From dbassill at cabriniconnections.net  Sun Jul  1 09:52:37 2007
From: dbassill at cabriniconnections.net (dbassill at cabriniconnections.net)
Date: Sun, 1 Jul 2007 09:52:37 -0400
Subject: [DDN] Social business & Capitalism
Message-ID: <380-22007701135237906@M2W006.mail2web.com>

I encourage you to log in at Social Edge (http://www.socialedge.org ) where
you may connect with a network of ideas for your project.

In my own opinion, I've not seen many models showing how business leaders
use ideas of advertising and market share concepts to create a distribution
of quality social service organizations in a growing number of locations of
the world where the same services are needed.  

In business, a company develops a product or service then strategies that
roll out that service to potential customers, either through stores, direct
sales, or internet sales sites.  The business uses its resources to build
this distribution infrastructure.  Thus, if you're goal is to end Aids,
you'd need to create a distribution infrustructure that would put your
services in every place where AIDS is a problem. Such a model would be
quite complex.

If you have found any examples on the web where such models are shown, I
think this would be a valuable resource that might encourage others to
adopt a similar strategy.

I apply this concept in the Tutor/Mentor Connection and have begun to use
concept maps to illustrate the complexity of what we do:
http://tinyurl.com/2futnp

I feel that technologists could help serivce sectors or business leaders
develp such strategies, and develop the advertising that would motivate
more volunteers, donors and partners to use these maps to guide their own
involvement in solving these problems.

Dan Bassill
Tutor/Mentor Connection
Cabrini Connections
800 W. Huron
Chicago, Il. 60622

Original Message:
-----------------
From: Deborah Phelan deborahphelan at gmail.com
Date: Wed, 30 May 2007 10:49:33 -0700
To: digitaldivide at digitaldivide.net
Subject: Re: [DDN] Social business & Capitalism


I am researching for an article I am writing for Global Progress and seeking
some suggesstions on social business enterprises which are relying on a
capitalist model to alleviate poverty. So far, I have info for   Grameen,
GAIN, OneWorld, Barefoot College,Equity for Africa, Unilever...  I've found
some  research on the underlying philosophy behind the idea -- looking at
Global Issues, WiserEarth, REDF...

Wading through the sheer quantity of development projects with an eye
towards assessing if they actually are utilizing this model as opposed to
knowing the lingo to present themselves in a favorable light is quite
difficult.

I've found some  dissection to Hudson Institute's Recent report on the
expanding role of the private sector in foreign aid and am also interested
in some informed comment on this report.

I would appreciate information on any projects, organizations I might not
yet be aware of as well as feedback on those I have mentioned above.

Thanks for any assistance.

Deborah


On 5/27/07, jc at coyotecommunications.com <jc at coyotecommunications.com >
wrote:
>
> Women Empowerment via ICTs
>
> 'You teach us and we can do it' - This was the overwhelming response
> of the 20 odd women from the rural areas of Gujarat, who attended the
> workshop organised by Self Employed Women Association (SEWA)
> (http://www.sewa.org/) along with UNDP, held in Delhi, India on 30-31
> March 2007. Over two days, the workshop delved on the critical aspects
> of how ICTs can empower women to address issues of poverty and
> livelihood challenges. We heard evocative stories of how women from
> the most backward areas of the country had broken the boundaries of
> illiteracy, caste and social backwardness to independently raise their
> social and economic status.
>
>
http://www.i4donline.net/articles/current-article.asp?articleid=1161&typ=Ren
dezvous
>
>
> (I have *nothing* to do with this initiative)
>
> <><><><><><><><><><><><><>
> Jayne Cravens, MSc
> jc "at" coyotecommunications "dot" com
>
> Nonprofits/Civil Society -- Resources & Services
> www.coyotecommunications.com/
>
> International Development Work & Studies
> www.coyotecommunications.com/development
> <><><><><><><><><><><><><>
> _______________________________________________
> DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list
> DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net
> http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide
> To unsubscribe, send a message to
digitaldivide-request at mailman.edc.orgwith the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body
of the message.
>
_______________________________________________
DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list
DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net
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To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-request at mailman.edc.org
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
mail2web LIVE ? Free email based on Microsoft? Exchange technology -
http://link.mail2web.com/LIVE



From rlworle2 at pepperdine.edu  Wed Jul  4 15:22:48 2007
From: rlworle2 at pepperdine.edu (rlworle2)
Date: Wed, 4 Jul 2007 09:22:48 -1000
Subject: [DDN] looking for partner in Delhi for youth media projects
In-Reply-To: <468552E8.5050109@yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <000001c7be70$b86d1680$6601a8c0@Robin>

Hello all,

A group of high school students and I will be traveling to India next
summer as members of my nonprofit org called J.U.M.P. (juveniles use
media power) to Change the World. The mission of JUMP is to empower
global youth by giving them a voice and the skills to make media that
makes a difference.

We are interested in partnering with a group that works with
disadvantaged youth. We will then teach them how to use tech/media
equipment to tell their stories to a larger audience via the internet. 

Last year we worked with three youth groups in Kenya, producing
podcasts, videos, and photo essays that revealed how HIV/AIDS is
impacting their lives. You can see more about our projects at
www.jumptochangetheworld.org.

I look forward to hearing from DDN members in India!

Sincerely,
Robin Worley
Founder of J.U.M.P. to Change the World
www.jumptochangetheworld.org
rlworle2 at pepperdine.edu 




From andycarvin at yahoo.com  Fri Jul  6 13:44:20 2007
From: andycarvin at yahoo.com (Andy Carvin)
Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 10:44:20 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [DDN] New Pew report on US at-home broadband access
Message-ID: <151898.48772.qm@web43138.mail.sp1.yahoo.com>

Hi everyone,

The Pew Internet Project just released their latest
report on the state of at-home broadband access in the
US:

http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/217/report_display.asp

Among the findings:

    * African Americans: 40% of now have broadband at
home, up by 8 percentage points from 2006.

    * Rural Americans: 31% of those living in rural
areas have broadband at home, up 6 percentage points
from 2006.

    * Low income households, that is, adults who
report living in households with annual household
incomes under $30,000 annually: 30% of those in this
group report having broadband at home, up by 9
percentage points the prior year and matching the
end-of-2005 national average.


I've done a summary of the report on my pbs blog here:

http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/2007/07/got_broadband.html

thanks,
andy

------------------------
Andy Carvin
andycarvin at yahoo  com
www.andycarvin.com
www.pbs.org/learningnow
------------------------

From BBracey at aol.com  Sat Jul  7 06:20:47 2007
From: BBracey at aol.com (BBracey at aol.com)
Date: Sat, 7 Jul 2007 06:20:47 EDT
Subject: [DDN] Ericsson and Stanford University to Advance E-Learning in
	Africa
Message-ID: <d46.d726ded.33c0c2ff@aol.com>





Ericsson and Stanford University to Advance E-Learning in Africa



Ericsson announced at the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit in Geneva that it 
is collaborating with Stanford University to explore the innovative use of 
mobile technologies in distance e-learning. Ericsson will work with Stanford 
University's International Outreach Program to bring distance learning to 
countries in Africa. The program offers students on different continents the 
opportunity to learn from researchers in environmental sciences from several countries 
and perspectives, as well as contribute to lively discourse and debate through 
Internet and mobile phone interaction.

As part of the program, Ericsson is providing smart phones fully equipped 
with video cameras, audio recorders, and Internet capability. Ericsson will also 
support the program by leveraging its relationships with mobile operators in 
Tanzania, Uganda and South Africa to help Stanford and others implement an 
environmental e-learning program. This program involves faculty and students from 
the University of the Western Cape in South African, Mweka College of African 
Wildlife Management in Tanzania and Makerere University in Uganda.
The international mobile learning project, called Dunia Moja or "one world," 
utilizes a GPRS or 3G mobile connection and an Internet-enabled mobile handset 
from Sony Ericsson to allow students and faculty in remote locations to 
submit and access video, audio and text-based course materials, participate in 
online discussion forums, post blogs, produce multimedia content and otherwise 
interact as they learn.



Posted on 06-07-2007

Read this article on the web at: www.cellular-news.com/story/24779.php



**************************************
 See what's free at http://www.aol.com.

From jwne at temple.edu  Sat Jul  7 11:09:06 2007
From: jwne at temple.edu (David P. Dillard)
Date: Sat, 7 Jul 2007 11:09:06 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [DDN] LIBRARY: LIBRARIANS: A Hipper Crowd of Shushers
Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.4.53.0707071103280.664668@gs873ps>



LIBRARY: LIBRARIANS:
A Hipper Crowd of Shushers


A Hipper Crowd of Shushers
By KARA JESELLA
Published: July 8, 2007
New York Times
<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/08/fashion/08librarian.html>


Librarians? Arent they supposed to be bespectacled women with a love of
classic books and a perpetual annoyance with talkative patrons  the
ultimate humorless shushers?

Not any more. With so much of the job involving technology and with a
focus now on finding and sharing information beyond just what is available
in books, a new type of librarian is emerging  the kind that, according to
the Web site Librarian Avengers, is looking to put the hep cat in
cataloguing.

When the cult film Party Girl appeared in 1995, with Parker Posey as a
night life impresario who finds happiness in the stacks, the idea that a
librarian could be cool was a joke.

Now, there is a public librarian who writes dispatches for McSweeneys
Internet Tendency, a favored magazine of the young literati. Unshelved, a
comic about librarians  yes, there is a comic about librarians  features a
hipster librarian character. And, in real life, there are an increasing
number of librarians who are notable not just for their pink-streaked hair
but also for their passion for pop culture, activism and technology.

Were not the typical librarians anymore, said Rick Block, an adjunct
professor at the Long Island University Palmer School and at the Pratt
Institute School of Information and Library Science, both graduate schools
for librarians, in New York City.

When I was in library school in the early 80s, the students werent as
interesting, Mr. Block said.

Since then, however, library organizations have been trying to recruit a
more diverse group of students and to mentor younger members of the
profession.


---------------------------------------



The complete article may be read at the URL above.



Sincerely,
David Dillard
Temple University
(215) 204 - 4584
jwne at temple.edu
Net-Gold
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/net-gold>
<http://listserv.temple.edu/archives/net-gold.html>
<http://groups.google.com/group/net-gold?hl=en>
<http://net-gold.jiglu.com/>
General Internet & Print Resources
<http://library.temple.edu/articles/subject_guides/general.jsp>
<http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/ringleaders/davidd.html>
Digital Divide Network
<http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/jwne>
Educator-Gold
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Educator-Gold/>
K12ADMINLIFE
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K12AdminLIFE/>
Nina Dillard's Photographs
<http://homepage.mac.com/neemers1/>
Nina Dillard's Photographs on Net-Gold
<http://tinyurl.com/36qd2o>
Net-Gold Membership Required to View Photos


From kaippg at earthlink.net  Sun Jul  8 12:05:10 2007
From: kaippg at earthlink.net (Janet Feldman)
Date: Sun, 8 Jul 2007 11:05:10 -0500
Subject: [DDN] EuroAfrica-ICT Workshop (Nairobi): Application Deadline JULY
	12th
Message-ID: <380-2200770816510957@earthlink.net>

Dear All,

This looks to be a very interesting workshop:  note July 12th deadline, and
also that there are some forms which need filling out that one can find at
this url: http://www.euroafrica-ict.org/index.html.  Several came with this
mailing, which I could not pass along, as they were attachments.

With thanks and best of luck!  Janet Feldman, kaippg at earthlink.net


From:Rebecca Naidoo RNaidoo at csir.co.za

Thank you for your interest in the EuroAfrica-ICT (START) initiative.
Kindly confirm
your participation in the Awareness Workshop to be held in Nairobi at the
Hilton
Hotel by return email.  This confirmation assists us in determining our
numbers 
in preparation for the workshop.

In order to facilitate contacts between European and sub-Saharan African
organisations
interested in the development of cooperation projects in the ICT field, you
are 
invited to present a Proposal Idea (10 min on an ICT project idea you or
your organisation
may have) at the workshop or an Expression of Interest (10 min about your
organisation,
expertise, experience, etc) .

Please visit http://www.euroafrica-ict.org/index.html for the PowerPoint
templates
and draft agenda.  Should you require a template be emailed to you, please
do not
hesitate to contact me.  The deadline for submission of your presentation
will be
July 12 and should be returned to rnaidoo at csir.co.za.  Selection will be
made on
a "first come first serve" basis.

Attendance at the workshop is free and participants will need to make their
own 
travel and accommodation arrangements if required.  Should you wish to stay
at the
Hilton hotel, a negotiated rate at US $90 has been secured for workshop
participants.

Hotel details are: 
Contact person: Caroline Owira
Hilton Hotel
Mama Ngina Street; 
Nairobi, Kenya 00100 
Tel: +254-20-250000  Fax: +254-20-226477 
E-mail: caroline.owira at hilton.com     
Website: http://www.hilton.com/en/hi/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=NBOHIT 

We also ask that you take a few minutes to complete the attached Open
Consultation
questionnaire.  The purpose of this questionnaire is to take into
consideration 
the experience, visions and suggestions of the European and sub-Saharan
African 
ICT communities at large.  The input received will form part of the
document EU-Africa
S&T Cooperation on ICT under FP7 - Status & Perspectives to be presented
to the European Commission as a manifest.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any queries,

We look forward to meeting you in Nairobi,

With thanks,

Rebecca Naidoo
Research & Development Initiatives Coordinator
Meraka Institute
Ph: +27-12-841 2948
Fax: +27-12-841 4720


"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change
the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."  
             ~Margaret Mead


From pshapiro at his.com  Mon Jul  9 07:38:10 2007
From: pshapiro at his.com (Phil Shapiro)
Date: Mon, 09 Jul 2007 07:38:10 -0400
Subject: [DDN] An exploration in digital storytelling
Message-ID: <1183981090.46921e22dcca8@webmail2.his.com>

hi Digital Divide Network community,

     the future of public libraries is probably going to be more and more
digital, so i thought it might be fun trying some explorations in digital
storytelling using some free windows software called powerbullet.

    along these lines, here's a narrated flash slideshow I created this weekend.
the story in this slideshow is a children's story I wrote a few years ago.
adults would enjoy reading this short story, too. (see http://tinyurl.com/2m3zve)

   powerbullet is easier to use than powerpoint and creates flash files,
viewable on just about any computer on the planet -- including many donated
windows 95, 98, and 2000 computers -- as well as macintosh and linux computers.

     a friendly note about viewing the above multimedia. to progress thru the
multimedia use the small red arrows at the bottom of the screen. the arrow
pointing to the right only appears after the narration for the screen you're
viewing has come to and end. you can navigate back thru the story, too, using
the left arrow. the above example uses some fiction, but powerbullet would work
equally well distributing narrated nonfiction.

       if you'd like to distribute this multimedia via flash drives, cd-rom, or
any other means, you can download the files at 
http://www.writersforliteracy.org/anordinarymother.zip
(8 megabytes)

          the downloaded files can be viewed off-line. just click on the file
named anordinarymother.htm  to start the presentation in your browser.

                 phil

btw, if you're on the lookout for education software cd-rom's under $10, here
are some clearance items from http://microcenter.com

http://tinyurl.com/23tu5l

a particularly good deal is mavis beacon teaches typing 16 for $8, which works
on both macs and windows.



