iMechanica aims to use the Internet to enhance communications among mechanicians, and to pave a way to evlove all knowledge of mechanics online. iMechanica is hosted on a server at the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, of Harvard University. A growing team of volunteers serve as architects and moderators.

You can read every post, scan recent posts, browse the user list, subscribe to RSS feeds, and ask questions. You can do all these without registering. You can be an Anonymous User.

To post in iMechanica, you need to be an Authenticated User by registering for a free account.  By registering, you make a statement even if you do not post anything. You encourage fellow mechanicians to explore a new mode of communication.  A large, active user list will attract more and better posts. 

The rest of this post tells you what you would find out after you register. If you would like to explore iMechanica on your own, please skip the rest of this post for now, and go straight to register.

After you register, you will have a free account. You will explore what you can do with iMech, find out what will happen after you post an entry, and discover what moderators can do. You may even ask the architects to set you up as a moderator.

You can create your profile, with your photo attached. You can even create your own homepage in iMechanica. When anybody browses the user list, the recently active authenticated users appear on the top.

You can upload images of mechanicians or mechanical phenomena. Once you do, the images join a pool of images that will appear randomly on the front page. It is a way to express your admiration for oustanding mechanicians, or to promote intriguing findings in your lab.

iMechanica runs like a multiblog. You will have your own blog after you register. You can post findings in your lab and observations of a working day, exhiliarating or otherwise. You can post advertisements of conferences, jobs, and funding opportunities. Really, you can post anything you see fit, so long as it may interest fellow mechanicians. Be creative. What you post is a decision of yours.

You have the option to either tag your post with visible tags like research or opinions, or just keep your article in your own blog with no tag at all. You can do anything in between. For example, you can tag your posts within a small circle, using phrases such as chen group or suo group research.

You can revise your posts as many times as you like, but please refrain from deleting any post. You will soon discover why you should post in iMechanica, and how iMechanica is managed.

If you are concerned that your posts may not be worthwhile for others to read, perhaps you should learn some basic economics of the Internet by reading a recent book The Long Tail.

If you are concerned that you may not find useful things if everyone is posting, you should try the search engine of iMechanica, or just Google. Perhaps it is also time for you to discover RSS feeds and del.icio.us. With all the creative energy pouring into the technology of the Internet, it is safe to say that the development of the Internet will far out pace that of mechanics. If a post is worth finding, you will find it, provided you learn a few new tools. If you find a new tool, please share with fellow mechanicians by posting it with the tag tips.

You can also write comments on posts of fellow iMechanicians. A thoughtful comment benefits everyone, especially the author of the comment.

Traditional modes of communication in our community under serve students and industrial practitioners. iMechanica aims to provide an easy platform for students and practitioners, as well as academics, to participate. Here, you can quickly introduce yourself into the community and get to know each other (through the user photo and profiles), as well as building up your social network (by finding people working in similar areas via the versatile tag function that accompanies each post).

iMechanica runs as a common, like Boston Common or Central Park. A common belongs to no one in particular, but belongs to whoever uses it.  There is time to relax in a common. There is time to construct one. Both bring you enjoyment. Together, we can shape iMechanica into a helpful and pleasant common for us all. Please register now.

iMechanica is an outgrowth of Applied Mechanics News and its sister blogs.

A compilation of posts about iMechanica can be viewed all at once.