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News for April 2003

29 April 2003

Funders role in a time of war on Worldlink TV
	After long silence, the funding community is starting to come together and speak up about their role in responding to the threats of war. There was an excellent panel discussion yesterday on the subject at the COF conference. I understand that it will be broadcast on Worldlink TV. Posted: 4/29/03; 10:30:19 AM #

U.N. Foundation in the wake of war
	Former U.S. Senator Tim Wirth is now President of the United Nations Foundation. At the COF conference's lunchtime address yesterday he delivered a sober appeal for engagement by the funding community in the current global environment. Posted: 4/29/03; 10:28:42 AM #

New Directions for TAG
	The Technology Affinity Group of the Council on Foundations has elected new leadership and has established a focus for the coming year. They are moving forward successfully despite the funding challenges faced by the foundations which are their members. Posted: 4/29/03; 10:26:36 AM #

27 April 2003

Council on Foundations Annual Conference 2003
	I've just arrived at the 2003 Annual Conference of the Council on Foundations. Much of the news and many of the resources I post over the next few days will stem from this conference. And if you happen to be here in Dallas, Texas as well, please say hello. Posted: 4/27/03; 1:58:33 PM #

The Kindness of Strangers
	Robert Levine has done a comprehensive study of The Kindness of Strangers, in which he researched people's willingness to help someone during a chance encounter. New York and Kuala Lumpur came in at the bottom. Posted: 4/27/03; 1:58:22 PM #

22 April 2003

The Goldman Prize 2003
	Today is a good day to honor the recipients of the Goldman Environment Prize winners (PDF of New York Times announcement). I like the headline: "Those who exploit the environment count on people doing nothing. Thanks for proving them wrong." That sentiment carries to so many causes, doesn't it. Posted: 4/22/03; 9:33:39 AM #

Don't Be Fooled 2003
	It's Earth Day. Earthday Resources has published Don't Be Fooled 2003, a report on the top ten companies guilty of greenwashing (falsely using environmental values to promote their products). Sometimes it pains me how some nonprofits cooperate in this. Posted: 4/22/03; 9:33:25 AM #

The Intersection of Protocol, Source, and Community
	I've often campaigned for the central role of standards and protocols in the battle for openness in online communication systems and tools. Peter St Andre adds a third component when he looks at the relationships between protocols, source code, and community in the development of truly open systems. Posted: 4/22/03; 9:33:07 AM #

20 April 2003

Artistry and Technology: The Golden Triangle of Development

Viridian City Media has launched Artistry and Technology, a free email newsletter on the subject of visionary online communication. The first issue has an article on The Golden Triangle of Development, a methodical explanation of how you can actually use the adage: "You can have good, fast, or cheap. Pick any two." The newsletter comes out every couple of weeks and the upcoming topics look great. I recommend you subscribe. Posted: 4/20/03; 9:37:11 PM #

A Barn Raising for Civilization

Doc Searles, one of the authors of the Cluetrain Manifesto (which I have previously recommended), is proposing a Barn Raising for Civilization, in response to the sacking of Baghdad's cultural institutions. He quotes noted historian and archeologist John Malcolm Russell as describing what's happened as "the greatest catastrophe ever to befall a cultural institution in the history of the world." Right up there with the burning of the Library of Alexandria, it seems. Searles has good suggestions for how we might respond to this catastrophe, although the ultimate responsibility lies with the looters and with the forces that allowed this to happen. Posted: 4/20/03; 9:36:28 PM #

Public Interest Registry Advisory Council
	I mentioned that I had been appointed to the Advisory Council of the Public Interest Registry, the nonprofit that now manages the .org domain. The organization has posted biographies of all my colleagues on the Council. It's a very international and very interesting group. Posted: 4/20/03; 9:36:12 PM #

16 April 2003

Iraqi National Library and Archives burned
	Yesterday, the National Library and Archives of Iraq were looted and burned, destroying Ottoman historical documents and the old royal archives of Iraq, along with the library of Korans at the Ministry of Religious Endowment. Robert Fisk witnessed the destruction and shares the story in the Independent. Posted: 4/16/03; 10:52:26 AM #

The Roots of Iraqi Civil Society
	Just as many other people, I have taken an interest in the rebuilding of civil society in Iraq. So it was with a sense of hope that I read Baghdad's Buried Treasure by Eric Davis. He looks at the rich traditions of civil society in the area which, with luck, will survive both the Baath party and the invasion. Posted: 4/16/03; 10:52:18 AM #