-- 
Phil Shapiro  pshapiro at his.com
http://www.his.com/pshapiro/briefbio.html
http://philsrssfeed.blogspot.com
http://www.his.com/pshapiro/stories.menu.html

"Wisdom starts with wonder." - Socrates
"Learning happens through gentleness."



From skipper at bfranklin.edu  Fri Jul  6 13:27:41 2007
From: skipper at bfranklin.edu (John Hibbs)
Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 10:27:41 -0700
Subject: [DDN] I make no profit, therefore I suck
In-Reply-To: <10B5C020-2706-436E-AED2-36F002E205D2@ctcnetchicago.org>
References: <10B5C020-2706-436E-AED2-36F002E205D2@ctcnetchicago.org>
Message-ID: <a06210238c2b42a23fd62@[192.168.0.11]>

There may be on this list a few followers of the America's Cup, just 
completed. For those unaware, this is the icon of all sailing events 
-- there are about 20 competitors each of whom puts up about $100 
million U.S. dollars to build what is hoped to be a competitive 
entrant. All of them are successful at getting corporate sponsorship, 
even though the viewership is fairly small.

What do they sell?  I think they sell "ego" -- made easier to "buy" 
based on the proposition that the viewership is mostly of fairly rich 
people mostly in positions of influence and/or power.

That's a long way to comment on Dave Chakrabari's post, which raises 
tough questions -- of a kind the America's Cup competitors also face? 
(Not snipped -- and hopefully not snipped by Andy or those in charge 
here--- worth re-reading, methinks.)

Can those doing not-for-profit work "sell" the idea that they reach 
Movers and Shakers? That while it is hard to provide benchmarks and 
absolutes it is "easy" to make the claim that "good work supported by 
good (for profit) companies" is a /profitable/ undertaking? That the 
direct links between the work itself might be hard of precisely 
substantiate; but the linkage by way of conversation, dialogue, press 
release, blog, list serv, video uploads have impact as favorable to 
the sponsor as a Coke ad behind home plate during the World Series.

If Coke can make the claim more people drink their beverage based on 
people interested in a baseball outcome, why can't non profits make 
the same kind of claim?

John Hibbs
http://www.bfranklin.edu/johnhibbs

At 1:12 PM -0500 6/8/07, Dave Chakrabarti wrote:
>Greetings, list folk,
>
>At the NetSquared conference recently, there was a comment made by a 
>venture capitalist that "Some nonprofits just suck". This was 
>partially attached to a discussion of nonprofit sustainability 
>models, with a very large portion of participants taking it for 
>granted that "sustainability" meant charging for services. There is 
>an entrenched view that foundation grant funding and other donations 
>can never be "sustainable", and that there must be a return on 
>services offered that eventually sustains the organization financially.
>
>I responded to much of this. There's a synopsis on the Nonprofiteer: 
>http://nonprofiteer.typepad.com/the_nonprofiteer/2007/06/
>dear_nonprofite.html#comment-72142198
>(thanks, Nonprofiteer, for the kind words).
>
>The continuing debate lives here: http://www.tacticalphilanthropy.com/
>2007/05/some_nonprofits.html#comment-71226258
>
>and here: http://www.tacticalphilanthropy.com/2007/06/
>philanthropic_c.html#comment-72140764
>
>...and other comment threads on the Tactical Philanthropy site and 
>elsewhere.
>
>Coming under fire for offering services for free, by nonprofit 
>funders who do not seem to understand the difference between "mission-
>driven" and "profit-driven", forces me to suggest that we, as a 
>sector, need to develop stronger language regarding these issues. 
>Most of all, we need to work towards a different model of 
>sustainability, so that we can pose alternate definitions when a 
>potential funder equates "sustainability" with a system based on 
>marginal returns for services offered.
>
>So my question is: "How do we measure sustainability if we're mission-
>focused (nonprofit) instead of profit-focused (for profit)?".
>
>And related: "How do we communicate the difference to the venture 
>capitalist, foundation, and other donor communities who we're hoping 
>will support our work?".
>
>In both cases, by "we" I mean all of us mailing list denizens, not 
>our organization in particular.
>
>Responses appreciated. Backup on Tactical Phil would be awesome (I 
>think I'm outnumbered).
>
>    Dave.
>
>------------------------
>Dave Chakrabarti
>Director of Programs
>Grassroots.org


From phairexch at msn.com  Mon Jul  9 10:15:07 2007
From: phairexch at msn.com (Calvetta Phair)
Date: Mon, 09 Jul 2007 10:15:07 -0400
Subject: [DDN] The On It Foundation to Provide 1, 000 Computers in Miami-Dade,
	Seeks Corp Donors
Message-ID: <BAY107-F139FC16594BC874264E731B1060@phx.gbl>


From tabeles at hotmail.com  Mon Jul  9 11:12:29 2007
From: tabeles at hotmail.com (tom abeles)
Date: Mon, 09 Jul 2007 10:12:29 -0500
Subject: [DDN] I make no profit, therefore I suck
In-Reply-To: <a06210238c2b42a23fd62@[192.168.0.11]>
Message-ID: <BAY108-F3357FC9271E1CB1D546CBDA7060@phx.gbl>

Hi John and all

This is an interesting discussion and deserves serious consideration.
First, the for-profit world does well understand the role of the non-profit 
organizations. This can be seen in the large amounts raised regularly by the 
for-profit sectors, many of which have committed a percentage of profits for 
sponsored work.

There are many issues here, not all black and white:

1) The nfp's often think their clients are the communities in which they 
work. In reality, they are a bridge between their real clients, the funders 
and the people who are the ultimate recipients. Like brokers, or middle 
persons, they take the raw material, money, and add other ingredients and 
then provide these to the beneficiaries.

The idea that the for-profits or other donors have no say, or should have no 
say is a prevalent attitude that needs to change, particularly in an 
internet world where the use of these resources and their effect are made 
visible and not just indirectly by a report from the nfp.  Accountability 
and communications changes the game

2) Like any sector, not all nfp's with birght ideas and enthusiasm have the 
right or ability to survive. The funders, like any savvy buyer, now has a 
choice of whom they wish to support. With good communications, the funders 
can selectively choose, when, where, with whom and for what they want to 
expend their funds.

There will be fall outs as expected in any area. And therein lies a problem 
since even big, successful enterprises may, in the long term, not survive. 
And the small may survive as a boutique or, in the end, die, sometimes still 
born

John's analogy of the America's Cup is great. It works for automobile 
racing, bicycle racing and any other competitive sport. There are sponsors 
and sponsored. Many an aspiring competitor will have to pay their dues until 
they reach a level of competition that attracts a sponsor. Those that do, 
stand a chance of getting others. Many who aspire, die in an aspire mode

The same holds for any enterprise, regardless of whether it is 
entertainment, like golf or tennis, businesses or nfp's serving a variety of 
underserved communities.

Putting up a sign saying that an org is a nfp or has a worthy cause is no 
guarantee of success or attracting funding.

Its not that the funders don't understand. Its the nfp's that need to 
understand

thoughts?

tom

tom abeles


>From: John Hibbs <skipper at bfranklin.edu>
>Reply-To: The Digital Divide Network discussion 
>group<digitaldivide at digitaldivide.net>
>To: The Digital Divide Network 
>discussiongroup	<digitaldivide at digitaldivide.net>
>Subject: Re: [DDN] I make no profit, therefore I suck
>Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 10:27:41 -0700
>
>There may be on this list a few followers of the America's Cup, just
>completed. For those unaware, this is the icon of all sailing events
>-- there are about 20 competitors each of whom puts up about $100
>million U.S. dollars to build what is hoped to be a competitive
>entrant. All of them are successful at getting corporate sponsorship,
>even though the viewership is fairly small.
>
>What do they sell?  I think they sell "ego" -- made easier to "buy"
>based on the proposition that the viewership is mostly of fairly rich
>people mostly in positions of influence and/or power.
>
>That's a long way to comment on Dave Chakrabari's post, which raises
>tough questions -- of a kind the America's Cup competitors also face?
>(Not snipped -- and hopefully not snipped by Andy or those in charge
>here--- worth re-reading, methinks.)
>
>Can those doing not-for-profit work "sell" the idea that they reach
>Movers and Shakers? That while it is hard to provide benchmarks and
>absolutes it is "easy" to make the claim that "good work supported by
>good (for profit) companies" is a /profitable/ undertaking? That the
>direct links between the work itself might be hard of precisely
>substantiate; but the linkage by way of conversation, dialogue, press
>release, blog, list serv, video uploads have impact as favorable to
>the sponsor as a Coke ad behind home plate during the World Series.
>
>If Coke can make the claim more people drink their beverage based on
>people interested in a baseball outcome, why can't non profits make
>the same kind of claim?
>
>John Hibbs
>http://www.bfranklin.edu/johnhibbs
>
>At 1:12 PM -0500 6/8/07, Dave Chakrabarti wrote:
> >Greetings, list folk,
> >
> >At the NetSquared conference recently, there was a comment made by a
> >venture capitalist that "Some nonprofits just suck". This was
> >partially attached to a discussion of nonprofit sustainability
> >models, with a very large portion of participants taking it for
> >granted that "sustainability" meant charging for services. There is
> >an entrenched view that foundation grant funding and other donations
> >can never be "sustainable", and that there must be a return on
> >services offered that eventually sustains the organization financially.
> >
> >I responded to much of this. There's a synopsis on the Nonprofiteer:
> >http://nonprofiteer.typepad.com/the_nonprofiteer/2007/06/
> >dear_nonprofite.html#comment-72142198
> >(thanks, Nonprofiteer, for the kind words).
> >
> >The continuing debate lives here: http://www.tacticalphilanthropy.com/
> >2007/05/some_nonprofits.html#comment-71226258
> >
> >and here: http://www.tacticalphilanthropy.com/2007/06/
> >philanthropic_c.html#comment-72140764
> >
> >...and other comment threads on the Tactical Philanthropy site and
> >elsewhere.
> >
> >Coming under fire for offering services for free, by nonprofit
> >funders who do not seem to understand the difference between "mission-
> >driven" and "profit-driven", forces me to suggest that we, as a
> >sector, need to develop stronger language regarding these issues.
> >Most of all, we need to work towards a different model of
> >sustainability, so that we can pose alternate definitions when a
> >potential funder equates "sustainability" with a system based on
> >marginal returns for services offered.
> >
> >So my question is: "How do we measure sustainability if we're mission-
> >focused (nonprofit) instead of profit-focused (for profit)?".
> >
> >And related: "How do we communicate the difference to the venture
> >capitalist, foundation, and other donor communities who we're hoping
> >will support our work?".
> >
> >In both cases, by "we" I mean all of us mailing list denizens, not
> >our organization in particular.
> >
> >Responses appreciated. Backup on Tactical Phil would be awesome (I
> >think I'm outnumbered).
> >
> >    Dave.
> >
> >------------------------
> >Dave Chakrabarti
> >Director of Programs
> >Grassroots.org
>
>_______________________________________________
>DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list
>DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net
>http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide
>To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-request at mailman.edc.org 
>with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.

_________________________________________________________________
http://liveearth.msn.com


From jwne at temple.edu  Mon Jul  9 10:50:54 2007
From: jwne at temple.edu (David P. Dillard)
Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2007 10:50:54 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [DDN] An Exploration in Digital Storytelling
In-Reply-To: <1183981090.46921e22dcca8@webmail2.his.com>
References: <1183981090.46921e22dcca8@webmail2.his.com>
Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.4.53.0707091036010.567390@gs873ps>



Amy Boerema would tend to agree with your comments regarding digital
resources increasingly dominating library collections.


LIBRARY: SERVICES:
Books Only the First Chapter in Future Libraries' Offerings


Books Only the First Chapter in Future Libraries' Offerings
BY AMY BOEREMA
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Net-Gold/message/19031>


Also consider this development:

DATABASES: FULLTEXT:
Elsevier Science Direct Indexed by Google and Google Scholar: Even More
News
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Net-Gold/message/19024>

Check all links for the complete picture.  Gary Price of Resourceshelf was
quick to point out to me that SCIRUS, an Elsevier search tool, has had
this content for a long time, I knew this, but how many people know about
Scirus as opposed to how many people know about Google.   Many people who
know about Google are unaware of other Google search tools.

<http://www.google.com/options/>


Resourceshelf
<http://www.resourceshelf.com/>



Sincerely,
David Dillard
Temple University
(215) 204 - 4584
jwne at temple.edu
Net-Gold
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/net-gold>
<http://listserv.temple.edu/archives/net-gold.html>
<http://groups.google.com/group/net-gold?hl=en>
<http://net-gold.jiglu.com/>
General Internet & Print Resources
<http://library.temple.edu/articles/subject_guides/general.jsp>
<http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/ringleaders/davidd.html>
Digital Divide Network
<http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/jwne>
Educator-Gold
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Educator-Gold/>
K12ADMINLIFE
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K12AdminLIFE/>
Nina Dillard's Photographs
<http://homepage.mac.com/neemers1/>
Nina Dillard's Photographs on Net-Gold
<http://tinyurl.com/36qd2o>
Net-Gold Membership Required to View Photos


-------------------------------------------------------


On Mon, 9 Jul 2007, Phil Shapiro wrote:

> hi Digital Divide Network community,

>      the future of public libraries is probably going to be more and more
> digital, so i thought it might be fun trying some explorations in digital
> storytelling using some free windows software called powerbullet.

