Finding a name that matches our goals

[Amy Sample Ward]

Hi everyone-

The Global Scale project has had a slow start. Bonnie and I saw a need for a shared space to pool questions, ideas, lessons learned and examples from the work of many organizations, campaigns, and even community groups were doing to try to scale success, especially across geographic boarders, to help create a better world. That’s where the impetus came from to set up the Global Scale wiki and google group – they were to serve as that place, that meeting ground, where we could find others, talk about our work, and start building up a repository of information and resources. And we still see that need, and still think we can help.

The two biggest hurdles/opportunities right now including finding a name that matches our goals and helping create clear ways to contribute.

Bonnie and I have opened up this conversation on our blogs (Bonnie and Amy) and would love to have your thoughts either in the comments or on this email thread! I've reposted below what is on the blog, too.

Thanks
a

With a name like that!

Naming anything can be a difficult task: you can over state or under sell, you can rely on jargon or be too vague. In this case, “global scale” meant something to us because we had context and our own definition. But it isn’t something, so we’re hearing from the current community members, that makes sense to them or connects as something relevant to their work. The name doesn’t match the purpose. We need a name we can all orient around, that captures the idea: it isn’t about working on global initiatives per se, but is instead about ramping up efforts and scaling impact to effect, at least eventually, a greater world.

Where do I fit?

We also want to ensure that the name and the language used on the wiki help answer the question of “where do I fit in all this” immediately to the community. We know many, many people that have ideas, experiences, and information to share on this topic, but when directed to the wiki they didn’t see how their work was relevant. Again, just because we have an understanding of the space, doesn’t mean it’s clear to others. We want to ensure that the entire community understands both what they can share and what they can learn from the wiki.

And we hope you’ll help us!

1. What names would you suggest? Maybe “Scaled Efforts” or “Scaling Impact” “International Outreach” or something else – we need your ideas!
2. What gets you thinking? What kinds of prompts or questions would help you start to think about this topic and help you identify how you can contribute?

--
Amy Sample Ward
http://amysampleward.org
Twitter/Skype: amyrsward

Community Development Manager
Community-Driven Innovation, TechSoup Global

For more resources, visit:
http://netsquared.org   -  @netsquared
http://socialbysocial.com   -   @socialbysocial

[Anna McD]

Even before I read your blog, I had thought of "Scaling impact" so
that's my name suggestion! That said, I'm not sure the problem is the
name. I have had a similar issue with a private social network for
women that I run so I think I understand at least some of your
dilemma. On my site, I could see the advantage of pooling the
resources and created a wiki for the group, but no one but me seemed
to see the value in the wiki. Even after I populated the wiki with
all kinds of information, people would come and use it, but didn't add
to it. It is easier to ask a question and get it answered in real
time. So....I am just wondering if a google group and a wiki are too
much to ask of a fledgling, not-yet-named group. My suggestion would
be to start building the community. When it has value and people are
contributing in the vastly easier and more quickly productive space of
a group, then you can see if the group will come to believe, as you
two do, that participating in the wiki will be a worthwhile endeavor.

In terms of populating the wiki, much good information can be culled
from ongoing discussions but someone has to do that work.

Hope this helps.

Anna

On Feb 10, 10:35 am, Amy Sample Ward <amyrsw...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi everyone-
>

> The Global Scale project <http://globalscale.wikispaces.com/> has had a slow

> start. Bonnie and I saw a need for a shared space to pool questions, ideas,
> lessons learned and examples from the work of many organizations, campaigns,
> and even community groups were doing to try to scale success, especially
> across geographic boarders, to help create a better world. That’s where the
> impetus came from to set up the Global Scale wiki and google group – they
> were to serve as that place, that meeting ground, where we could find
> others, talk about our work, and start building up a repository of
> information and resources. And we still see that need, and still think we
> can help.
>
> The two biggest hurdles/opportunities right now including finding a name
> that matches our goals and helping create clear ways to contribute.
>
> Bonnie and I have opened up this conversation on our blogs

> (Bonnie<http://goinginternational.wordpress.com/2011/02/10/build-it-and-they-...>and
> Amy<http://amysampleward.org/2011/02/10/the-evolution-of-the-global-scale...>)

> and would love to have your thoughts either in the comments or on this email
> thread! I've reposted below what is on the blog, too.
>
> Thanks
> a
>
> With a name like that!
>
> Naming anything can be a difficult task: you can over state or under sell,
> you can rely on jargon or be too vague. In this case, “global scale” meant
> something to us because we had context and our own definition. But it isn’t
> something, so we’re hearing from the current community members, that makes
> sense to them or connects as something relevant to their work. The name
> doesn’t match the purpose. We need a name we can all orient around, that
> captures the idea: it isn’t about working on global initiatives per se, but
> is instead about ramping up efforts and scaling impact to effect, at least
> eventually, a greater world.
> Where do I fit?
>
> We also want to ensure that the name and the language used on the wiki help
> answer the question of “where do I fit in all this” immediately to the
> community. We know many, many people that have ideas, experiences, and
> information to share on this topic, but when directed to the wiki they
> didn’t see how their work was relevant. Again, just because we have an
> understanding of the space, doesn’t mean it’s clear to others. We want to
> ensure that the entire community understands both what they can share and
> what they can learn from the wiki.
> And we hope you’ll help us!
>

>    1. *What names would you suggest?* Maybe “Scaled Efforts” or “Scaling

>    Impact” “International Outreach” or something else – we need your ideas!

>    2. *What gets you thinking?* What kinds of prompts or questions would

>    help you start to think about this topic and help you identify how you can
>    contribute?
>

> **
>
> --
> *Amy Sample Ward*http://amysampleward.org
> Twitter/Skype: amyrsward
>
> *Community Development Manager*
> Community-Driven Innovation, TechSoup Global
>
> *For more resources, visit:*http://netsquared.org  -  @netsquaredhttp://socialbysocial.com  -   @socialbysocial