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A Blog Is a Little First Amendment Machine

Freedom of expression is one of the key building blocks of civil society. This is one of the reasons why I believe nonprofits should concern themselves with civil liberties as much as they concern themselves with postal rates. It's also one of the reasons why I am such an advocate for blogging. Jay Rosen puts this well in this recent piece: A Blog Is a Little First Amendment Machine. Posted: 6/11/07; 6:04:51 PM #

Monsanto Vice President Joins the Gates Foundation

I spent a lot of years working on issues related to genetics and public policy, including organizing the very first international public interest conference on responsible genetics back in 1985. In that context, I have to say that seeing a Monsanto Vice President Join the Gates Foundation is pretty disturbing to me. Do they really think that someone who has spent his career at a company that has been working to privatize and control the world's agricultural systems is going to work in the public interest in Africa? Or is this just technocratic thinking on the part of the Gates Foundation? Posted: 6/11/07; 6:00:46 PM #

The Economics of Classification

Classification is best seen as a user interface issue, rather than a philoshopical one, at least in terms of how it affects web sites and web applications. On Giraffe Forum, Gerry McGovern examines this issue, paying particular attention to the economics of classification. Every classification decision increases the cost of finding some things while decreasing the cost of finding others. Figuring out how to account for those costs is the art to master. Posted: 6/11/07; 5:54:14 PM #

Marshall Ganz on Organizing

Marshall Ganz of the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations has done some excellent thinking on the topic of organizing. The Huaser Center has collected this thinking into an online multimedia curriculum (warning: video components require Real Player) that I highly recommend to practitioners, planners, funders, and researchers alike. His logical framework is powerful and practical and the resources available are rich and varied. Posted: 6/11/07; 2:01:05 PM #