>     along these lines, here's a narrated flash slideshow I created this weekend.
> the story in this slideshow is a children's story I wrote a few years ago.
> adults would enjoy reading this short story, too. (see http://tinyurl.com/2m3zve)

>    powerbullet is easier to use than powerpoint and creates flash files,
> viewable on just about any computer on the planet -- including many donated
> windows 95, 98, and 2000 computers -- as well as macintosh and linux computers.

>      a friendly note about viewing the above multimedia. to progress thru the
> multimedia use the small red arrows at the bottom of the screen. the arrow
> pointing to the right only appears after the narration for the screen you're
> viewing has come to and end. you can navigate back thru the story, too, using
> the left arrow. the above example uses some fiction, but powerbullet would work
> equally well distributing narrated nonfiction.

>        if you'd like to distribute this multimedia via flash drives, cd-rom, or
> any other means, you can download the files at
> http://www.writersforliteracy.org/anordinarymother.zip
> (8 megabytes)

>           the downloaded files can be viewed off-line. just click on the file
> named anordinarymother.htm  to start the presentation in your browser.

>                  phil

> btw, if you're on the lookout for education software cd-rom's under $10, here
> are some clearance items from http://microcenter.com

> http://tinyurl.com/23tu5l

> a particularly good deal is mavis beacon teaches typing 16 for $8, which works
> on both macs and windows.



> --

> Phil Shapiro  pshapiro at his.com
> http://www.his.com/pshapiro/briefbio.html
> http://philsrssfeed.blogspot.com
> http://www.his.com/pshapiro/stories.menu.html

> "Wisdom starts with wonder." - Socrates
> "Learning happens through gentleness."



From phairexch at msn.com  Mon Jul  9 10:30:20 2007
From: phairexch at msn.com (Calvetta Phair)
Date: Mon, 09 Jul 2007 10:30:20 -0400
Subject: [DDN] The On It Foundation to Provide 1, 000 Computers in Miami-Dade,
 Seeks Corp Donors
Message-ID: <BAY107-F1379212E05E64A04BD05BAB1060@phx.gbl>

The On It Foundation to Provide 1,000 Computers in Miami-Dade, Seeks 
Corporate Donors

Miami, July 2007 ? A Starter Grant Award from The Children?s Trust will help 
the On It Foundation (Opportunities Necessary to Increase Technology) 
provide up to 1,000 computers to Miami-Dade residents over the next year.  
The On It Foundation provides free donated computers and computer training 
to low-income families with students in grades K-12 and was recently awarded 
a grant from The Children?s Trust for 2007-2008.

The On It Foundation is calling on all corporations to join its ?Get On It!? 
campaign and make a difference in Miami-Dade community by donating 
computers.  Computers donated to the On It Foundation will then be 
distributed to needy students who are located within 50 miles of the 
corporate donor.  Each donated computer will have the corporate donor?s name 
followed by ?Got On It? signifying their commitment and dedication to their 
community! (e.g. ABC Company Got On It!)

?Although our project is focused for recipients in the Miami Dade County, I 
am challenging all national corporations as well as those within Miami Dade 
County and throughout South Florida.  A national company may have a store or 
franchise in Miami and/or employee, families and friends that live and work 
in the area.  I am also challenging the employees to get involved.  We are 
in need of volunteers and organizations to provide basic computer training 
and assist in the distribution of computers.  The Starter Grant First Time 
Award from The Children?s Trust and the Get On It Campaign and will allow 
our organization to provide computers in the homes of many families with 
students that do not have computers. Research shows that only 19 percent of 
economically underprivileged families own computers compared to over 33 
percent of middle class households ? a gap that has widened 64 percent over 
the past five years despite declining computer prices," said Calvetta Phair, 
President for The On It Foundation.

The On It Foundation seeks donated desktop working computers meeting the 
following minimum requirements: Pentium III, 256 MG RAM, CD-ROM with 
Monitor, Hard-Drive, Keyboard and Mouse.  Financial donations may be made 
directly online via The On It Foundation website or by contacting their 
office directly.  All donations are tax deductible.

?The pace of technological change in today?s economy has never been greater. 
It will accelerate still further in an exponential manner. The best jobs 
created in the technology age will be filled by those who possess the skills 
required to compete for them and carry them out ? and possibly in the 
future, gain employment with the corporation that donated the computer,?  
said Calvetta Phair.

About The On It Foundation:
The On It Foundation is a national 501 (c )(3) public non-profit 
organization that provides free donated computers and computer training to 
families with students in grades K-12 that receive a free or reduced school 
lunch, attend a public school and reside within the United States. Founded 
in 1999, the On It Foundation has received numerous awards and provided 
thousands of computers to deserving recipients.
http://www.theonitfoundation.org

About The Children?s Trust:
To improve the lives of all children and families in Miami-Dade County by 
making strategic investments in their futures.
http://www.thechildrenstrust.org

Contact Information:

Calvetta Phair ? President
The On It Foundation
18520 NW 67th Avenue, Suite 186
Miami, Florida 33014
305.244.6454 - Phone
###

_________________________________________________________________
http://imagine-windowslive.com/hotmail/?locale=en-us&ocid=TXT_TAGHM_migration_HM_mini_pcmag_0507


From joe.beckmann at gmail.com  Mon Jul  9 13:20:40 2007
From: joe.beckmann at gmail.com (Joe Beckmann)
Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2007 13:20:40 -0400
Subject: [DDN] I make no profit, therefore I suck
In-Reply-To: <BAY108-F3357FC9271E1CB1D546CBDA7060@phx.gbl>
References: <a06210238c2b42a23fd62@192.168.0.11>
	<BAY108-F3357FC9271E1CB1D546CBDA7060@phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <eb0914de0707091020r752c1755gf67af90c269f0faa@mail.gmail.com>

In a world where NFP's range from Mass General and Harvard to Mabel's
home-based day care there is an amazing amount of generalization in this
discussion. The pretense of poverty and "free" services is patently absurd
for by far the largest part of the non-profit sector, since profit has
nothing whatsoever to do with pricing.

Joe Beckmann

On 7/9/07, tom abeles <tabeles at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi John and all
>
> This is an interesting discussion and deserves serious consideration.
> First, the for-profit world does well understand the role of the
> non-profit
> organizations. This can be seen in the large amounts raised regularly by
> the
> for-profit sectors, many of which have committed a percentage of profits
> for
> sponsored work.
>
> There are many issues here, not all black and white:
>
> 1) The nfp's often think their clients are the communities in which they
> work. In reality, they are a bridge between their real clients, the
> funders
> and the people who are the ultimate recipients. Like brokers, or middle
> persons, they take the raw material, money, and add other ingredients and
> then provide these to the beneficiaries.
>
> The idea that the for-profits or other donors have no say, or should have
> no
> say is a prevalent attitude that needs to change, particularly in an
> internet world where the use of these resources and their effect are made
> visible and not just indirectly by a report from the nfp.  Accountability
> and communications changes the game
>
> 2) Like any sector, not all nfp's with birght ideas and enthusiasm have
> the
> right or ability to survive. The funders, like any savvy buyer, now has a
> choice of whom they wish to support. With good communications, the funders
> can selectively choose, when, where, with whom and for what they want to
> expend their funds.
>
> There will be fall outs as expected in any area. And therein lies a
> problem
> since even big, successful enterprises may, in the long term, not survive.
> And the small may survive as a boutique or, in the end, die, sometimes
> still
> born
>
> John's analogy of the America's Cup is great. It works for automobile
> racing, bicycle racing and any other competitive sport. There are sponsors
> and sponsored. Many an aspiring competitor will have to pay their dues
> until
> they reach a level of competition that attracts a sponsor. Those that do,
> stand a chance of getting others. Many who aspire, die in an aspire mode
>
> The same holds for any enterprise, regardless of whether it is
> entertainment, like golf or tennis, businesses or nfp's serving a variety
> of
> underserved communities.
>
> Putting up a sign saying that an org is a nfp or has a worthy cause is no
> guarantee of success or attracting funding.
>
> Its not that the funders don't understand. Its the nfp's that need to
> understand
>
> thoughts?
>
> tom
>
> tom abeles
>
>
> >From: John Hibbs <skipper at bfranklin.edu>
> >Reply-To: The Digital Divide Network discussion
> >group<digitaldivide at digitaldivide.net>
> >To: The Digital Divide Network
> >discussiongroup        <digitaldivide at digitaldivide.net>
> >Subject: Re: [DDN] I make no profit, therefore I suck
> >Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 10:27:41 -0700
> >
> >There may be on this list a few followers of the America's Cup, just
> >completed. For those unaware, this is the icon of all sailing events
> >-- there are about 20 competitors each of whom puts up about $100
> >million U.S. dollars to build what is hoped to be a competitive
> >entrant. All of them are successful at getting corporate sponsorship,
> >even though the viewership is fairly small.
> >
> >What do they sell?  I think they sell "ego" -- made easier to "buy"
> >based on the proposition that the viewership is mostly of fairly rich
> >people mostly in positions of influence and/or power.
> >
> >That's a long way to comment on Dave Chakrabari's post, which raises
> >tough questions -- of a kind the America's Cup competitors also face?
> >(Not snipped -- and hopefully not snipped by Andy or those in charge
> >here--- worth re-reading, methinks.)
> >
> >Can those doing not-for-profit work "sell" the idea that they reach
> >Movers and Shakers? That while it is hard to provide benchmarks and
> >absolutes it is "easy" to make the claim that "good work supported by
> >good (for profit) companies" is a /profitable/ undertaking? That the
> >direct links between the work itself might be hard of precisely
> >substantiate; but the linkage by way of conversation, dialogue, press
> >release, blog, list serv, video uploads have impact as favorable to
> >the sponsor as a Coke ad behind home plate during the World Series.
> >
> >If Coke can make the claim more people drink their beverage based on
> >people interested in a baseball outcome, why can't non profits make
> >the same kind of claim?
> >
> >John Hibbs
> >http://www.bfranklin.edu/johnhibbs
> >
> >At 1:12 PM -0500 6/8/07, Dave Chakrabarti wrote:
> > >Greetings, list folk,
> > >
> > >At the NetSquared conference recently, there was a comment made by a
> > >venture capitalist that "Some nonprofits just suck". This was
> > >partially attached to a discussion of nonprofit sustainability
> > >models, with a very large portion of participants taking it for
> > >granted that "sustainability" meant charging for services. There is
> > >an entrenched view that foundation grant funding and other donations
> > >can never be "sustainable", and that there must be a return on
> > >services offered that eventually sustains the organization financially.
> > >
> > >I responded to much of this. There's a synopsis on the Nonprofiteer:
> > >http://nonprofiteer.typepad.com/the_nonprofiteer/2007/06/
> > >dear_nonprofite.html#comment-72142198
> > >(thanks, Nonprofiteer, for the kind words).
> > >
> > >The continuing debate lives here: http://www.tacticalphilanthropy.com/
> > >2007/05/some_nonprofits.html#comment-71226258
> > >
> > >and here: http://www.tacticalphilanthropy.com/2007/06/
> > >philanthropic_c.html#comment-72140764
> > >
> > >...and other comment threads on the Tactical Philanthropy site and
> > >elsewhere.
> > >
> > >Coming under fire for offering services for free, by nonprofit
> > >funders who do not seem to understand the difference between "mission-
> > >driven" and "profit-driven", forces me to suggest that we, as a
> > >sector, need to develop stronger language regarding these issues.
> > >Most of all, we need to work towards a different model of
> > >sustainability, so that we can pose alternate definitions when a
> > >potential funder equates "sustainability" with a system based on
> > >marginal returns for services offered.
> > >
> > >So my question is: "How do we measure sustainability if we're mission-
> > >focused (nonprofit) instead of profit-focused (for profit)?".
> > >
> > >And related: "How do we communicate the difference to the venture
> > >capitalist, foundation, and other donor communities who we're hoping
> > >will support our work?".
> > >
> > >In both cases, by "we" I mean all of us mailing list denizens, not
> > >our organization in particular.
> > >
> > >Responses appreciated. Backup on Tactical Phil would be awesome (I
> > >think I'm outnumbered).
> > >
> > >    Dave.
> > >
> > >------------------------
> > >Dave Chakrabarti
> > >Director of Programs
> > >Grassroots.org
> >
> >_______________________________________________
> >DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list
> >DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net
> >http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide
> >To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-request at mailman.edc.org
> >with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> http://liveearth.msn.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list
> DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net
> http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide
> To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-request at mailman.edc.orgwith the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
>



-- 
Joe Beckmann
22 Stone Avenue
Somerville, MA 02143
617-625-9369

From cnd at knowprose.com  Tue Jul 10 03:24:19 2007
From: cnd at knowprose.com (Taran Rampersad)
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2007 03:24:19 -0400
Subject: [DDN] I make no profit, therefore I suck
In-Reply-To: <a06210238c2b42a23fd62@[192.168.0.11]>
References: <10B5C020-2706-436E-AED2-36F002E205D2@ctcnetchicago.org>
	<a06210238c2b42a23fd62@[192.168.0.11]>
Message-ID: <46933423.9030208@knowprose.com>

Hey John. :-) Comments inline; I'm kind of tired so I may meander.

John Hibbs wrote:
> Can those doing not-for-profit work "sell" the idea that they reach 
> Movers and Shakers?
Aren't people who do not-for-profit work - aren't they 'Movers and
Shakers'? I suspect this is about finance, though, but I wanted to stick
that out there.

I recognize I am probably a minority on the list, but I think
self-sustaining non-profits are the way to go. Self sustaining in that
they are profitable; as Henry Ford said (paraphrased) 'a good company
makes more than money'. Thinking out loud - with a stretch, we can say
that non-profits exist because other areas do not provide value to
groups, and the non-profits are created to fill those voids. So when
looking for funding for non-profits, we're looking for funding from the
same groups that could not provide that value in the first place
(something I will carry over to a philanthropy list I am on).

Einstein did say that a problem cannot be solved at the same level of
thinking that created it. Maybe he was on to something. ;-)
>  That while it is hard to provide benchmarks and 
> absolutes it is "easy" to make the claim that "good work supported by 
> good (for profit) companies" is a /profitable/ undertaking? That the 
> direct links between the work itself might be hard of precisely 
> substantiate; but the linkage by way of conversation, dialogue, press 
> release, blog, list serv, video uploads have impact as favorable to 
> the sponsor as a Coke ad behind home plate during the World Series.
>
> If Coke can make the claim more people drink their beverage based on 
> people interested in a baseball outcome, why can't non profits make 
> the same kind of claim?
>   
Branding? One thing I have learned is that if one stirs the pot of
smelly stuff (PG list, use your imagination), you end up smelling like
what is in the pot. And then, even away from the pot, you are associated
with the stuff in the pot. If, for example, you are constantly looking
for funding - people will see you coming from a mile away. If you
disagree with something, you become associated with what you disagree
with. It isn't wrong or right - it is simply what it is.Branding can be
good either way.

