David Brauer wrote:
> Rather than flop the idea out there on April 10th, I'd like list members to
> critique/refine it. Let me or the list know what you think...
I like the idea of using e-mail to organize neighborhood action. We have
been using e-mail a great deal in the City Council campaigns I'm
involved in. I have also been active in conference sites on the web.
These sites, like the Twin Cities Freenet Caucus
(see http://tcfreenet.org/conf/) require that users opt to check the web
to participate, unlike e-mail, which can "push" messages into the users
mailbox. We are lucky in Minneapolis to have a resource like the Freenet
and the Caucus software, but we are greatly under using this resource.
In Seward, the business association, the NRP, and others are using
e-mail to send meeting notices and other information. However, the
potential of the technology greatly exceed the reality of our current
uses. If we had standards we could increase the value of the technology.
For example, meeting notices could follow a standard format for easy
export to calendar software. Subject lines could provide real, basic,
information about the content. Folks could learn how to use filters.
On the other hand, conferencing software, like Caucus can go a long way
to solving many of these issues. Using Caucus allows for easy threading,
interactive calendars, simple and complex sorting, and other powerful
tools. Of course, these come with a cost. Folks need to go to a
conference site, the messages don't just show up in your mailbox. So,
the message about the fugitive afoot would not immediately arrive in
your mailbox.
Either way the rapid pace of change in the ways we interact with the
network of computers in our lives means that we can design many new ways
to use these tools. I can see a time in the not too distant future when
neighborhoods are ISPs offering neighborhood wide, broad band, wireless
connections to the internet for users of handheld computers, PDAs,
laptops, cell phones, and many other devices.
--
In cooperation,
Erik Riese
Decisive Moment - Decision making services to groups & individuals.
(612) 242-8528
Seward
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