practitioners and community groups in their development of edgeX, a web-based platform for content uploads and social networking. The project aimed to explore issues of local identity and community-building through online networking, as well as the possibilities for creating pathways from amateur to professional practice in the creative industries through the auspices of the website. Against a rapidly changing technological environment with problematic implications for research projects aiming to build new online platforms, we present several case studies from the project to illustrate the challenges to participation experienced by people with limited access to, and literacy with, the internet.
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