I hope that you're planning to join us at the Ethos Roundtable on December 18th, when Michelle Murrain will lead a discussion about open source software for nonprofits!
Here's the reading that Michelle has recommended:
"Chapter 4: Philosophical Considerations" (from the NOSI primer for nonprofits)
There's no need to make a reservation to attend Ethos Roundtable events. Just come if you can, and feel free to invite others!
Monday
Michelle Murrain on the ethical and philosophical implications of open source software for nonprofits
Tuesday, December 18th
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge
Michelle Murrain, Nonprofit Open Source Initiative
The Nonprofit Open Source Initiative (NOSI) recently launched an updated version of its excellent guide, "Choosing and Using Free and Open Source Software: A Primer for Nonprofits." Michelle Murrain, who is coordinator of NOSI and a strategic technology consultant, will lead a discussion on the ethical and philosophical implications for nonprofits. She describes her approach to technology as "conscious, minimalist, neo-luddite."
At the conclusion of the Ethos Roundtable session, we will stroll down the hall to enjoy the good company, food, and drink at the 501 Tech Club that is so generously underwritten by TechFoundation. The 501 Tech Club is the monthly gathering of technology professionals who work with nonprofit organizations.
All Ethos Roundtable attendees are welcome at the Boston 501 Tech Club, and vice versa.
There's no need to make a reservation to attend Ethos Roundtable events. However, if you're planning to attend the Boston 501 Tech Club event at 6:00 pm, we ask that you send an email to Kathleen Sherwin of TechFoundation (ksherwin AT techfoundation DOT org).
Please join us!
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge
Michelle Murrain, Nonprofit Open Source Initiative
The Nonprofit Open Source Initiative (NOSI) recently launched an updated version of its excellent guide, "Choosing and Using Free and Open Source Software: A Primer for Nonprofits." Michelle Murrain, who is coordinator of NOSI and a strategic technology consultant, will lead a discussion on the ethical and philosophical implications for nonprofits. She describes her approach to technology as "conscious, minimalist, neo-luddite."
At the conclusion of the Ethos Roundtable session, we will stroll down the hall to enjoy the good company, food, and drink at the 501 Tech Club that is so generously underwritten by TechFoundation. The 501 Tech Club is the monthly gathering of technology professionals who work with nonprofit organizations.
All Ethos Roundtable attendees are welcome at the Boston 501 Tech Club, and vice versa.
There's no need to make a reservation to attend Ethos Roundtable events. However, if you're planning to attend the Boston 501 Tech Club event at 6:00 pm, we ask that you send an email to Kathleen Sherwin of TechFoundation (ksherwin AT techfoundation DOT org).
Please join us!
Sunday
Nolan Bowie at the Ethos Roundtable
On November 20th, Nolan Bowie, lecturer in public policy at the Kennedy School, and senior fellow emeritus at the Berkman Center, will be giving a presentation at the Ethos Roundtable on his vision for global telecommunications.
Tuesday, November 20th
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge
At the conclusion of the Ethos Roundtable session, we will stroll down the hall to enjoy the good company, food, and drink at the 501 Tech Club that is so generously underwritten by TechFoundation. The 501 Tech Club is the monthly gathering of technology professionals who work with nonprofit organizations.
All Ethos Roundtable attendees are welcome at the Boston 501 Tech Club, and vice versa.
There's no need to make a reservation to attend Ethos Roundtable events. Just come if you can, and feel free to invite others! However, if you're planning to attend the Boston 501 Tech Club event at 6:00 pm, we ask that you send an email to Kathleen Sherwin of TechFoundation (ksherwin AT techfoundation DOT org).
Please join us!
Tuesday, November 20th
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge
At the conclusion of the Ethos Roundtable session, we will stroll down the hall to enjoy the good company, food, and drink at the 501 Tech Club that is so generously underwritten by TechFoundation. The 501 Tech Club is the monthly gathering of technology professionals who work with nonprofit organizations.
All Ethos Roundtable attendees are welcome at the Boston 501 Tech Club, and vice versa.
There's no need to make a reservation to attend Ethos Roundtable events. Just come if you can, and feel free to invite others! However, if you're planning to attend the Boston 501 Tech Club event at 6:00 pm, we ask that you send an email to Kathleen Sherwin of TechFoundation (ksherwin AT techfoundation DOT org).
Please join us!
Keith Taylor, founder of Modest Needs, presents at the Ethos Roundtable on October 30th
Tuesday, October 30th*
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge
Keith Taylor, Modest Needs Foundation
If you're not familiar with Modest Needs Foundation, which uses the web to empower us all as micro-philanthropists, please check out the Modest Needs web site and blog, and prepare to be blown away.
