Hey Sam, I'm replying to your statements, because they are a great jumping off point for what I need to say, but this e-mail is addressed to everyone who does less than you do. You have been a tireless advocate for wireless and PTP, and I in no way look down upon those contributions.
On Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 7:46 AM, Sam Churchill<[email protected]> wrote: > > I care. So does every Smartphone user. So do other nonprofits or > organizations who want to send a positive message about community. No they don't. Smartphone users care that there is some WiFi, not that it is PTP. They aren't invested in PTP. If I were to liken it to a relationship, to the average smartphone user, we're pretty much a warm body in bed. We're not there for conversation, and they're certainly not going to do the dishes or get us chicken soup when we're sick. How many guys with blackberries and iphones have said "oh, you're the free wifi guys" to me. If I had a finger to shove down my throat every time I heard that dismissive summation, I'd weigh about 50 pounds. Caring about PTP means helping with PTP. In our current form that means more than a donation or showing up for a pint of beer. It means rolling up your sleeves, climbing on a roof or even talking to folks outside of the group about why you think it matters. If you can't explain why it matters to someone who isn't involved, then I'd guess you probably don't care. > Connecting. Uniting. Sharing. That's why non-profit organizations > exist -- to have fun while providing a community service. PTP meetings > are always fun. There's always something to talk about and interesting > projects to do. Scaling up the IT expertise is the tricky bit. PTP is > you, Russell, and 2-3 others who do most of the work. Non-profits exist to accomplish meaningful work. When that work is accomplished it's fun. When that work is appreciated it's more fun. When that work entices others to help, it's the most fun of all. At this point, PTP feels like a meat-grinder to the few people doing most of the work. That's certainly not fun. Personally, I feel like I've gone blue in the face trying to convince people to help, and I've mostly heard excuses about how folks aren't technical enough or somesuch. Obviously, I've failed to make my case effectively to the audiences I've chosen, I own that, but having people laud my carrying ability without them helping to lift the load does nothing to excite me about PTP. Again, this isn't you Sam. > It's the nature of community organizations. I wish it were otherwise. I don't think it needs to be. A community organization reflects the community. If the community is vibrant and engaged, then the organizations are too. If the community is fecund with much lip-service towards "causes" without any work being done towards those causes, then the community organizations that supposedly mean so much to the community will die, leaving their good works to rot. The question for the community is which of these outcomes do you want, and more importantly, which outcome will your current activities lead to? I know your answer Sam, but I fear you're in the minority. -- Michael Weinberg President Personal Telco Project, Inc. A 501(c)(3) Non-Profit --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ The Personal Telco Project - http://www.personaltelco.net/ Donate to PTP: http://www.personaltelco.net/donate Archives: http://news.gmane.org/gmane.network.wireless.portland.general/ Etiquette: http://www.personaltelco.net/index.cgi/MailingListEtiquette List information: http://lists.personaltelco.net To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