Open Source Haggadah Project
	How delightful! Douglas Rushkoff is a very smart man and a good writer. Now he has launched a new project: The Open Source Haggadah. They are going to follow up with an Open Source Torah and similar projects for other sacred texts. I hope it achieves its goal of nurturing an open spirit of inquiry. Posted: 4/16/03; 10:52:08 AM #

Library Weblogs
	Peter Scott maintains a list of weblogs published by libraries. Posted: 4/16/03; 10:51:59 AM #

Will patents pillage open source?
	Steven Frank looks at the threat posed by software patents to the open source movement. Thankfully he concludes that the situation is not dire. Posted: 4/16/03; 10:51:49 AM #

15 April 2003

World Database of Happiness

I know this is simplistic, but in the end, aren't we all just trying to make the world a happier place? It's with that question in mind that I've been perusing the World Database of Happiness, a register of scientific research on the topic of the appreciation of life. There is some delightful and thought provoking stuff in here, and it definitely beats the rhetoric of the current times, my own included. Posted: 4/15/03; 10:46:05 PM #

The Invisible Dogma
	For any of you who still think your new software is going to solve the knowledge and learning challenges of the organizations you work with, I highly recommend The Invisible Dogma by Mitch Ratcliffe. Yes, technology has huge impacts, but Ratcliffe makes a case for working to reveal the truth of the relationships into which we introduce our initiatives. Posted: 4/15/03; 10:45:50 PM #

New Global Vision
	New Global Vision is a new digital video archive project. Its goal is to create an open publishing network for videographers working on international movements. Most of the site is in Italian right now, but this is worth paying attention to. Posted: 4/15/03; 10:45:34 PM #

National Priorities Project Database - Tradeoffs
	The National Priorities Project helps people in the United States understand the tradeoffs involved in launching $80 billion Iraqi invasions and $500 billion tax cuts, among other things. I was particularly intrgued by the tool they have that allows you to play with various budget items and see what else they might fund. Posted: 4/15/03; 10:45:18 PM #

12 April 2003

National Museum of Iraq destroyed

Another nonprofit related story from Iraq: It took only 48 hours for the National Museum of Iraq to be destroyed. Under the Hague Convention, the occupying forces have the responsibility to prevent such things. (Indeed, the London Times reports that in the south of Iraq, British commanders have been encouraging looting.) One Hundred and seventy thousand pieces have been carried off, which once represented the 7000 year history of the civilizations of Mesopotamia. My heart aches to read this. Posted: 4/12/03; 4:19:36 PM #

Baghdad hospitals being looted

I don't know if hospitals in Iraq are NGOs or not, but they certainly are a key part of the public interest and civil infrastructure. In the wake of the U.S. "victory", those hospitals are being thoroughly looted, according to the Red Cross. Thomas Friedman reports as well on the looting of schools, right down to the blackboards. A sad reflection of the priorities of the occupying armies, I suspect the oil fields are better protected by troops than the civil institutions are. Posted: 4/12/03; 4:19:25 PM #

10 April 2003

Nature and role of international NGOs

Many of our readers are Americans who are familiar with the particular nature of nonprofits in the United States. If you're interested in familiarizing yourself with the international arena, I recommend these resources from Global Policy on the nature and role of Nongovernmental Organizations. An understanding of these institutions is timely and important. With "victory" being declared by the U.S. in Iraq, I can only hope that as much money will go into building civil society there as will go into the coffers of American companies working on oil fields and harbors. Posted: 4/10/03; 10:47:47 AM #

Webby Awards 2003 Nominations
	Sometimes I think the Webby Awards are just silly, but I still pay attention to them. The 2003 nominees have been announced. I'm particularly interested in the typically nonprofit categories, such as Activism, Community, Government and Law, Politics, and Spirituality. Posted: 4/10/03; 10:47:37 AM #

9 April 2003

Patent reformer gets anonymous funding
	I'm delighted to read that Bruce Perens has received anonymous funding to pursue his advocacy work on patent issues that affect the development of open standards and open source software. Sadly, I'm betting it was none of the mainstream nonprofit technology funders who did this, though I would love to be proven wrong. Posted: 4/9/03; 10:56:19 AM #

The Rise and Fall of Civil Society in Iraq
	Recently, I have found myself thinking about the role of nongovernmental organizations in Iraq and I came across this excellent piece by Sami Zubaida: The Rise and Fall of Civil Society in Iraq. Posted: 4/9/03; 10:56:10 AM #