When I consider that Modest Needs gives one-time grants to folks who are at risk of poverty and homelessness, and that 65% (Yes! Sixty-five percent!) of grant recipients become Modest Needs donors, I just want to swoon. Sorry about these rhetorical excesses, but I can't seem to help myself.
* Please note that this date does not coincide with the Boston 501 Tech Club event on October 16th. We changed the date of the Ethos Roundtable event to accommodate Keith's schedule, since he is coming up from New York City.
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge
Keith Taylor, Modest Needs Foundation
If you're not familiar with Modest Needs Foundation, which uses the web to empower us all as micro-philanthropists, please check out the Modest Needs web site and blog, and prepare to be blown away.
When I consider that Modest Needs gives one-time grants to folks who are at risk of poverty and homelessness, and that 65% (Yes! Sixty-five percent!) of grant recipients become Modest Needs donors, I just want to swoon. Sorry about these rhetorical excesses, but I can't seem to help myself.
* Please note that this date does not coincide with the Boston 501 Tech Club event on October 16th. We changed the date of the Ethos Roundtable event to accommodate Keith's schedule, since he is coming up from New York City.
Tuesday
Please join us for Josh Shortlidge's InterEthos presentation on September 18th!
Tuesday, September 18th
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge
When you meet someone on the Internet, how do you know what they are really like? Are they trustworthy? Knowledgeable? Also, how do you share your impressions of them with everybody else? You could go to Facebook and MySpace and LinkedIn and any number of other social networking sites, Google their name and so on. But that's a lot of work! Couldn't there be an easier way? Wouldn't it be nice if you could get to know people right away, right when you encounter them, and with no conversations or clicks required?
On September 18th Josh Shortlidge will present a new technology designed to "catalog and share the character of internet users in real time".
Ethos Profiles are comprised of pointers to documentation on all internet locations. For instance a person's Ethos Profile can include pointers to articles they authored in a local newspaper, to web pages documenting their membership activities in certain activist groups, to their MMOG gaming standings, to their good standing as an EBay seller, to their Myers Briggs personality profile, to their profile on CouchSurfing.com, etc.
These Ethos Profiles will be stored in a shared "ethos" data layer, which will be accessible by everyone, from everywhere on the net, with no clicks, and at zero cost. Ethos profiles will be created for all users, and by all users. We will share our spirit and passions more seamlessly, and thereby more easily forge life-changing relationships.
The basic concept of InterEthos is that whenever you meet a new person via the internet, then you should be able to instantly learn that person's core character, or ethos. Getting to know someone shouldn't require hours of face-to-face conversation or extensive internet searches. Rather, you should be able to glean their ethos at the exact place and instant that you meet them.
For more details please visit the InterEthos wiki. The wiki is public, so you can add your ideas to any page by clicking the "Edit This Page" button. Also, if the topic grabs you, then please click "Join this Space."
Josh Shortlidge's contact information (and old-style profile) can be found on the wiki.
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge
When you meet someone on the Internet, how do you know what they are really like? Are they trustworthy? Knowledgeable? Also, how do you share your impressions of them with everybody else? You could go to Facebook and MySpace and LinkedIn and any number of other social networking sites, Google their name and so on. But that's a lot of work! Couldn't there be an easier way? Wouldn't it be nice if you could get to know people right away, right when you encounter them, and with no conversations or clicks required?
On September 18th Josh Shortlidge will present a new technology designed to "catalog and share the character of internet users in real time".
Ethos Profiles are comprised of pointers to documentation on all internet locations. For instance a person's Ethos Profile can include pointers to articles they authored in a local newspaper, to web pages documenting their membership activities in certain activist groups, to their MMOG gaming standings, to their good standing as an EBay seller, to their Myers Briggs personality profile, to their profile on CouchSurfing.com, etc.
These Ethos Profiles will be stored in a shared "ethos" data layer, which will be accessible by everyone, from everywhere on the net, with no clicks, and at zero cost. Ethos profiles will be created for all users, and by all users. We will share our spirit and passions more seamlessly, and thereby more easily forge life-changing relationships.
The basic concept of InterEthos is that whenever you meet a new person via the internet, then you should be able to instantly learn that person's core character, or ethos. Getting to know someone shouldn't require hours of face-to-face conversation or extensive internet searches. Rather, you should be able to glean their ethos at the exact place and instant that you meet them.
