RANT: Hitchhiking on the Information Superhighway

Ben Scott, Free Press

The internet. Not since the printing press has social life been changed so profoundly by an information technology. Few of us understand exactly how it works, but we all know we have to have it. Our homes have to have it. Our schools have to have it. Our businesses have to have it. Every elected official from the dog-catcher to the President is touting the benefits of universal access to high-speed internet service. Never mind that the dot.com bubble burst in 2001, everyone seems to accept with an eerie unanimity (in these

2006 Rewrite of U.S. Communications Policy Needs to Ensure Public Interest

Hearing the People's Voice: Of Logic Puzzles, Advocacy and Heresy

Dear friends,

This is a copy of the reply I posted on NTEN-Discuss - It was in reply to a call for action against a plan to:

... "require human interaction (by answering a question or retyping displayed letters/numbers) before the email could be submitted to [Congress]" and thus make the "use of 3rd-party email vendors impossible."

I think I'd like to take a whack at this issue, even though the discussion has died down a bit.

First off, let me just state, up front, that I believe in democracy, really. And, in line with that, I believe that all people should have a voice and that voice should -- indeed

What if Drupal and Kintera dated?

I just had lunch with Paul Hagen, so almost every thought in this piece is at least 50% his. Paul, thanks for letting me steal your thought leader-ishness for a while.

Today, one of our community members posted a message on the N-TEN discuss list. For those of you not subscribed, I've posted a copy of the message. There's been an interesting discussion in the wake of this message, and though no one has said it out loud yet, the reason I'm particularly interested in this conversation is that it all comes down to a simple question that the sector has been grappling with for a very long time: How do I get my technology tools to work together?

If you'll indulge me for

Rant: The Truth About Open Source in the Social Sector

The Truth About Open Source in the Social Sector: Lessons from the Trenches

By Nick Gleason

Open Source Software (OSS) is one of the hottest trends in social sector technology. With rhetoric at a fever pitch, social sector managers and executives who are evaluating technology options need to clearly assess how the open source trend meets their needs. This article explores some of the key issues, challenges and solutions in bringing enterprise OSS (in particular OSS that helps manage web content, contacts, donations, ecommerce, emails, and so forth) to social sector organizations. In particular, I argue that OSS has not yet come close to realizing its potential in the social sector and that ultimately the best OSS solutions will reflect the unique needs