How To Make A Revolution, In Three Easy Steps
	I've been coming more and more to think of knowledge management in much simpler terms than I used to. Lee Felsenstein's How to Make a Revolution in Three Easy Steps is one take on the matter. It's all about relationships and communication. Posted: 4/9/03; 10:56:00 AM #

Pew report: The Internet and the Iraq war

Pew recently published a report on The Internet and the Iraq war. It's an interesting survey of American online behavior during this invasion, including where people are getting information and how they are promoting their views. I would love to see deeper analysis, since my impression is that there are huge differences in opinion between those who get their news online and those who watch TV. Posted: 4/9/03; 10:55:47 AM #

8 April 2003

Open Source vs Open Standards

The nonprofit sector has spent millions of dollars on source code for software. Some of the community (myself included) has extolled the value of open source licensing of that code. But open standards are even more important and, relative to the amount of money spent writing code, the sector has spent almost nothing on developing open standards. Jonathan Schwartz takes on the issue of open source versus open standards and explains why this is important. Posted: 4/8/03; 10:54:24 AM #

Open source and global development
	I'm a fan of both Jon Udell and Brian Behlendorf. So I'm thrilled with this interview between them on the subject of open source and global development. Posted: 4/8/03; 10:54:14 AM #

eBase becomes part of Groundspring
	Although they have their integration work cut out for them, I am delighted by the fact that eBase is now part of Groundspring. eBase is a freely distributed desktop contact management database. Groundspring is a nonprofit that provides primarily donation management services to progressive organizations. Posted: 4/8/03; 10:54:04 AM #

6 April 2003

The New McCarthyism
	The McCarthy era was not a good time for American civil society. That's why I encourage you to follow a new nonprofit project: McCarthyism Watch. Posted: 4/6/03; 10:06:21 PM #

4 April 2003

Nonprofit Quarterly on Anti-terrorism Strategy
	I'm so heartened by this: Jon Pratt of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and Ty dePass of the Nonprofit Quarterly have written Anti-terrorism Strategy: Arrest First, Sort Out the Facts Later. They highlight a great many of the issues that nonprofits face in this era of eroding civil liberties. Thank you, Jon and Ty, for your voices and your leadership. Posted: 4/4/03; 2:35:54 PM #

Will broadband providers control people's access to content?
	Major issues are being raised about whether broadband providers will control people's access to content on the internet. The level playing field of the current open model is an incredible boon to nonprofits, who are sure to be on the losing end if guarantees of openness are not in place. Posted: 4/4/03; 2:35:43 PM #

3 April 2003

New York NTEN Conference 2003
	N-TEN is holding another of their excellent regional conferences in New York on May 8 & 9, 2003. The registration deadline is April 25. Posted: 4/3/03; 12:03:45 PM #

Followup to "Second Superpower" and Google peculiarities
	In Anti-war Slogan Coined, Repurposed and Googlewashed... in 42 days, Andrew Orlowski presents an absolutely fascinating analysis of the online spread of ideas and the destruction of context, using the example of the recent "second superpower" phrase. Posted: 4/3/03; 12:01:59 PM #

2 April 2003

A Second Superpower
	If his predictions turn out to be true, this may be an important transformation of the nongovernmental sector. James Moore of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society argues that the global social movements will constitute a second superpower. I find his arguments intriguing. Posted: 4/2/03; 11:58:02 AM #

U.S. Citizen held for giving to suspicious charity
	If the facts, as reported in the offbeat, but always interesting Register, are correct, it seems a senior Intel engineer has been detained by U.S authorities for having donated to the charity Global Relief. He is being held without charges and his files are sealed. It's really quite alarming. Posted: 4/2/03; 11:57:53 AM #

1 April 2003

Our Reader's Favorite News Sources

Six years ago today, I started Nonprofit Online News as an outgrowth of my own need to keep myself and a few colleagues informed. Today, as we start our seventh year, I'm amazed to realize that we're one of the premier sources of nonprofit news on the internet. To celebrate this anniversary, we're publishing another set of results from our year end survey, honoring all the other news sources loved by our readers. Posted: 4/1/03; 7:14:49 PM #

Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time
	Yes, I know this has nothing to do with nonprofit organizations and I really don't care. It's less work for me to point you to the Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time than to perpetrate an elaborate one of my own. Posted: 4/1/03; 8:48:41 AM #

British aid agencies turn down government money for Iraq
	British aid agencies including Oxfam, Save the Children, Christian Aid, ActionAid and Cafod, have refused government money for humanitarian aid in Iraq. They want to maintain their independence from belligerent forces. Posted: 4/1/03; 8:48:23 AM #