For more details please visit the InterEthos wiki. The wiki is public, so you can add your ideas to any page by clicking the "Edit This Page" button. Also, if the topic grabs you, then please click "Join this Space."
Josh Shortlidge's contact information (and old-style profile) can be found on the wiki.
Please join us for our fall presentations: 09/18, 10/30, and 11/20/2007
Please join us this fall for our series of discussions about technology for positive social change!
September
Josh Shortlidge, founder of InterEthos and co-convener of the Ethos Roundtable
Tuesday, September 18th
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge
October
Keith Taylor, founder of ModestNeeds.Org
Tuesday, October 30th*
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge
* Please note that this date does not coincide with the Boston 501 Tech Club event on October 23rd.
November
Nolan Bowie, lecturer in public policy at the Kennedy School, and senior fellow at the Berkman Center
Tuesday, November 20th
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge
This is really an extraordinary fall line-up, so please mark your calendars now. There's no need to make a reservation if you want to attend; please come if you can, and feel free to invite others.
September
Josh Shortlidge, founder of InterEthos and co-convener of the Ethos Roundtable
Tuesday, September 18th
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge
October
Keith Taylor, founder of ModestNeeds.Org
Tuesday, October 30th*
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge
* Please note that this date does not coincide with the Boston 501 Tech Club event on October 23rd.
November
Nolan Bowie, lecturer in public policy at the Kennedy School, and senior fellow at the Berkman Center
Tuesday, November 20th
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge
This is really an extraordinary fall line-up, so please mark your calendars now. There's no need to make a reservation if you want to attend; please come if you can, and feel free to invite others.
Thursday
Open mike at the Ethos Roundtable on August 21st - please join us!
Tuesday, August 21st with be an open mike session at the Ethos Roundtable, and we hope that you'll join us.
Ethos Roundtable
Tuesday,August 21st
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge
This doesn't actually mean that there will be a microphone or that anyone will be asked to perform; it does mean that it's an open discussion of any ideas that attendees might want to bring to the table. These ideas might pertain to your own projects, or to presenters that you'd like the Ethos Roundtable to invite to future sessions.
At the conclusion of the Ethos Roundtable session, we will stroll down the hall to enjoy the good company, food, and drink at the 501 Tech Club that is so generously underwritten by TechFoundation. The 501 Tech Club is the monthly gathering of technology professionals who work with nonprofit organizations.
All Ethos Roundtable attendees are welcome at the Boston 501 Tech Club, and vice versa.
There's no need to make a reservation to attend Ethos Roundtable events. However, if you're planning to attend the Boston 501 Tech Club event at 6:00 pm, we ask that you send an email to Kathleen Sherwin of TechFoundation (ksherwin AT techfoundation DOT org).
Ethos Roundtable
Tuesday,August 21st
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge
This doesn't actually mean that there will be a microphone or that anyone will be asked to perform; it does mean that it's an open discussion of any ideas that attendees might want to bring to the table. These ideas might pertain to your own projects, or to presenters that you'd like the Ethos Roundtable to invite to future sessions.
At the conclusion of the Ethos Roundtable session, we will stroll down the hall to enjoy the good company, food, and drink at the 501 Tech Club that is so generously underwritten by TechFoundation. The 501 Tech Club is the monthly gathering of technology professionals who work with nonprofit organizations.
All Ethos Roundtable attendees are welcome at the Boston 501 Tech Club, and vice versa.
There's no need to make a reservation to attend Ethos Roundtable events. However, if you're planning to attend the Boston 501 Tech Club event at 6:00 pm, we ask that you send an email to Kathleen Sherwin of TechFoundation (ksherwin AT techfoundation DOT org).
Sunday
Please join us for the SocialMarkets.Org presentation on July 17th
The next Ethos Roundtable event will be on Tuesday, July 17th, and is scheduled to complement the Boston 501 Tech Club gathering that will follow immediately afterward. Allan Benamer and Jeff Tuller will be giving a presentation on SocialMarkets.Org, their newly founded nonprofit initiative.
Ethos Roundtable
Tuesday, July 17th
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge
SocialMarkets.Org embodies a new model for going online to channel untapped charitable dollars from individuals and organizations in the financial services industry. Nonprofit organizations that are serious about funding both programs and outcomes measurement will be particularly interested in Jeff and Allan's approach to transparency and accountability.
At the conclusion of the Ethos Roundtable session, we will stroll down the hall to enjoy the good company, food, and drink at the 501 Tech Club that is so generously underwritten by TechFoundation. The 501 Tech Club is the monthly gathering of technology professionals who work with nonprofit organizations.
