[Printer Friendly Version]

News for December 2003

29 December 2003

Communication Networks Expand
	Worldwatch Institute has published a report, Communication Networks Expand (PDF), which highlights a number of interesting findings related to bridging the digital divide, including the very important role played by mobile phones. Posted: 12/29/03; 12:09:34 PM #

Prix Ars Electronica 2004

The Prix Ars Electronica 2004 has added a new prize category for "Digital Communities". The focus seems particularly appropritate to nonprofit efforts since it is intended to "spotlight bold and inspired innovations impacting human coexistence, bridging the digital divide regarding gender as well as geography, or creating outstanding social software and enhancing accessibility of technological-social infrastructure". Posted: 12/29/03; 12:09:24 PM #

28 December 2003

Essays by Margaret Wheatley
	I am an admirer of Margaret Wheatley's work on leadership in the contexts of organizations as living systems. I have been rereading some of her essays, many of which are collected online. I recommend them. Posted: 12/28/03; 10:38:53 PM #

Charity can't replace caring society
	Responding to the ongoing process of devolution of government services, Stuart Laidlaw of the Toronto Star says that charity can't replace caring society. He argues that charity, by its very nature, establishes a divide between those who give and those who must accept it. Posted: 12/28/03; 10:38:22 PM #

23 December 2003

Markup and Emergence, Yin and Yang
	I have been refining some of my strategies for an upcoming knowledge management project. I have been an advocate for organizing information by emerging patterns, rather than emphasizing markup and metadata. But I think Jon Udell got it just right when he wrote Markup and Emergence, Yin and Yang, in which he sees the tension itself as creative and useful. Posted: 12/23/03; 8:50:05 AM #

ICT-Usage among Transnational Social Movements
	Global political change favors those who can communicate and organize effectively over great distances. If you are interested in learning from the success of the movements concerned with globalization, I recommend Bart Cammaerts paper on ICT-Usage among Transnational Social Movements in the Networked Society: to organise, to mediate & to influence (PDF). Posted: 12/23/03; 8:49:48 AM #

The Selfish Generation

There is this tendency in the nonprofit sector to think that the for profit world does everything better. While I agree that civil organizations have things to learn from business (and vice versa), there are many dangers to trying to make nonprofits more like business. Here is one example: In The Selfish Generation, Jenni Russell looks at what happens when we substitute market values for social values, something that I see progressing at a terrifying pace in the nonprofit world. Posted: 12/23/03; 8:49:30 AM #

Adoption and Utilization of the Internet in Thailand
	I've been looking more and more at cross cultural communication and infrastructure challenges lately. So, I went back and read this case study from First Monday: A Critical Analysis of Adoption and Utilization of the Internet in Thailand for Educational Purposes. Posted: 12/23/03; 8:48:54 AM #

22 December 2003

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 #