But non-profit folk - like any other folk - like to hang out and talk
with like-minded people. It isn't a sin, but I often think it is
self-defeating in many instances, especially when it comes to
communicating to people 'outside of the group'. For the communication to
occur, the value has to be shared. That value is a funny thing. I can
explain open standards and open source concepts to a farmer in a
rumshop, but for some reason I can't explain the same things to an IT
Professional who wants nothing to do with 'open'. Unlearning, maybe, but
it has more to do with shared values. A farmer can understand the
importance of a tractor which allows one to open the hood and fix it, or
allow anyone else to fix it. An IT Professional may see that as a direct
attack on their bread and butter. I have an opinion on that which is
fairly well known, but it is an example.

I think what we're all working towards in our own way is a bit of
culture change around us. Maybe explaining things to 1000 farmers is
more important than explaining things to a single IT Professional.

-- 
Taran Rampersad
Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
cnd at knowprose.com
http://www.knowprose.com


Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knowprose/

"Criticize by creating." ? Michelangelo
"The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine." - Nikola Tesla


From cnd at knowprose.com  Tue Jul 10 03:38:40 2007
From: cnd at knowprose.com (Taran Rampersad)
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2007 03:38:40 -0400
Subject: [DDN] I make no profit, therefore I suck
In-Reply-To: <BAY108-F3357FC9271E1CB1D546CBDA7060@phx.gbl>
References: <BAY108-F3357FC9271E1CB1D546CBDA7060@phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <46933780.6060102@knowprose.com>

tom abeles wrote:
> Its not that the funders don't understand. Its the nfp's that need to 
> understand
>
> thoughts?
>   
I don't know. Consider that the reason non-profits exist is because of
perceived failures in governments and companies - which include the
group, 'funders'. So while representatives of these organizations are
given options as far as which nfp to support, is it a little strange to
expect them to make the 'right' decisions after they may have made the
decisions which created the conditions which made the nfp necessary in
the first place. We expect them to be inconsistent? To suddenly make
choices in line with an nfp out of some 'Christmas' sort of giving
spirit? That seems kind of strange to me (but that is almost exactly
what we do). Using the same tools that these same organizations use and
not expecting them to recognize them seems a bit strange too - but we do
that as well.

I don't really have a better answer. I wish I did. But whenever I look
at an nfp, I wonder when they intend to make themselves obsolete -
because I believe that this is an important aspect of any nfp. Unlike
for profit businesses, which seek to continue themselves - I believe
nfps should be trying to actually solve the problem(s) that they were
created to solve. There is, and/or should be, an inherent difference in
'values' - and subsequently, there will be a difference in what is
considered to be a success. Perhaps the answer is sharing the value(s)
and concept of what success is.

-- 
Taran Rampersad
Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
cnd at knowprose.com
http://www.knowprose.com


Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knowprose/

"Criticize by creating." ? Michelangelo
"The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine." - Nikola Tesla


From cnd at knowprose.com  Tue Jul 10 03:49:25 2007
From: cnd at knowprose.com (Taran Rampersad)
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2007 03:49:25 -0400
Subject: [DDN] I make no profit, therefore I suck
In-Reply-To: <eb0914de0707091020r752c1755gf67af90c269f0faa@mail.gmail.com>
References: <a06210238c2b42a23fd62@192.168.0.11>	<BAY108-F3357FC9271E1CB1D546CBDA7060@phx.gbl>
	<eb0914de0707091020r752c1755gf67af90c269f0faa@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <46933A05.8070506@knowprose.com>

Joe Beckmann wrote:
> In a world where NFP's range from Mass General and Harvard to Mabel's
> home-based day care there is an amazing amount of generalization in this
> discussion.
The list is a pretty diverse group. Is there a specific context you're
interested in?
>  The pretense of poverty and "free" services is patently absurd
> for by far the largest part of the non-profit sector, since profit has
> nothing whatsoever to do with pricing.
>   
Maybe I'm tired, but I don't understand the last sentence. 'Pretense of
poverty' is patently absurd? "Free services" is patently absurd? Profit
has nothing to do with pricing? Could you help me understand what you
mean better?

-- 
Taran Rampersad
Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
cnd at knowprose.com
http://www.knowprose.com


Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knowprose/

"Criticize by creating." ? Michelangelo
"The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine." - Nikola Tesla


From joe.beckmann at gmail.com  Tue Jul 10 10:58:05 2007
From: joe.beckmann at gmail.com (Joe Beckmann)
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2007 10:58:05 -0400
Subject: [DDN] I make no profit, therefore I suck
In-Reply-To: <46933A05.8070506@knowprose.com>
References: <a06210238c2b42a23fd62@192.168.0.11>
	<BAY108-F3357FC9271E1CB1D546CBDA7060@phx.gbl>
	<eb0914de0707091020r752c1755gf67af90c269f0faa@mail.gmail.com>
	<46933A05.8070506@knowprose.com>
Message-ID: <eb0914de0707100758v567fce5bw96a0b31026e96c4@mail.gmail.com>

Poverty is quite real, but it is not poverty that drives compassion or
philanthropy as much as the philanthropist. Too many pretend it is the state
of poverty - which is lots more universal than philanthropy. So also,
services are never really free - somebody does something for a reason,
whether it be financial or other, and that reason is the engine behind
everything, regardless of whether it is profit or non-profit. Raising funds
subsidizes the service, but does not render it free, even if "fully funded."
It means merely that somebody else is paying in cash, others are paying in
other forms.

Finally, pricing has to do with the market, not with the profit. Profit
drives SOME kinds of pricing; cash profit drives a subset of THOSE kinds of
pricing; yet profit is a byproduct of the transaction, not the transaction
itself. It is a real pretense that nonprofit ignores pricing, since - as
that range of nonprofits implies - tuition can range from "in-kind" to
$60,000/year; medical services from barter to almost infinitely expensive
per incident. That variation is not dependent at all on whether the vendor
is profit or non-profit, but, rather, on how the price reflects the mission
of the organization and where the resources are or were or might come to
cover none, some, or all of the expenses incurred.

There is a lot of sloppy thinking regarding profit vs. nonprofit. In fact,
in the West, the difference is only a matter of taxes and, to a lesser
extent, the way the organization is regulated by public agencies, and,
finally, in whether an investor gets a cash return, a capital return, or a
philanthropic good feeling from a "successful" transaction. Many nonprofits
pay quite handsomely; many for-profits go broke.

Joe

On 7/10/07, Taran Rampersad <cnd at knowprose.com> wrote:
>
> Joe Beckmann wrote:
> > In a world where NFP's range from Mass General and Harvard to Mabel's
> > home-based day care there is an amazing amount of generalization in this
> > discussion.
> The list is a pretty diverse group. Is there a specific context you're
> interested in?
> >  The pretense of poverty and "free" services is patently absurd
> > for by far the largest part of the non-profit sector, since profit has
> > nothing whatsoever to do with pricing.
> >
> Maybe I'm tired, but I don't understand the last sentence. 'Pretense of
> poverty' is patently absurd? "Free services" is patently absurd? Profit
> has nothing to do with pricing? Could you help me understand what you
> mean better?
>
> --
> Taran Rampersad
> Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
> cnd at knowprose.com
> http://www.knowprose.com
>
>
> Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knowprose/
>
> "Criticize by creating." ? Michelangelo
> "The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine." -
> Nikola Tesla
>
> _______________________________________________
> DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list
> DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net
> http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide
> To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-request at mailman.edc.orgwith the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
>



-- 
Joe Beckmann
22 Stone Avenue
Somerville, MA 02143
617-625-9369

From tobiaseigen at gmail.com  Tue Jul 10 12:10:29 2007
From: tobiaseigen at gmail.com (Tobias Eigen)
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2007 09:10:29 -0700
Subject: [DDN] Civil Society, Open Source and Me: what is your favorite book?
Message-ID: <2f401ce90707100910s50f3ac20l3ba56ad45c615656@mail.gmail.com>

Hey folks,

I often confuse the heck out of ordinary people when talking about two
closely related topics that are particularly dear to me: open source
and civil society. Today I was asked for a book to buy for our local
library, and thought this might be a good opportunity to arm myself
with good answers. If you have suggestions, please let me know by way
of comment to my blog post here:

http://www.saidia.org/2007/07/10/civil-society-open-source-and-me-what-is-your-favorite-book/

Cheers,

Tobias

--
Tobias Eigen
Co-Executive Director

Kabissa - Space for Change in Africa
http://www.kabissa.org

From tabeles at hotmail.com  Wed Jul 11 00:16:28 2007
From: tabeles at hotmail.com (tom abeles)
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2007 23:16:28 -0500
Subject: [DDN] I make no profit, therefore I suck
In-Reply-To: <46933780.6060102@knowprose.com>
Message-ID: <BAY108-F18A958D5E7B438B09792EBA7040@phx.gbl>

hi taran

1) i agree that nfp's should try to make themselves obsolete but I don't 
know of one that does that intentionally. Even organizations that work for 
the elimination of a medical problem, such as polio, in the US, reinvent 
themselves

2) if the corps and gov'ts were so bad in making their decisions, then it 
would be interesting to figure out how bad their decisions are when they 
fund the nfp community. There are plenty of nfp's that have less than a 
stellar record in the field and suffer, often, from the same human foibles 
that those in gov't and corps do.

Humans are imperfect wherever they sit, in gov't, corps and nfp's  Judging 
results is a hind sight occupation.

tom

tom abeles


>From: Taran Rampersad <cnd at knowprose.com>
>Reply-To: The Digital Divide Network discussion 
>group<digitaldivide at digitaldivide.net>
>To: The Digital Divide Network discussion 
>group<digitaldivide at digitaldivide.net>
>Subject: Re: [DDN] I make no profit, therefore I suck
>Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2007 03:38:40 -0400
>
>tom abeles wrote:
> > Its not that the funders don't understand. Its the nfp's that need to
> > understand
> >
> > thoughts?
> >
>I don't know. Consider that the reason non-profits exist is because of
>perceived failures in governments and companies - which include the
>group, 'funders'. So while representatives of these organizations are
>given options as far as which nfp to support, is it a little strange to
>expect them to make the 'right' decisions after they may have made the
>decisions which created the conditions which made the nfp necessary in
>the first place. We expect them to be inconsistent? To suddenly make
>choices in line with an nfp out of some 'Christmas' sort of giving
>spirit? That seems kind of strange to me (but that is almost exactly
>what we do). Using the same tools that these same organizations use and
>not expecting them to recognize them seems a bit strange too - but we do
>that as well.
>
>I don't really have a better answer. I wish I did. But whenever I look
>at an nfp, I wonder when they intend to make themselves obsolete -
>because I believe that this is an important aspect of any nfp. Unlike
>for profit businesses, which seek to continue themselves - I believe
>nfps should be trying to actually solve the problem(s) that they were
>created to solve. There is, and/or should be, an inherent difference in
>'values' - and subsequently, there will be a difference in what is
>considered to be a success. Perhaps the answer is sharing the value(s)
>and concept of what success is.
>
>--
>Taran Rampersad
>Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
>cnd at knowprose.com
>http://www.knowprose.com
>
>
>Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knowprose/
>
>"Criticize by creating." ? Michelangelo
>"The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine." - 
>Nikola Tesla
>
>_______________________________________________
>DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list
>DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net
>http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide
>To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-request at mailman.edc.org 
>with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.

_________________________________________________________________
http://imagine-windowslive.com/hotmail/?locale=en-us&ocid=TXT_TAGHM_migration_HM_mini_2G_0507


From tracie at sdfutures.org  Tue Jul 10 14:00:20 2007
From: tracie at sdfutures.org (Tracie Umbreit)
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2007 11:00:20 -0700
Subject: [DDN] San Diego Futures Foundation - Job Opening
Message-ID: <000801c7c31c$2e532510$8af96f30$@org>

The San Diego Futures Foundation is currently seeking a Hardware Program
Manager. The Hardware Program Manager is responsible for managing and
processing SDFF's computer donations and salvage. This position incorporates
high school and adult interns in many aspects of the job and includes
teaching interns about technology.

 

For the full job description and instructions for applying:

 

http://www.sdfutures.org/about/careers.htm

 

Tracie Umbreit

Education Program Manager

San Diego Futures Foundation

tracie at sdfutures.org

619.269.1684

 

"Changing Lives Through Technology"

www.sdfutures.org

 


From wongo888 at gmail.com  Tue Jul 10 21:37:00 2007
From: wongo888 at gmail.com (K Wong)
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2007 18:37:00 -0700
Subject: [DDN] I make no profit, therefore I suck
In-Reply-To: <eb0914de0707100758v567fce5bw96a0b31026e96c4@mail.gmail.com>
References: <a06210238c2b42a23fd62@192.168.0.11>
	<BAY108-F3357FC9271E1CB1D546CBDA7060@phx.gbl>
	<eb0914de0707091020r752c1755gf67af90c269f0faa@mail.gmail.com>
	<46933A05.8070506@knowprose.com>
	<eb0914de0707100758v567fce5bw96a0b31026e96c4@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <835a41eb0707101837l474edd67xe151a05e456aa40f@mail.gmail.com>

I have worked with two models of NPO funding: a government dependent
model and a social entrepreneurship model. Both are valid models and
the better model will largely be determined by your business/operating
environment.

In Canada, I worked with several non-profit organizations that were
totally dependent on government funding. We always knew exactly how
much we were getting, although government was slow to pay (sometimes
6-8 months AR), we always got what they promised eventually. The down
side was the fact that we were subject to political winds. A change of
government could wipe out our funding, so to for a change in policy.
It also helped to have an office in Ottawa to make the connections and
learn about new funding.

I am now working with a social entrepreneurship start-up in San
Francisco. We are totally self-funded and we plan to have a sufficient
margin to cover our expenses plus a nice bit of reserve for future
projects (which may not be profitable). At this point we are not
profitable though - we're burning through cash...so we'll see how that
goes.