All Ethos Roundtable attendees are welcome at the Boston 501 Tech Club, and vice versa.
There's no need to make a reservation to attend Ethos Roundtable events. However, if you're planning to attend the Boston 501 Tech Club event at 6:00 pm, we ask that you send an email to Kathleen Sherwin of TechFoundation (ksherwin AT techfoundation DOT org).
Full disclosure of financial relationship: I serve as a paid consultant to SocialMarkets.Org, so I'm not exactly a disinterested party. However, I am also an avid fan in my own right.
Ethos Roundtable
Tuesday, July 17th
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge
SocialMarkets.Org embodies a new model for going online to channel untapped charitable dollars from individuals and organizations in the financial services industry. Nonprofit organizations that are serious about funding both programs and outcomes measurement will be particularly interested in Jeff and Allan's approach to transparency and accountability.
At the conclusion of the Ethos Roundtable session, we will stroll down the hall to enjoy the good company, food, and drink at the 501 Tech Club that is so generously underwritten by TechFoundation. The 501 Tech Club is the monthly gathering of technology professionals who work with nonprofit organizations.
All Ethos Roundtable attendees are welcome at the Boston 501 Tech Club, and vice versa.
There's no need to make a reservation to attend Ethos Roundtable events. However, if you're planning to attend the Boston 501 Tech Club event at 6:00 pm, we ask that you send an email to Kathleen Sherwin of TechFoundation (ksherwin AT techfoundation DOT org)
Full disclosure of financial relationship: I serve as a paid consultant to SocialMarkets.Org, so I'm not exactly a disinterested party. However, I am also an avid fan in my own right.
Monday
Update on our plans for June 19th
Norris Prevost will be presenting at the Ethos Roundtable at 4:30 pm on June 19th, and is planning to speak about his "E-One Carribbean" program. He has very graciously allowed us to make an executive summary of E-One Carribbean available online through this blog; to review it, please click here.
Our Ethos Roundtable event will conclude at 6:00 pm. The Boston 501 Tech Club will not be meeting on that evening. Instead, all who are interested in the Mass NPtech Working Group will assemble at 6:00 pm in the Charles Hotel conference room where the Ethos Roundtable meets, and then stroll into Harvard Square for an informal dinner together.
Our Ethos Roundtable event will conclude at 6:00 pm. The Boston 501 Tech Club will not be meeting on that evening. Instead, all who are interested in the Mass NPtech Working Group will assemble at 6:00 pm in the Charles Hotel conference room where the Ethos Roundtable meets, and then stroll into Harvard Square for an informal dinner together.
Thursday
Deepening our local nonprofit technology conspiracy
I love the word "conspiracy". I'm a mediocre Latinist, but by my reckoning, to conspire is "to breath together," or possibly "to be in spirit together." Therefore, I like to refer to the local (or international) network of nonprofit technology advocates as a conspiracy.
As I've previously mentioned in my blog, Michelle Murrain and I have been brainstorming about creating a regional school for circuit riders. It's important to think of a range of options for ensuring that nonprofits in our region get the tech support that they need, and this is a conversation I've had at various times with Khalid Mustafa of the Urban Leaguee, Steve Backman of Database Designs Associates, and Wayne Glynn of Third Sector New England.
At the Boston 501 Club's May event, a few of us began to talk seriously about spinning off a working group for those who are interested in the future of tech support for nonprofit organizations in Massachusetts. Khalid, Steve, and I all felt ready to schedule a meeting, and Claire Murray joined in enthusiastically with offers to find us a good space for convening.
We have now created an email distribution list, "MassNPtechWorkingGroup," for nonprofit technology advocates who are interested in strategic discussions, and we'll see where it goes from there.
Several years ago, I sat in with a group that explored the possibility of a statewide nonprofit technology capacity building network in Massachusetts. The guiding spirits were extremely smart and dedicated people, and it was a noble effort, but the plan did not come to fruition. Alas. If that previous group was unable create an infrastructure and a formal network for service delivery, I doubt that the MassNPtech Working Group can do it - and in fact I don't think we should aspire to do it.
Instead, I think that our working group will probably remain a kind of forum and peer learning community, somewhat akin to the Ethos Roundtable in scope. Perhaps we'll gather for presentations and discussions, and perhaps we'll be "in spirit together." If various members of the group are able to discuss new strategies and forge collaborative relationships, then it will be a modest success.
Related blog articles:
This item is based on an article that was originally posted to my blog, "Technology for the Nonprofit and Philanthropic Sector."
