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Current News

The Internet in a Cup
	In The Internet in a Cup, The Economist looks at the social networking role played by the coffee houses of the 17th and 18th centuries. There are interesting tidbits about the response of authorities to the social disruption of such establishments and it closes with the obvious evolution of coffee houses in the 21st century: free wireless. Posted: 12/22/03; 5:36:53 PM #

You Don't Know Me, but... Social Capital & Social Software
	William Davies has written a primer entitled You Don't Know Me, but... Social Capital & Social Software (PDF). He explores in some detail the creative tension between boundaries and connections in social groups and how online tools play a role in facilitating the resolution of that tension. I'm not sure that he sees it that way, but that is how I would describe it. Posted: 12/22/03; 5:36:28 PM #

Nonprofits Move On in Fundraising

In Nonprofits Move On in Fundraising, Katie Dean looks at the techniques employed by the Howard Dean Campaign and by MoveOn.org. Frankly, I see both organizing efforts as examples of what I call "large followers" rather than leaders. They are both implementing on a large scale techniques that have been pioneered for years by smaller and medium sized nonprofit efforts. They are to be commended for that, of course, but I prefer to give due credit to the innovators, rather than those who get the most attention. Posted: 12/22/03; 5:35:59 PM #

MySociety Launch Projects
	MySociety has picked five launch projects for new nonprofit software development. The working titles are: Fax Your Representative, Give It Away, Not Apathetic, Pledge Bank, and Your Constituency Mailing List. They are pretty simple projects and frankly, that is probably smart. Posted: 12/22/03; 5:35:02 PM #

HTML Email Isn't Rich
	Although I do believe there are scenarios where HTML email can be quite effective, I still think it is overused. Hence I recommend this great piece at Evolt called HTML Email Isn't Rich. Posted: 12/22/03; 5:34:38 PM #