I think that these are both valid models with pros and cons for each.
It depends largely if your service or product alleviates someone's
pain to the extent that they will fork over some cash for it. Your
operating environment will determine the success of your model.

As for the original opinion from the VC dude, I'm with Taran on that. Cheers!

K

On 7/10/07, Joe Beckmann <joe.beckmann at gmail.com> wrote:
> Poverty is quite real, but it is not poverty that drives compassion or
> philanthropy as much as the philanthropist. Too many pretend it is the state
> of poverty - which is lots more universal than philanthropy. So also,
> services are never really free - somebody does something for a reason,
> whether it be financial or other, and that reason is the engine behind
> everything, regardless of whether it is profit or non-profit. Raising funds
> subsidizes the service, but does not render it free, even if "fully funded."
> It means merely that somebody else is paying in cash, others are paying in
> other forms.
>
> Finally, pricing has to do with the market, not with the profit. Profit
> drives SOME kinds of pricing; cash profit drives a subset of THOSE kinds of
> pricing; yet profit is a byproduct of the transaction, not the transaction
> itself. It is a real pretense that nonprofit ignores pricing, since - as
> that range of nonprofits implies - tuition can range from "in-kind" to
> $60,000/year; medical services from barter to almost infinitely expensive
> per incident. That variation is not dependent at all on whether the vendor
> is profit or non-profit, but, rather, on how the price reflects the mission
> of the organization and where the resources are or were or might come to
> cover none, some, or all of the expenses incurred.
>
> There is a lot of sloppy thinking regarding profit vs. nonprofit. In fact,
> in the West, the difference is only a matter of taxes and, to a lesser
> extent, the way the organization is regulated by public agencies, and,
> finally, in whether an investor gets a cash return, a capital return, or a
> philanthropic good feeling from a "successful" transaction. Many nonprofits
> pay quite handsomely; many for-profits go broke.
>
> Joe
>
> On 7/10/07, Taran Rampersad <cnd at knowprose.com> wrote:
> >
> > Joe Beckmann wrote:
> > > In a world where NFP's range from Mass General and Harvard to Mabel's
> > > home-based day care there is an amazing amount of generalization in this
> > > discussion.
> > The list is a pretty diverse group. Is there a specific context you're
> > interested in?
> > >  The pretense of poverty and "free" services is patently absurd
> > > for by far the largest part of the non-profit sector, since profit has
> > > nothing whatsoever to do with pricing.
> > >
> > Maybe I'm tired, but I don't understand the last sentence. 'Pretense of
> > poverty' is patently absurd? "Free services" is patently absurd? Profit
> > has nothing to do with pricing? Could you help me understand what you
> > mean better?
> >
> > --
> > Taran Rampersad
> > Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
> > cnd at knowprose.com
> > http://www.knowprose.com
> >
> >
> > Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knowprose/
> >
> > "Criticize by creating." ? Michelangelo
> > "The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine." -
> > Nikola Tesla
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list
> > DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net
> > http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide
> > To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-request at mailman.edc.orgwith the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Joe Beckmann
> 22 Stone Avenue
> Somerville, MA 02143
> 617-625-9369
> _______________________________________________
> DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list
> DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net
> http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide
> To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-request at mailman.edc.org with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
>

From cnd at knowprose.com  Wed Jul 11 14:34:25 2007
From: cnd at knowprose.com (Taran Rampersad)
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2007 14:34:25 -0400
Subject: [DDN] I make no profit, therefore I suck
In-Reply-To: <eb0914de0707100758v567fce5bw96a0b31026e96c4@mail.gmail.com>
References: <a06210238c2b42a23fd62@192.168.0.11>	<BAY108-F3357FC9271E1CB1D546CBDA7060@phx.gbl>	<eb0914de0707091020r752c1755gf67af90c269f0faa@mail.gmail.com>	<46933A05.8070506@knowprose.com>
	<eb0914de0707100758v567fce5bw96a0b31026e96c4@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <469522B1.60006@knowprose.com>

Joe Beckmann wrote:
> Poverty is quite real, but it is not poverty that drives compassion or
> philanthropy as much as the philanthropist. Too many pretend it is the state
> of poverty - which is lots more universal than philanthropy. So also,
> services are never really free - somebody does something for a reason,
> whether it be financial or other, and that reason is the engine behind
> everything, regardless of whether it is profit or non-profit. Raising funds
> subsidizes the service, but does not render it free, even if "fully funded."
> It means merely that somebody else is paying in cash, others are paying in
> other forms.
>   
Right. That is what I hoped you meant because I agree with it. Some
people pay in cash, others in dignity.
> Finally, pricing has to do with the market, not with the profit. Profit
> drives SOME kinds of pricing; cash profit drives a subset of THOSE kinds of
> pricing; yet profit is a byproduct of the transaction, not the transaction
> itself. It is a real pretense that nonprofit ignores pricing, since - as
> that range of nonprofits implies - tuition can range from "in-kind" to
> $60,000/year; medical services from barter to almost infinitely expensive
> per incident. That variation is not dependent at all on whether the vendor
> is profit or non-profit, but, rather, on how the price reflects the mission
> of the organization and where the resources are or were or might come to
> cover none, some, or all of the expenses incurred.
>   
Right. I agree with this as well. It is something I don't often mention
in the 'cost vs. value' discussions.
> There is a lot of sloppy thinking regarding profit vs. nonprofit. In fact,
> in the West, the difference is only a matter of taxes and, to a lesser
> extent, the way the organization is regulated by public agencies, and,
> finally, in whether an investor gets a cash return, a capital return, or a
> philanthropic good feeling from a "successful" transaction. Many nonprofits
> pay quite handsomely; many for-profits go broke.
And some non-profits are abused, creating studies and so forth in the
hope to further funding... which also leads us back to your second
paragraph at a different level: Non-profits require funding at market
prices and spend WAY too much time doing so.

And as far as philanthropy... if it actually worked, wouldn't it have
put itself out of business by now? :-)

-- 
Taran Rampersad
Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
cnd at knowprose.com
http://www.knowprose.com


Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knowprose/

"Criticize by creating." ? Michelangelo
"The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine." - Nikola Tesla


From cnd at knowprose.com  Wed Jul 11 14:40:11 2007
From: cnd at knowprose.com (Taran Rampersad)
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2007 14:40:11 -0400
Subject: [DDN] I make no profit, therefore I suck
In-Reply-To: <BAY108-F18A958D5E7B438B09792EBA7040@phx.gbl>
References: <BAY108-F18A958D5E7B438B09792EBA7040@phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <4695240B.4000406@knowprose.com>

tom abeles wrote:
> hi taran
>
> 1) i agree that nfp's should try to make themselves obsolete but I
> don't know of one that does that intentionally. Even organizations
> that work for the elimination of a medical problem, such as polio, in
> the US, reinvent themselves
I think it should be in their plans. "We will eradicate poverty within
this geographic area". That is finite. Finish it.
> 2) if the corps and gov'ts were so bad in making their decisions, then
> it would be interesting to figure out how bad their decisions are when
> they fund the nfp community. There are plenty of nfp's that have less
> than a stellar record in the field and suffer, often, from the same
> human foibles that those in gov't and corps do.
If they fund the nfp community, it is likely because they recognize the
void that they left. Some might say that this has more to do with
politics than needs. If your problem has a large political demographic,
guess what?
> Humans are imperfect wherever they sit, in gov't, corps and nfp's
> Judging results is a hind sight occupation.
An example of a hind sight occupation is the study of history. Judging
results is also a matter of good heuristics. And not judging results
leads to a lack of accountability and responsibility, two things which
we could certainly enjoy a little more of in this world. I hated history
in school because of the fetish for arcane dates on exams. Now, if you
asked me what was *done*, well...

-- 
Taran Rampersad
Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
cnd at knowprose.com
http://www.knowprose.com


Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knowprose/

"Criticize by creating." ? Michelangelo
"The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine." - Nikola Tesla


From andycarvin at yahoo.com  Fri Jul 13 13:39:06 2007
From: andycarvin at yahoo.com (Andy Carvin)
Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2007 10:39:06 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [DDN] Intel, $100 Laptop program form new partnership
Message-ID: <894158.41757.qm@web43136.mail.sp1.yahoo.com>

Breaking news: One Laptop Per Child, MIT's so-called
$100 laptop project, has reached an accord with its
main rival, Intel, to work together on providing
low-cost Internet devices for the developing world.
Intel will join the OLPC board and contribute funds to
the project, and they'll each emphasize the role their
devices can play depending on the appropriate
development context.

This strikes me as really good news, and should help
countries make smarter, more strategic decisions about
how and when to use these devices. I've blogged about
the announcement here:

http://www.andycarvin.com/archives/2007/07/intel_olpc_come_to_an_accord.html

andy

------------------------
Andy Carvin
andycarvin at yahoo  com
www.andycarvin.com
www.pbs.org/learningnow
------------------------

From tabeles at hotmail.com  Fri Jul 13 14:21:04 2007
From: tabeles at hotmail.com (tom abeles)
Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2007 13:21:04 -0500
Subject: [DDN] Intel, $100 Laptop program form new partnership
In-Reply-To: <894158.41757.qm@web43136.mail.sp1.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <BAY108-F220CF4D1B6FF76E8F21ACBA7FD0@phx.gbl>

Hi Andy

You are absolutely right- one piece of technology doesn't fit all. We know 
this, globally, in the cell phone marketplace if you just go to the wireless 
providers and see the spectrum of both phones and plans that they have to 
offer, all the manufacturers, private labels on phones, features etc.

Now we come to portable devices such as Intel's and OLPC's technologies. And 
we have to lay them side by side with the great number of "smart phones" 
which are both wireless and wifi, many of which run operating systems and 
software packages such as word processing and spread sheets as well as web 
browsers.  The prices come down and the features go up. And in the US, ATT, 
a service provider has many phones, including Apple's new iPhone which has 
less of the features of some other smart phones, but, as usual a simple and 
commanding "desk top"

And the price for the units are coming down so that OLPC and the current 
smart phones will meet in the middle- not at the desired USD 100. So we 
should stop, now, using the term, $100 lap top. I believe current suggested 
price will be closer to $200 than $100 and even more in inflation adjusted 
dollars.

But, and this is a big BUT, no one talks about the cost of access, the main 
reason that the wireless providers practically give away their phones. The 
connection costs are coming down, but they are constant even if one owns the 
machines. And then there is the question of service and support. This part 
of the package is never discussed and yet it is the major life cycle expense 
to having one of these devices and using them to greatest benefit.

Perhaps it is time to stop slavering over the non-existent device and its 
purported "cure" for the digital divide, like some miracle drug and look at 
the systems cost and see who has worked that into their development budgets.

thoughts?

tom abeles


>From: Andy Carvin <andycarvin at yahoo.com>
>Reply-To: The Digital Divide Network discussion 
>group<digitaldivide at digitaldivide.net>
>To: WWWEDU List <wwwedu at yahoogroups.com>,digitaldivide list 
><digitaldivide at digitaldivide.net>
>Subject: [DDN] Intel, $100 Laptop program form new partnership
>Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2007 10:39:06 -0700 (PDT)
>
>Breaking news: One Laptop Per Child, MIT's so-called
>$100 laptop project, has reached an accord with its
>main rival, Intel, to work together on providing
>low-cost Internet devices for the developing world.
>Intel will join the OLPC board and contribute funds to
>the project, and they'll each emphasize the role their
>devices can play depending on the appropriate
>development context.
>
>This strikes me as really good news, and should help
>countries make smarter, more strategic decisions about
>how and when to use these devices. I've blogged about
>the announcement here:
>
>http://www.andycarvin.com/archives/2007/07/intel_olpc_come_to_an_accord.html
>
>andy
>
>------------------------
>Andy Carvin
>andycarvin at yahoo  com
>www.andycarvin.com
>www.pbs.org/learningnow
>------------------------
>_______________________________________________
>DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list
>DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net
>http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide
>To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-request at mailman.edc.org 
>with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.

_________________________________________________________________
Don't get caught with egg on your face. Play Chicktionary!? 
http://club.live.com/chicktionary.aspx?icid=chick_hotmailtextlink2


From christine at apdip.net  Wed Jul 11 21:34:29 2007
From: christine at apdip.net (christine)
Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2007 08:34:29 +0700
Subject: [DDN] Out Now: APDIP e-Note 17 on ICT Skill Development in the
	Asia-Pacific Region
Message-ID: <009401c7c424$ca0f5e20$730aa8c0@undp.or.th>

==========================================================================

APDIP e-Note 17 
? 
ICT Skill Development in the Asia-Pacific Region 
Part two: Bridging the gap between demand and supply 
? 
By Ravi Raina 
? 
http://www.apdip.net/news/apdipenote17 
==========================================================================

This APDIP e-Note is the second in the series on information and
communications technology (ICT) skill development in the Asia-Pacific
region. While the first part examined the gaps between demand and supply of
ICT skills, this APDIP e-Note focuses on what could be done to bridge the
identified gaps at national and regional levels.

A significant number of countries in the Asia-Pacific region have attempted
to increase ICT training facilities, either through expansion of existing
training institutions or by establishing new ones. In most cases, however,
national efforts seem to have consistently underestimated the size of the
market for ICT skills. In rare cases where the overall demand and supply
balance was achieved, there were imbalances at the individual skill levels:
surpluses in some skills and severe shortages in many others. In addition,
ICT employers often report of the poor ICT skills imparted by existing
training institutions in the region. This can have serious implications for
the growth and development of the regional ICT industry. On one hand, there
would be large number of unemployed graduates. On the other hand, there
would be skill shortage and vacant jobs in the industry.

This APDIP e-Note highlights possible solutions for bridging the gap between
ICT skill demand and supply. They include:

? A comprehensive and dynamic national planning and forecasting mechanism at
individual country level to be supported by a regional mechanism that can
monitor regional trends in ICT skill demand and supply;
? Expansion of ICT training capacity through encouragement of private sector
investment and use of innovative Internet-based training;
? Provision of regular monitoring by national authorities on the quality of
training;
? Establishment of skill testing and certification centres at the national
and regional levels;
? Development of regional standards for ICT skills and occupations, and
harmonization of national standards with the developed regional standards;
and
? Investment in ICT research and development for building capacities and
skills in the ICT sector.

