Personal Democracy Forum Superlative Roundup
With about 80% of the attendees identifying themselves as Democrats, it's no surprise that the many Obama campaign and administration representatives should be well-received, but the real rockstar was the White House CIO, who used his time at the podium for a demo of http://www.usaspending.gov/. The new dashboard displays how more than $70 billion tax dollars are being spent on IT projects by the major government agencies. Kundra, who received a standing ovation, said a blog will be up in the next couple of weeks, so users are invited to provide feedback as they continue to improve the beta site. What a cool example of how web 2.0 technology can be used to facilitate more transparency, accountability and collaborative problem-solving in the U.S. government. As Decker Ngongang of Generation Engage pointed out, it could be interesting to see nonprofits use this model to show how their donor dollars are being spent.
I heard him speak at the National Geographic Explorers Symposium a few weeks ago, so I knew the PDF crowd was in for a treat, but his standing ovation (the largest one, and the only one given besides that for Kundra) demonstrated his ability to speak to the larger cultural impacts of social media. A cultural anthropologist and media ecologist at Kansas State University, Wesch gave an amazing presentation entitled "The Machine is (Changing) Us: YouTube Culture and the Politics of Authenticity." He talked about what he and his students have discovered about vlogging, and people's attempts to connect without constraints via YouTube. I also particularly appreciated his analysis of the progression of "whatever" from a 1960s "I don't care. Whatever you think," to a 1990s "Whatever, I don't care what you think," and his call to move the meaning of the word to "I care. Let's do whatever it takes...by whatever means necessary."
I was reminded a few times, that online organizing is not really an end in itself, it's a tool we should be using to get people connected and active offline. In the "Twitter as a Platform for #Organizing and #Fundraising" panel, Allison Fine and Amanda Rose gave examples of how Twitter was a powerful tool to mobilize people for offline events. Allison Fine discussed the Twitter Vote Report campaign during which voters could help others stay informed about how election day was going, what problems were cropping up, and what was happening on the ground. Amanda Rose explained how Twestival came about, and how 10,000 people gathered offline in 200 cities to raise $250,000. She also mentioned that registration opened this week for Twestival local, a second iteration of the fundraiser taking place on September 12 and allowing each city to designate their own local beneficiary. The idea that we can't neglect the offline piece of organizing was reiterated by Joe Rospars of the Obama Campaign. He said the widely celebrated new media components of the campaign were always linked to offline activities and were never seen as a replacement for traditional methods.
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America's Giving Challenge and The Primetime Philanthropist
Coming off the heels of the National Conference on Volunteering and Service, I’m reminded about the power of individuals to recognize their potential not only as volunteers but also as philanthropists. It’s kind of serendipitous timing that just last night NBC aired its first episode of a new series, The Philanthropist.
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Where Do Philanthropy and Service Meet?
As the National Conference on Volunteering and Service gets underway in San Francisco next week, 4,500 leaders from across the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors will pack the Moscone Center for workshops and plenary sessions aimed at strengthening the culture of service in our country. And, in a year when so many conferences have been forced to scale back, or have seen significant declines in attendance -- the energy (and turnout) surrounding this year’s service conference is a testament to what a hot issue service seems to be at this moment in time.
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Meet the New Echoing Green Fellows
From Mumbai to Massachusetts, the 2009 Class of Echoing Green Fellows announced today, represents a diverse group of 17 social entrepreneurs, many of whom are honing their skills as social citizens and leveraging technology for social change. With 1,000 applicants the competition was intense, but the fourteen projects announced today, represent some of the most innovative ideas in areas from civil and human rights to education and public service. That’s why we’ll be watching with great interest as these leaders carry their work forward.
We join in congratulating the newest members of Echoing Green’s network of social entrepreneurs who work each day to solve social, economic and environmental problems throughout the world. To see a complete list of the 2009 Fellows, and learn more about their projects, visit Echoing Green.
Also, we know there are plenty of Echoing Green Fellows in the making, and we’d like to feature some of these bright faces and ideas in our new series “Social Citizen Sightings.” Please fill out this quick form if you have a group or individual you'd like to nominate for the new series.
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