camps

[Michael Maranda]

Hi Ben, 

Thanks for raising these questions.

We certainly have room for any of those camps and more.  What do I mean by more?

We're not talking about resurrecting a particular organization (not that you suggested that) - tho we may support that too.  

I've always viewed this more as a field -- community technology, community networking, community media...  not to imply these are an exhaustive list. And I want to see a healthy ecology for this field -- healthy and inviting to all who want to serve the field and others through the field.   This means people and organizations, staff, volunteers, anyone.  I'm hoping we can learn from the past iterations of organizations/networks in this field.

Going through the specific camps you list...

1. those wanting to re-establish regranting and other support programs 

2. those wanting to renew social ties (like listservs and conferences)

3. those wanting to collect CTCnet resources (like Startup Manual, Youth Visions and the membership lists) to support existing membership orgs that serve (or potentially serve) the same constituency

#1 -- I don't know what to say regarding re-establishing re-granting organizations... that seems a longer term prospect but I believe we can build our mutual capacity for support across the network independent of that... which connects with #2 -- which to me is more about better information-flow/channels and spaces for us to connect and build together.  For #3 -- I do think our legacy is important -- and we should be building upon our heritage, and sharing it with others.  There is certainly wisdom contained in many of the materials, which would superficially seem out of date. My different take here on #3 is an interest in widening/growing the constituency.

I do agree -- the environment has changed dramatically, including the funding environment.   Even the advent of BTOP suggests a different dynamic among CTC/PCCs established as regional networks, and lot's of new people are working in the field without a sense of this even being a field, let alone the history we share.  

Regards,

Michael

currently @ transparencycamp