This APDIP e-Note is based on the presentations and deliberations on this
issue during the Regional Forum on ICT Capacity Building, organized by the
Asian and Pacific ?Training Centre for Information and Communication
Technology for Development (APCICT) at Incheon, Republic of Korea, 5 - 6
March 2007.

APDIP e-Notes are brief snapshots that present analyses of specific issues
related to ICTs for sustainable human development in the Asia-Pacific
region. This online series introduces readers to the who, what, where, why
and how of a wide range of current issues related to ICTs such as Internet
governance, ICTs and poverty reduction, e- governance, free and open source
software, and many others.

APDIP or the Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme is an initiative
of the United Nations Development Programme that aims to promote the
development and application of information and communications technology for
sustainable human development in the Asia-Pacific region. 

Download APDIP e-Note 17 from http://www.apdip.net/apdipenote/17.pdf

Download APDIP e-Note 13 - ICT Skills Development in the Asia-Pacific
Region: Part One from http://www.apdip.net/news/apdipenote13

All APDIP e-Notes are available at http://www.apdip.net/apdipenote/

All APDIP e-Resources are available at http://www.apdip.net/elibrary/

Proceedings of the APCICT Regional Forum on ICT Capacity Building available
at http://www.unapcict.org/activities/forum_intro.asp 
? 



From cnd at knowprose.com  Wed Jul 11 18:51:25 2007
From: cnd at knowprose.com (Taran Rampersad)
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2007 18:51:25 -0400
Subject: [DDN] Telecommuting and the Digital Divide
Message-ID: <46955EED.6050200@knowprose.com>

While many of us talk about the digital divide, this could be an
interesting twist on things. Perhaps some DDN perspective would be a
good idea - Manpower is holding an event on Virtual Work that may be of
interest to some. As someone who has been telecommuting for about 7
years, I'm obviously not someone facing as much of a digital divide as
others. Plus I hate being the only Voice from the Wilderness.

Information on the event, to be held tomorrow in Second Life at noon
Pacific Time, can be found here:
http://www.your2ndplace.com/node/249

If you need a teleport, just instant message me (Nobody Fugazi).

-- 
Taran Rampersad
Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
cnd at knowprose.com
http://www.knowprose.com


Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knowprose/

"Criticize by creating." ? Michelangelo
"The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine." - Nikola Tesla


From leob at media.mit.edu  Thu Jul 12 10:09:23 2007
From: leob at media.mit.edu (Leo Burd)
Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2007 10:09:23 -0400
Subject: [DDN] Technological initiatives for social empowerment
Message-ID: <04ca01c7c48e$42febf60$21135512@media.mit.edu>

Dear all,

I have just finished my PhD at the MIT Media Lab focusing on the design of 
technological initiatives for social empowerment, with special focus on 
youth participation and local civic engagement.  This work critiques 
telecenters and other traditional approaches to technology-supported social 
development and proposes a framework for the design and analysis of 
initiatives that are more inclusive and democratic.  On the technical side, 
I ended up implementing an open-source, neighborhood news system that 
combines the power of the telephone and the web to help young people become 
more actively engaged with their local communities.

If possible, I would love to receive feedback from the DDN community about 
the ideas developed as part of that work and about how to take them into new 
directions.

The thesis document and the video of the defense can be found at 
http://www.media.mit.edu/~leob/thesis/

Thanks in advance,

Leo Burd
leoburd at media.mit.edu 


From nb at bollow.ch  Wed Jul 11 18:21:15 2007
From: nb at bollow.ch (Norbert Bollow)
Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2007 00:21:15 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: [DDN] I make no profit, therefore I suck
In-Reply-To: <469522B1.60006@knowprose.com> (message from Taran Rampersad on
	Wed, 11 Jul 2007 14:34:25 -0400)
References: <a06210238c2b42a23fd62@192.168.0.11>	<BAY108-F3357FC9271E1CB1D546CBDA7060@phx.gbl>	<eb0914de0707091020r752c1755gf67af90c269f0faa@mail.gmail.com>	<46933A05.8070506@knowprose.com>
	<eb0914de0707100758v567fce5bw96a0b31026e96c4@mail.gmail.com>
	<469522B1.60006@knowprose.com>
Message-ID: <20070711222115.5D9FF2202A8@quill.bollow.ch>

Taran Rampersad <cnd at knowprose.com> wrote:

> Non-profits require funding at market prices and spend WAY too much
> time doing so.

Well said.

Totally-profit-oriented businesses and totally-non-business-oriented
non-profits both have a strong tendency to generate unacceptably
high social costs in whatever domain is neglected by the metric
that the particular organization is using for measuring its success.

In my view the only solution to this dilemma is to push for the
adoption of metrics of success that involve honestly measuring all
significant costs and benefits of an organization's business and
philanthropic activities.

The first step towards this is to research what the significant costs
and benefits of various types of business and philanthropic activities
are, and to develop ways in which these costs and benefits can be
measured in a reasonbly reliably manner without too much additonal
cost from the introduction of the measurements.

Then precise units and methods of measurement for these costs and
benefits need to be standardized.  Without standardization, accurate
communication about the numeric quantities representing these costs
and benefits is impossible except among experts who understand the
details of the various measurement processes.

When all that is done, consumers of goods and services of all kinds
can vote with their vallets by preferring those commercial offerings
that have strong positive side effects and which effectively manage
to avoid significant negative side effects.

To the extent that consumers don't collectively decide just for moral
reasons to provide sufficient incentives for businesses to truly
work for the common good as well as for their profits, governments
can provide additional e.g. tax-based incentives (in addition to of
course being significant consumers of goods and services themselves,
so they have a lot of influence on the market already with their
buying decisions, which I hope that at least some governments will
learn to make in morally responsible ways.)

Greetings,
Norbert.


-- 
Norbert Bollow <nb at bollow.ch>                    http://Norbert.ch
President of the Swiss Internet User Group SIUG  http://SIUG.ch

From cnd at knowprose.com  Fri Jul 13 23:56:35 2007
From: cnd at knowprose.com (Taran Rampersad)
Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2007 23:56:35 -0400
Subject: [DDN] Intel, $100 Laptop program form new partnership
In-Reply-To: <BAY108-F220CF4D1B6FF76E8F21ACBA7FD0@phx.gbl>
References: <BAY108-F220CF4D1B6FF76E8F21ACBA7FD0@phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <46984973.1080002@knowprose.com>

tom abeles wrote:
> And the price for the units are coming down so that OLPC and the
> current smart phones will meet in the middle- not at the desired USD
> 100. So we should stop, now, using the term, $100 lap top. I believe
> current suggested price will be closer to $200 than $100 and even more
> in inflation adjusted dollars.
Agree with the 'options are better' comments - just kicking in here that
the minimum order of a million is really the issue for me. Plus, if we
consider the shifts in the global economy - is $100 US really a good
target? How about let's try for 'affordable'... what I mean is that cost
of living, etc, plus the relative value of the US dollar may increase or
decrease. Since the machine(s) themselves aren't necessarily made in the
US, this really makes this an interesting thing to look at economically.
> But, and this is a big BUT, no one talks about the cost of access, the
> main reason that the wireless providers practically give away their
> phones. The connection costs are coming down, but they are constant
> even if one owns the machines. And then there is the question of
> service and support. This part of the package is never discussed and
> yet it is the major life cycle expense to having one of these devices
> and using them to greatest benefit.
>
> Perhaps it is time to stop slavering over the non-existent device and
> its purported "cure" for the digital divide, like some miracle drug
> and look at the systems cost and see who has worked that into their
> development budgets.
>
> thoughts?
I'm of two minds on all of this. Mobile phones have become more
ubiquitous than Microsoft ever was (or ever will be). But mobile phones
are not the solution either - access to hardware, except in very extreme
cases, exists. This leads back to policy and infrastructure, which is
where there have always been problems that have reinforced the hardware
access problem. Now it is about service.

So yes, the mobile phone has and will continue to demonstrate the most
promise for leveling technological access. But no, it will not change
service level disparity. One reason is economics, which can be fixed -
some say it already is being fixed. But policy. Policy.
Telecommunications service. A bunch of other stuff that technology
hasn't been able to fix for the last millenium. :-)

-- 
Taran Rampersad
Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
cnd at knowprose.com
http://www.knowprose.com


Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knowprose/

"Criticize by creating." ? Michelangelo
"The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine." - Nikola Tesla


From fred at bytesforall.org  Sat Jul 14 15:37:06 2007
From: fred at bytesforall.org (=?UTF-8?Q?Frederick_Noronha?= =?UTF-8?Q?_[=E0=A5=9E=E0=A4=B0?=
	=?UTF-8?Q?=E0=A5=87=E0=A4=A6=E0=A4=B0=E0=A4=BF=E0=A4=95?=
	=?UTF-8?Q?_=E0=A4=A8=E0=A5=8B=E0=A4=B0?=
	=?UTF-8?Q?=E0=A5=8B=E0=A4=A8=E0=A4=AF=E0=A4=BE]?=)
Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2007 01:07:06 +0530
Subject: [DDN] I make no profit, therefore I suck
In-Reply-To: <4695240B.4000406@knowprose.com>
References: <BAY108-F18A958D5E7B438B09792EBA7040@phx.gbl>
	<4695240B.4000406@knowprose.com>
Message-ID: <8ea78e010707141237xe6d6e1ey34fc845e61271a13@mail.gmail.com>

> tom abeles wrote:
> > hi taran
> > 1) i agree that nfp's should try to make themselves obsolete but I
> > don't know of one that does that intentionally. Even organizations
> > that work for the elimination of a medical problem, such as polio, in
> > the US, reinvent themselves

To my mind, the not-for-profits are not problematic in themselves.
What *is* problematic though is when they turn into a huge
self-serving bureaucracy, and more energies go into keeping themselves
running rather than solving the problem which they were set up to
tackle in the first place.

So, rather than working to make themselves obselete, they should work
to make themselve self-sustainable, not funding-driven, focussed on
their mission, and not bureaucratic or self-serving. We needn't throw
away the baby with the bath-water.

For example, the way in which the not-for-profit Free Software
movement (less so the Open Source network, which has grown with
corporate support and in the media spotlight) has grown is a pointer
to what is possible.

Looking forward to hearing what the others feel. FN
-- 
FN: Frederick Noronha
http://wikiwikiweb.de/MyContacts
Phone 0091-832-2409490 Cell: 091-9822122436 or 9970157402 (after 1 pm)
A film on copyright! GOOD COPY BAD COPY:  a documentary about the
current state of copyright and culture.
http://www.goodcopybadcopy.net/

From joe.beckmann at gmail.com  Fri Jul 13 20:41:37 2007
From: joe.beckmann at gmail.com (Joe Beckmann)
Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2007 20:41:37 -0400
Subject: [DDN] I make no profit, therefore I suck
In-Reply-To: <20070711222115.5D9FF2202A8@quill.bollow.ch>
References: <a06210238c2b42a23fd62@192.168.0.11>
	<BAY108-F3357FC9271E1CB1D546CBDA7060@phx.gbl>
	<eb0914de0707091020r752c1755gf67af90c269f0faa@mail.gmail.com>
	<46933A05.8070506@knowprose.com>
	<eb0914de0707100758v567fce5bw96a0b31026e96c4@mail.gmail.com>
	<469522B1.60006@knowprose.com>
	<20070711222115.5D9FF2202A8@quill.bollow.ch>
Message-ID: <eb0914de0707131741u7f125a5udce1c3960445f31a@mail.gmail.com>

That's a fine idea about metrics, but for a culture that can't even develop
comparable internet services bills, cable bills, phone bills, or, god knows,
medical procedures bills, the distance from real to ideal is really, really,
really far. Consumers don't collectively decide much, incidentally, least of
all in the realm of real moral decision making. Most of THAT kind of
consumption is guided by metrics I would strongly advise avoiding as, at the
very least, subjective.

j

On 7/11/07, Norbert Bollow <nb at bollow.ch> wrote:
>
> Taran Rampersad <cnd at knowprose.com> wrote:
>
> > Non-profits require funding at market prices and spend WAY too much
> > time doing so.
>
> Well said.
>
> Totally-profit-oriented businesses and totally-non-business-oriented
> non-profits both have a strong tendency to generate unacceptably
> high social costs in whatever domain is neglected by the metric
> that the particular organization is using for measuring its success.
>
> In my view the only solution to this dilemma is to push for the
> adoption of metrics of success that involve honestly measuring all
> significant costs and benefits of an organization's business and
> philanthropic activities.
>
> The first step towards this is to research what the significant costs
> and benefits of various types of business and philanthropic activities
> are, and to develop ways in which these costs and benefits can be
> measured in a reasonbly reliably manner without too much additonal
> cost from the introduction of the measurements.
>
> Then precise units and methods of measurement for these costs and
> benefits need to be standardized.  Without standardization, accurate
> communication about the numeric quantities representing these costs
> and benefits is impossible except among experts who understand the
> details of the various measurement processes.
>
> When all that is done, consumers of goods and services of all kinds
> can vote with their vallets by preferring those commercial offerings
> that have strong positive side effects and which effectively manage
> to avoid significant negative side effects.
>
> To the extent that consumers don't collectively decide just for moral
> reasons to provide sufficient incentives for businesses to truly
> work for the common good as well as for their profits, governments
> can provide additional e.g. tax-based incentives (in addition to of
> course being significant consumers of goods and services themselves,
> so they have a lot of influence on the market already with their
> buying decisions, which I hope that at least some governments will
> learn to make in morally responsible ways.)
>
> Greetings,
> Norbert.
>
>
> --
> Norbert Bollow <nb at bollow.ch>                    http://Norbert.ch
> President of the Swiss Internet User Group SIUG  http://SIUG.ch
> _______________________________________________
> DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list
> DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net
> http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide
> To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-request at mailman.edc.orgwith the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
>



-- 
Joe Beckmann
22 Stone Avenue
Somerville, MA 02143
617-625-9369

From nb at bollow.ch  Sat Jul 14 09:43:05 2007
From: nb at bollow.ch (Norbert Bollow)
Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2007 15:43:05 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: [DDN] Technological initiatives for social empowerment
In-Reply-To: <04ca01c7c48e$42febf60$21135512@media.mit.edu>
	(leob@media.mit.edu)
References: <04ca01c7c48e$42febf60$21135512@media.mit.edu>
Message-ID: <20070714134305.45B8E2202E7@quill.bollow.ch>

Leo Burd <leoburd at media.mit.edu> wrote:

> The thesis document and the video of the defense can be found at 
> http://www.media.mit.edu/~leob/thesis/

Wow.  I'm very impressed, and will look into using your analytic
framework of "approach", "setting", "empowerment", "climate" and
"system" variables in the context of the ongoing analysis and
reflection of an informatics empowerment initiative that I'm trying
to start here in Switzerland (and that I might try to export to
Africa if I succeed in getting it going with good results here).

