We live in a world of catch phrases and jingles.  Who on the island has not heard ‘zim zimmer, who have the keys to mi bimmer’ and who has not felt the warm feelings it brings about? Well, in the world at large, two other jingles are internationally recognized; ‘reach out and touch’ used by a well know communications company and ‘come to Jamaica and feel alright’, used by, well we all know that. Both these jingles, originating in two different countries, fused into one remarkable feat the weekend of Feb 4th,2004.  The result was a showcasing of the new era of world communications.

There is a website dedicated to keeping Jamaicans in the diaspora in touch with each other and with their island home. It has grown to be a meeting place also for all lovers of the island, their people and all things Jamaican. Started in (fill in date)the result of the brilliant thinking of Jamaican born Xavier Murphy, it allows interaction of the many who share this love for Jamaica . For years, people have signed on and chatted on subjects from the sublime to the ridiculous and everything in between; to the extent that real camaraderie has developed between thousands who have never met, save through a moniker and keystrokes on a keyboard.

 Soooooooo ! What was that remarkable feat on that weekend? Well!   The fingers ceased typing and started dialing and people spoke to each other in a totally different way, thereby cementing that link established via the internet. From the island of Jamaica to North America and Europe and countries in between, voices were matched to board-names and another tradition was started; yet another remarkable feature of this website, this meeting place. The internet or cyberspace has been categorized as an impersonal void, but the niche that Jamaicans.com has created is anything but, as the Callathon proved.

Will this be repeated?  There is talk to make this an annual event at the least.  That is not to say, that individual boardites, as the participants of this unique website are called, have not kept the telephones ringing. The Jamaicans.com family continues to grow in leaps and bound.  New foras are added, others amended, all to the end of making and keeping this site the No. 1 website for all things Jamaican.  And No 1 it has been voted in the annual contest honouring sites of its kind. 

So if you are feeling lonely for the island, whether a natural born Jamaican or a born-again Jamaican, Jamaicans.com is the site for you to be.  If you are planning your next trip there, missed that reggae concert you failed to hear about in time, wanting to remember the lyrics for that ole time Poco song you use to love to hear, well Jamaicans.com is the site to visit. You can even bemoan the fact that your children are just like all the others the world over, as there is a forum giving you that opportunity.   Search their archived discussions, or join in one of the live, ongoing  ones, there is always something going on at Jamaicans,com.  The only thing missing is your presence.