Apart from this point on scientific methodology, what I take away
from reading this thesis also includes some great quotes:

"People need people. To become empowered and do things that are
personally relevant, human beings need access to other human beings,
people who inspire them, open doors, and hold their hands until they
are able to stand up and walk by themselves." (p. 7)

"The way I started seeing it, young people usually have the time, the
will, the energy, the basic skills, and the right to participate and
help improve the quality of life in the places where they live. What
they lack is appropriate space, support and recognition." (p. 20)

"The development of youth-led, community-oriented projects requires a
large amount of adult support. Without friendly adults to help them
frame ideas, plan activities over time, make connections or go to
distant places, there is little that young people can do on their own.
Unfortunately, the youth technology centers that we worked with did
not seem to have the necessary infrastructure to support young people
in the implementation of their projects. As a minimum, they would
need either more personnel or a different kind of internal
organization." (p. 93)

Greetings,
Norbert.


-- 
Norbert Bollow <nb at bollow.ch>                    http://Norbert.ch
President of the Swiss Internet User Group SIUG  http://SIUG.ch

From SiobhanChamp-Blackwell at creighton.edu  Sat Jul 14 10:26:58 2007
From: SiobhanChamp-Blackwell at creighton.edu (Champ-Blackwell, Siobhan)
Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2007 09:26:58 -0500
Subject: [DDN] Lego Systems Establishes Lego Children's Fund to Support
	Youth Creativity Programs
Message-ID: <BB3EEC584579204DB6E2CA0F6DB7566F099A6072@exbe01.blue.jays.creighton.edu>

Deadline: Quarterly

Lego Systems, Inc. http://www.lego.com/ , the Americas  (North America
and Latin America) division of the Lego Group,  a privately held,
family-owned firm based in Billund, Denmark,  has announced the
formation of the Lego Children's Fund, a non-profit foundation
established to support organizations and programs dedicated to inspiring
and encouraging youth creativity,  thereby improving their quality of
life and preparing them for  the future...The fund will award grants to
qualified 501(c)(3) tax-exempt  organizations, including educational
organizations with specific,  identifiable needs, in these areas of
interest: early childhood  education and development; technology and
communication projects  that advance learning opportunities; and sport
or athletic programs that concentrate on underserved youth.
http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/10008008/legochildrensfund

RFP Bulletin (July 13, 2007)

Copyright (c) 2000-2007, the Foundation Center. All rights  reserved.
Permission to use, copy, and/or distribute this  document in whole or in
part for non-commercial purposes  without fee is hereby granted provided
that this notice and  appropriate credit to the Foundation Center is
included in all  copies.

 

 

Siobhan Champ-Blackwell
Community Outreach Liaison
National Network of Libraries of Medicine MidContinental Region
Creighton University Health Sciences Library
2500 California Plaza
Omaha, NE 68178
402.280.4156/800.338.7657 option#1,#2, then #1
siobhan at creighton.edu
http://nnlm.gov/mcr 
http://medstat.med.utah.edu/blogs/BHIC/ 
http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/siobhanchamp-blackwell  

 


From cnd at knowprose.com  Sat Jul 14 20:46:23 2007
From: cnd at knowprose.com (Taran Rampersad)
Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2007 20:46:23 -0400
Subject: [DDN] I make no profit, therefore I suck
In-Reply-To: <8ea78e010707141237xe6d6e1ey34fc845e61271a13@mail.gmail.com>
References: <BAY108-F18A958D5E7B438B09792EBA7040@phx.gbl>	<4695240B.4000406@knowprose.com>
	<8ea78e010707141237xe6d6e1ey34fc845e61271a13@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <46996E5F.1010208@knowprose.com>

Wow. Even Frederick turned up for this one. :-)

Frederick Noronha [??????? ???????] wrote:
> To my mind, the not-for-profits are not problematic in themselves.
> What *is* problematic though is when they turn into a huge
> self-serving bureaucracy, and more energies go into keeping themselves
> running rather than solving the problem which they were set up to
> tackle in the first place.
>   
On one level, I see the bureaucracy as necessary to keep the
philanthropists/funders happy, because they like to be happy when
tossing money out. But as I wrote somewhere else, much of the paper
chase seems to work like this: (1)Mow lawn. (2) Toss clippings in poor
neighbour's yard. (3) Ask neighbour to submit paperwork and plan of
action to remove said grass such that funding may be disbursed. In case
you are wondering about what the clippings are - think of the effects of
policy. $1 million spent on policy change is worth more than $10 million
in trying to balance a poor policy.

Might be a lot easier to just put the clippings somewhere else, but then
no one gets in the media. Very sad. Whatever would we do without these
solutions and problems to read about?

Then on another level, the bureaucracy also protects itself by assuring
continuity. This, perhaps, derives from everyone's want for stability.
NFPs are not very stable ways to make a living if one keeps doing a good
job. After solving the problems, people have to go find other ways to
pay bills. So it is attractive to some to keep the status quo; I've seen
it in some NFPs. I won't call any names, but I think we all know that
when calls for proposals go out there are a lot of people writing
proposals.
> So, rather than working to make themselves obselete, they should work
> to make themselve self-sustainable, not funding-driven, focussed on
> their mission, and not bureaucratic or self-serving. We needn't throw
> away the baby with the bath-water.
>   
Erm. I think they should make themselves obsolete by solving the problem
- focusing on the mission and not being self-serving. I don't see this
as either/or - I think we're talking about the same thing. And what I
also think is that the dependency on funding helps create the situation.
In a way, proposal writing could be called the intellectual's rationale
for begging. Get a good street corner (social network) and master the
art of proposal writing (pan handling), you're in!

Could many projects be made self-sustaining? Yes, I think so. But would
people make as much money as they do now by working for NFPs? Probably
not. Would they have to? Probably not. I have a tendency to chuckle a
bit when a project is managed in a country where the cost of living is
higher than where the money is supposed to go, as an example. That's
sort of like the grass clippings above, only they write a proposal to
get money so that the people who tossed the clippings get paid to remove
the clippings. I mean - when you step back and look at these systems,
they are grotesquely amusing. :-)

On another level, it is impossible to avoid the necessity of stability
of the people doing the work. Few people can live as non-linear as such
work would require; it requires great sacrifice. The people I respect
the most in NFPs always seem to be barely making ends meet.
> For example, the way in which the not-for-profit Free Software
> movement (less so the Open Source network, which has grown with
> corporate support and in the media spotlight) has grown is a pointer
> to what is possible.
>   
That generalization won't work. Free software/Open Source not-for-profit
projects vary. Consider Ubuntu. Shuttleworth did the initial funding,
and while I haven't stayed on top of it I do know that he at least
threatened to pull funding unless the business running the distribution
became self-sustaining. That's a brilliant example, but it was because
Shuttleworth Said So. To balance that, well - there are plenty of failed
NFP Free Software/Open Source examples as well. I know for a fact that
Latin America and the Caribbean has had a fair share of failures; part
of that was simply because no funding was available or because people
stuck to their guns and didn't 'sell out'. I could name names and point
fingers, but that is of no use. I've been involved with studies on Free
Software/Open Source in the region as well as NFPs - and I've also been
involved in NFPs which were in other regions or global.

I advocate Free Software and Open Source, as well as Open Content and
Open Standards - but I must say that they are by no means a great
example of how things should be done. A few, yes. Most? No.

There is no silver bullet, but there are plenty of guns.

-- 
Taran Rampersad
Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
cnd at knowprose.com
http://www.knowprose.com


Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knowprose/

"Criticize by creating." ? Michelangelo
"The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine." - Nikola Tesla


From cnd at knowprose.com  Sat Jul 14 21:07:10 2007
From: cnd at knowprose.com (Taran Rampersad)
Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2007 21:07:10 -0400
Subject: [DDN] I make no profit, therefore I suck
In-Reply-To: <eb0914de0707131741u7f125a5udce1c3960445f31a@mail.gmail.com>
References: <a06210238c2b42a23fd62@192.168.0.11>	<BAY108-F3357FC9271E1CB1D546CBDA7060@phx.gbl>	<eb0914de0707091020r752c1755gf67af90c269f0faa@mail.gmail.com>	<46933A05.8070506@knowprose.com>	<eb0914de0707100758v567fce5bw96a0b31026e96c4@mail.gmail.com>	<469522B1.60006@knowprose.com>	<20070711222115.5D9FF2202A8@quill.bollow.ch>
	<eb0914de0707131741u7f125a5udce1c3960445f31a@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <4699733E.50109@knowprose.com>

Joe Beckmann wrote:
> That's a fine idea about metrics, but for a culture that can't even develop
> comparable internet services bills, cable bills, phone bills, or, god knows,
> medical procedures bills, the distance from real to ideal is really, really,
> really far.
Therein lies the real divide. Many of us see this as a problem, but the
system is a bureaucratic hydra. Go too far, people call you a socialist
or an anti-capitalist (or even a communist!). Constitutions and the UN
Declaration of Human Rights talk a lot about what Rights we human beings
are entitled to, but as far as quality of life, well - that's not really
covered. Why? It is all subjective.

I live in a world where my mother has an 8 megabit connection in Florida
that she spends $40 US a month on, while I live in Trinidad and Tobago
and spend approximately $80 US a month for 256kbps. I use mine to earn a
living, she uses hers to send me links to pictures of family and other
stuff. Why am I on the short end of the bandwidth stick? Policy.
Regulation. Poor planning. In short, bureaucratic idiocy. Trinidad and
Tobago was supposed to be the internet hub for Latin America and the
Caribbean, but...

Hey, maybe I should start a non-profit because of that! (joking)
>  Consumers don't collectively decide much, incidentally, least of
> all in the realm of real moral decision making. Most of THAT kind of
> consumption is guided by metrics I would strongly advise avoiding as, at the
> very least, subjective.
>   
That's true. But people typically know what they want, and while that is
subjective so is the concept of equality as applied to all things -
including finance, bandwidth, and the ability to get italian sausages on
demand.

(The grocery was out of Italian sauages. The horror!!!)


-- 
Taran Rampersad
Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
cnd at knowprose.com
http://www.knowprose.com


Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knowprose/

"Criticize by creating." ? Michelangelo
"The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine." - Nikola Tesla


From cnd at knowprose.com  Sun Jul 15 14:44:10 2007
From: cnd at knowprose.com (Taran Rampersad)
Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2007 14:44:10 -0400
Subject: [DDN] Metaversal Divides.
Message-ID: <469A6AFA.10902@knowprose.com>

As a few of you know, I've been immersed in virtual worlds and the
concept of the 'metaverse' of late; I'm finishing up something for
O'Reilly Publishing which is for connecting Second Life and the web.
While Second Life may not be the best example (or worst) when it comes
to metaverse discussions, I have been reading broadly on the topics and
am somewhat dismayed that the 'metaverse' is not mentioned as being
dependent on the internet. Thus, access is not considered to be a factor
by almost every single expert. This, in a way, is the next level of the
Digital Divide. In essence, we can ignore it now until it becomes as
readily apparent as a brick through a glass window. Some people still
think of virtual worlds as 'games', and some are. But there is real
money involved; indeed, China has a growing economy based on generating
income in virtual worlds. I've actually supported myself for the last
few months through virtual world income; while I don't have a Mercedes I
haven't starved - though it *is* fickle.

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of the metaverse, it is
basically another layer over the internet (which, as we know, has many
problems with policy) which connects things in new ways that may be both
good and bad. While the drum beat of the OLPC is thankfully fading,
perhaps a few brain cells should be working on what the divide in the
next 10 years will be. Certainly, mobile phone technology will be a part
of the overall use of the metaverse - a 15 year old young woman recently
wrote a Second Life client for a web browser which is a great platform
for that - but the metaverse also includes 3 dimensional worlds which
introduce virtual economies.

I know that this may be way off the radar for many; there are very
concrete issues that have to be dealt with. What I am suggesting is that
these concrete issues are magnified by the visions/hallucinations of
those advocating a metaverse - and they are largely being ignored. This
may well be another platform of discussion which needs to be addressed
and can assist in the concrete issues we see now... and the issues where
the cement has not yet been poured.

I've written a few things related to the metaverse along these lines; if
some people could spare some time and thought... maybe there is a basis
for affecting the discussions of the future by creating our own
discussion. I am sure that there are commonalities that can be
leveraged. Here are some links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaverse - Wikipedia definition of the
Metaverse.
http://www.metaverseroadmap.org/MetaverseRoadmapOverview.pdf - Metaverse
Roadmap (3 megabytes, PDF): Written by some of the people trying to lead
the metaverse.
http://www.knowprose.com/node/17699 - My critique of the Roadmap (above)
http://www.knowprose.com/node/17701 - Taking stock of technology we have
now as related to the metaverse, including internet penetration.
http://www.knowprose.com/node/17706 - Copyrights and trademarks as
related to an international metaverse.
http://www.knowprose.com/node/17715 - disparity in global policy at
present related to the internet which demonstrate issues with the
concept of the metaverse.

I look forward to the thoughts of others on the list about this.

-- 
Taran Rampersad
Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
cnd at knowprose.com
http://www.knowprose.com


Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knowprose/

"Criticize by creating." ? Michelangelo
"The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine." - Nikola Tesla


From donc at internode.on.net  Sun Jul 15 01:20:26 2007
From: donc at internode.on.net (Don Cameron)
Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2007 15:20:26 +1000
Subject: [DDN] I make no profit, therefore I suck
In-Reply-To: <4695240B.4000406@knowprose.com>
Message-ID: <61fg7n$4hcb4u@ipmail02.adl2.internode.on.net>

> i agree that nfp's should try to make themselves obsolete but
> I don't know of one that does that intentionally.

Not all NFP's work with aspects of society where underlying needs are such
the NFP can simply 'solve the problems', and when finished, seek
obsolescence. Some of our largest NFP's provide disaster services -
volunteer fire, rescue and ambulatory organizations (St John's Ambulance,
the Salvation Army, Red Cross etc). The mission of these NFP's is not such
that obsolescence is possible. Disasters will always occur.  

Yet other NFP's are born in response to community needs not addressed by
Govt or other interests; by community's having no desire for Govt or
commercial intervention. These are self-help organizations formed in the
spirit of a 'cooperative' where obsolescence may be the least desirable
outcome.

Don    

From joe.beckmann at gmail.com  Sun Jul 15 08:13:04 2007
From: joe.beckmann at gmail.com (Joe Beckmann)
Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2007 08:13:04 -0400
Subject: [DDN] I make no profit, therefore I suck
In-Reply-To: <8ea78e010707141237xe6d6e1ey34fc845e61271a13@mail.gmail.com>
References: <BAY108-F18A958D5E7B438B09792EBA7040@phx.gbl>
	<4695240B.4000406@knowprose.com>
	<8ea78e010707141237xe6d6e1ey34fc845e61271a13@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <eb0914de0707150513r25848e23mb6ac752802a826d2@mail.gmail.com>

The problem should become obsolete, not its solution, and the solution ought
to be substantial enough to affect other problems. So, polio can generate a
lasting infrastructure of health advocacy; religion can generate different
strategies for physical as well as moral health; etc. Whether profit or
non-profit, organizations do not exist to make themselves obsolete, but,
rather, to address needs that are concrete in the opinion of the founder(s)
and the marketplace. As needs change - are either fulfilled or become
obsolete themselves - the organizations (whether profit or no) also change.

It's very painful and uncomfortable when we confuse the problem with the
solution and organizations that do that almost inevitably fail, whether
profit-based or not. It is very easy to see that failure in the profit
sector, and dismiss the evaporation of DEC or DataGeneral with the emergence
of microcomputers, for one example. But it's a lot more painful to see
similar failures in the non for profit sector, and see how American public
education is failing American children, for a more global alternative. This
emotional baggage, which the nfp sector celebrates, actually obscures it's
own goals and measures of impact. And in that there are lots of
controversial worms wriggling around.

J

On 7/14/07, Frederick Noronha [??????? ???????] <fred at bytesforall.org>
wrote:
>
> > tom abeles wrote:
> > > hi taran
> > > 1) i agree that nfp's should try to make themselves obsolete but I
> > > don't know of one that does that intentionally. Even organizations
> > > that work for the elimination of a medical problem, such as polio, in
> > > the US, reinvent themselves
>
> To my mind, the not-for-profits are not problematic in themselves.
> What *is* problematic though is when they turn into a huge
> self-serving bureaucracy, and more energies go into keeping themselves
> running rather than solving the problem which they were set up to
> tackle in the first place.
>
> So, rather than working to make themselves obselete, they should work
> to make themselve self-sustainable, not funding-driven, focussed on
> their mission, and not bureaucratic or self-serving. We needn't throw
> away the baby with the bath-water.
>
> For example, the way in which the not-for-profit Free Software
> movement (less so the Open Source network, which has grown with
> corporate support and in the media spotlight) has grown is a pointer
> to what is possible.
>
> Looking forward to hearing what the others feel. FN
> --
> FN: Frederick Noronha
> http://wikiwikiweb.de/MyContacts
> Phone 0091-832-2409490 Cell: 091-9822122436 or 9970157402 (after 1 pm)
> A film on copyright! GOOD COPY BAD COPY:  a documentary about the
> current state of copyright and culture.
> http://www.goodcopybadcopy.net/
> _______________________________________________
> DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list
> DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net
> http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide
> To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-request at mailman.edc.orgwith the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
>



-- 
Joe Beckmann
22 Stone Avenue
Somerville, MA 02143
617-625-9369

From joe.beckmann at gmail.com  Sun Jul 15 08:22:03 2007
From: joe.beckmann at gmail.com (Joe Beckmann)
Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2007 08:22:03 -0400
Subject: [DDN] Intel, $100 Laptop program form new partnership
In-Reply-To: <46984973.1080002@knowprose.com>
References: <BAY108-F220CF4D1B6FF76E8F21ACBA7FD0@phx.gbl>
	<46984973.1080002@knowprose.com>
Message-ID: <eb0914de0707150522r34afa340r884fc49839991ac6@mail.gmail.com>

In the 19th and 20th century we called this kind of merger "in restraint of
trade," and made it illegal. The best way to lower the price is to watch
which prototype is now orphaned, and thereby drops its price to that $100
level.

And there is no magic whatsoever in a $100 laptop. It seemed un-feasible
when the average cost was $2000, not so long ago, but it's a lot more
feasible when orphaned equipment aims for landfill rather than user hands.
Anybody want my Newton? THAT was a $1000 laptop which is now worth dirt.

What the Intel/OLPC collaboration demonstrates most is the entrepreneurship
of profit and nonprofit sectors, and how often good ideas get "owned" by
entrepreneurs from either sector, or any country, and they are willing to
"sell out" to "get what they want." The nonprofit goal was NOT a $100
laptop, but One Laptop Per Child (ahem) and could/should/might be achieved
in any of many different ways. Remarkable how such goals pervert the
strategic options of their proponents: are we talking about merging
protestant with catholic computing? Or are we talking about merging islam
with christianity? My, how ideology makes business analogs so profoundly
uncomfortable.

j

On 7/13/07, Taran Rampersad <cnd at knowprose.com> wrote:
>
> tom abeles wrote:
> > And the price for the units are coming down so that OLPC and the
> > current smart phones will meet in the middle- not at the desired USD
> > 100. So we should stop, now, using the term, $100 lap top. I believe
> > current suggested price will be closer to $200 than $100 and even more
> > in inflation adjusted dollars.
> Agree with the 'options are better' comments - just kicking in here that
> the minimum order of a million is really the issue for me. Plus, if we
> consider the shifts in the global economy - is $100 US really a good
> target? How about let's try for 'affordable'... what I mean is that cost
> of living, etc, plus the relative value of the US dollar may increase or
> decrease. Since the machine(s) themselves aren't necessarily made in the
> US, this really makes this an interesting thing to look at economically.
> > But, and this is a big BUT, no one talks about the cost of access, the
> > main reason that the wireless providers practically give away their
> > phones. The connection costs are coming down, but they are constant
> > even if one owns the machines. And then there is the question of
> > service and support. This part of the package is never discussed and
> > yet it is the major life cycle expense to having one of these devices
> > and using them to greatest benefit.
> >
> > Perhaps it is time to stop slavering over the non-existent device and
> > its purported "cure" for the digital divide, like some miracle drug
> > and look at the systems cost and see who has worked that into their
> > development budgets.
> >
> > thoughts?
> I'm of two minds on all of this. Mobile phones have become more
> ubiquitous than Microsoft ever was (or ever will be). But mobile phones
> are not the solution either - access to hardware, except in very extreme
> cases, exists. This leads back to policy and infrastructure, which is
> where there have always been problems that have reinforced the hardware
> access problem. Now it is about service.
>
> So yes, the mobile phone has and will continue to demonstrate the most
> promise for leveling technological access. But no, it will not change
> service level disparity. One reason is economics, which can be fixed -
> some say it already is being fixed. But policy. Policy.
> Telecommunications service. A bunch of other stuff that technology
> hasn't been able to fix for the last millenium. :-)
>
> --
> Taran Rampersad
> Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
> cnd at knowprose.com
> http://www.knowprose.com
>
>
> Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knowprose/
>
> "Criticize by creating." ? Michelangelo
> "The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine." -
> Nikola Tesla
>
> _______________________________________________
> DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list
> DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net
> http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide
> To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-request at mailman.edc.orgwith the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
>



-- 
Joe Beckmann
22 Stone Avenue
Somerville, MA 02143
617-625-9369

From joe.beckmann at gmail.com  Sun Jul 15 21:56:29 2007
From: joe.beckmann at gmail.com (Joe Beckmann)
Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2007 21:56:29 -0400
Subject: [DDN] Technological initiatives for social empowerment
In-Reply-To: <20070714134305.45B8E2202E7@quill.bollow.ch>
References: <04ca01c7c48e$42febf60$21135512@media.mit.edu>
	<20070714134305.45B8E2202E7@quill.bollow.ch>
Message-ID: <eb0914de0707151856lb1f840dl142ebd8af8175722@mail.gmail.com>

Last Thursday a group of "activists" decided to create something
uncomfortably close to your Young Activists Network - a cable televised
editorial board to conceive and then assign "investigative" reporting to and
with teams of high school and college students, all based in Somerville,
with an amazing range of concerns from transportation to schools to
development to jobs, and a web page and printed broadside to make that news
more widely available.

We have to talk, because, although the activism is both skilled and long
lasting, and there are a batch of funding targets handy and timely,
sustainability is the real goal, since it's both a service, a political, and
an educational intervention we're talking about. Have you left Cambridge
yet?

Joe Beckmann

On 7/14/07, Norbert Bollow <nb at bollow.ch> wrote:
>
> Leo Burd <leoburd at media.mit.edu> wrote:
>
> > The thesis document and the video of the defense can be found at
> > http://www.media.mit.edu/~leob/thesis/
>
> Wow.  I'm very impressed, and will look into using your analytic
> framework of "approach", "setting", "empowerment", "climate" and
> "system" variables in the context of the ongoing analysis and
> reflection of an informatics empowerment initiative that I'm trying
> to start here in Switzerland (and that I might try to export to
> Africa if I succeed in getting it going with good results here).
>
> Apart from this point on scientific methodology, what I take away
> from reading this thesis also includes some great quotes:
>
> "People need people. To become empowered and do things that are
> personally relevant, human beings need access to other human beings,
> people who inspire them, open doors, and hold their hands until they
> are able to stand up and walk by themselves." (p. 7)
>
> "The way I started seeing it, young people usually have the time, the
> will, the energy, the basic skills, and the right to participate and
> help improve the quality of life in the places where they live. What
> they lack is appropriate space, support and recognition." (p. 20)
>
> "The development of youth-led, community-oriented projects requires a
> large amount of adult support. Without friendly adults to help them
> frame ideas, plan activities over time, make connections or go to
> distant places, there is little that young people can do on their own.
> Unfortunately, the youth technology centers that we worked with did
> not seem to have the necessary infrastructure to support young people
> in the implementation of their projects. As a minimum, they would
> need either more personnel or a different kind of internal
> organization." (p. 93)
>
> Greetings,
> Norbert.
>
>
> --
> Norbert Bollow <nb at bollow.ch>                    http://Norbert.ch
> President of the Swiss Internet User Group SIUG  http://SIUG.ch
> _______________________________________________
> DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list
> DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net
> http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide
> To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-request at mailman.edc.orgwith the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
>



-- 
Joe Beckmann
22 Stone Avenue
Somerville, MA 02143
617-625-9369

From pam.mclean at ntlworld.com  Sun Jul 15 18:27:18 2007
From: pam.mclean at ntlworld.com (Pamela McLean)
Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2007 23:27:18 +0100
Subject: [DDN] LearnByDoing ICT4Ed & ICT4D - Thurs  July 26
In-Reply-To: <20070711222115.5D9FF2202A8@quill.bollow.ch>
References: <a06210238c2b42a23fd62@192.168.0.11>	<BAY108-F3357FC9271E1CB1D546CBDA7060@phx.gbl>	<eb0914de0707091020r752c1755gf67af90c269f0faa@mail.gmail.com>	<46933A05.8070506@knowprose.com>	<eb0914de0707100758v567fce5bw96a0b31026e96c4@mail.gmail.com>	<469522B1.60006@knowprose.com>
	<20070711222115.5D9FF2202A8@quill.bollow.ch>
Message-ID: <469A9F46.4090805@ntlworld.com>

This is an open invitation to anyone interested in digital divide issues 
related to rural Africa.  I am fortunate to know people on both sides of 
that digital divide and want to share those connections.

I am gradually building bridges between two complementary networks - my 
e-contacts on the Internet and my grassroots networks in rural Africa.   
As part of this bridge building I am inviting you to join me at an 
e-meeting on Thursday July 26th - morning in American time, afternoon in 
UK and Africa time (starting informally 3.30 BST for 4.00 p.m. start of 
formal meeting). It is an audiographic conference hosted by Trainerspod, 
using Elluminate. It is the first of an occasional series called 
LearnByDoing ICT4Ed & ICT4D.

For more details please see my blog http://learningbydoinguk.blogspot.com/

Pamela McLean




From leo at howehutton.com  Mon Jul 16 12:08:02 2007
From: leo at howehutton.com (Layton E. Olson)
Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2007 11:08:02 -0500
Subject: [DDN] Intel, $100 Laptop program form new partnership
In-Reply-To: <eb0914de0707150522r34afa340r884fc49839991ac6@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <E169577975468B42A9E85F30D528D4DC017EBEB3@hh-chi-exc.howehutton.com>

The $100 laptop goal (with metric of impact in aiding youth/adults in
daily tasks in a variety of countries in which $100 means different
things) might have other linked goals in developed and developing
worlds, such as"
= Free learning card (memory card, library card, digital textbook) which
could plug into laptop, workstation or kiosks, and might cost around $10
with appropriate personal security  
= Free health records card, including immunization data for school
entry, which can also be added to learning card for use for school
registration and record keeping
= Value-added cards for purchase of many of the above services, and use
of
kiosks, vending machines

In Chicago, all of these are considered options for Digital Excellence
planning in the coming year.  E.g. A Goal -- "A learning card/electronic
library card in every pocket" ....

What's good about these systems, is that learning/consumer behavior
paths can be tracked and reinforced, including through multi-workstation
computer labs or telecenters, through "outreach and awareness" programs
and regular "town hall/consumer assembly sounding board" sessions, to
help bring consensus on "what works" in each locality, and for each
audiences (youth, adults, seniors).

Layton Olson
Attorney, Chicago
For Leadership for Revenue and Virtual Illinois network conversations

-----Original Message-----
From: digitaldivide-bounces at digitaldivide.net
[mailto:digitaldivide-bounces at digitaldivide.net] On Behalf Of Joe
Beckmann
Sent: Sunday, July 15, 2007 7:22 AM
To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group
Subject: Re: [DDN] Intel, $100 Laptop program form new partnership

In the 19th and 20th century we called this kind of merger "in restraint
of
trade," and made it illegal. The best way to lower the price is to watch
which prototype is now orphaned, and thereby drops its price to that
$100
level.

And there is no magic whatsoever in a $100 laptop. It seemed un-feasible
when the average cost was $2000, not so long ago, but it's a lot more
feasible when orphaned equipment aims for landfill rath