As I've previously mentioned in my blog, Michelle Murrain and I have been brainstorming about creating a regional school for circuit riders. It's important to think of a range of options for ensuring that nonprofits in our region get the tech support that they need, and this is a conversation I've had at various times with Khalid Mustafa of the Urban Leaguee, Steve Backman of Database Designs Associates, and Wayne Glynn of Third Sector New England.
At the Boston 501 Club's May event, a few of us began to talk seriously about spinning off a working group for those who are interested in the future of tech support for nonprofit organizations in Massachusetts. Khalid, Steve, and I all felt ready to schedule a meeting, and Claire Murray joined in enthusiastically with offers to find us a good space for convening.
We have now created an email distribution list, "MassNPtechWorkingGroup," for nonprofit technology advocates who are interested in strategic discussions, and we'll see where it goes from there.
Several years ago, I sat in with a group that explored the possibility of a statewide nonprofit technology capacity building network in Massachusetts. The guiding spirits were extremely smart and dedicated people, and it was a noble effort, but the plan did not come to fruition. Alas. If that previous group was unable create an infrastructure and a formal network for service delivery, I doubt that the MassNPtech Working Group can do it - and in fact I don't think we should aspire to do it.
Instead, I think that our working group will probably remain a kind of forum and peer learning community, somewhat akin to the Ethos Roundtable in scope. Perhaps we'll gather for presentations and discussions, and perhaps we'll be "in spirit together." If various members of the group are able to discuss new strategies and forge collaborative relationships, then it will be a modest success.
Related blog articles:
- The New England School for Circuit Riders
- The Riders Movement
- Why you need to download and read the eRider Starter Kit
- Heroes, pioneers, technology for positive social change, and the Dirk Award
- A region's nonprofit digital divide
- Where have all the developers gone?
- Career paths and career ladders in nonprofit technology
This item is based on an article that was originally posted to my blog, "Technology for the Nonprofit and Philanthropic Sector."
Saturday
Please save the date for our June 19th meeting
Norris Prevost, member of parliament from the Commonwealth of Dominica (and a Kennedy School of Government affiliate), will be giving a presentation on E-One Carribean. This is a nonprofit project that seeks to link nongovernmental organizations in the Carribean with the intellectual, financial, and human resources of the region and its diaspora.
We are eager to learn about Norris's vision of how internet tools can help immigrant communities maintain strong ties with their home cultures and contribute to sustainable economic development.
Ethos Roundtable
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge
Please join us!
We are eager to learn about Norris's vision of how internet tools can help immigrant communities maintain strong ties with their home cultures and contribute to sustainable economic development.
Ethos Roundtable
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge
There's no need to make a reservation if you'd like to attend any of the Ethos Roundtable meetings - just come if you can, and feel free to invite others.
Please join us!
Thursday
SJ and the One Laptop Per Child Project: Recommended Links
Here are some links that you may want to review before SJ Klein's presentation about the OLPC project on Tuesday:
One Laptop Per Child Wiki
One Laptop Per Child
Wikipedia: $100 Laptop
SJ Klein, Director of Content, One Laptop Per Child project
SJ's Longest Now
OLPC News
NY Times: Seeing No Progress, Some Schools Drop Laptops
Microsoft Windows and the $100 MIT Laptop
Indian Engineers Aiming for USD 10 Laptop
U.S. Schools May Receive 'One Laptop per Child' Notebooks
"$100 laptop" project adds $75 and Windows
Potential for Windows reveals complexities in nonprofit's effort to spread '$100 laptop'
Uruguay youngsters receive batch of OLPC XOs
OLPC Game Jam Coming in June
OLPC and Microsoft: Happy Together?
OLPC Project Rollout Begins In Uruguay
Inside the OLPC
OLPC rundown: XO gets naked, project detailed
XO Laptop: Child's Play: One Laptop Per Child product deemed basic but useful, as initiative to spread affordable technology
Friday
More links from Gary Goldberger
As a follow up to his Ethos Roundtable presentation on Tuesday, Gary Goldberger has sent along links to the various projects that he mentioned:
* By the way, Gary's Second Life avatar is "Gerrick Gordimer." (Mine is "Deborah Replacement.") Please feel free to post your avatar's name in a comment here.
- FableVision
- Games for Change
- Research Centre for Media Psychology
- The Lia Project
- Darfur is Dying
- A Force More Powerful
- Community Organizing Toolkit
- CyberBudget
- PeaceMaker
- OilGod & Airport Security
- Second Life*
* By the way, Gary's Second Life avatar is "Gerrick Gordimer." (Mine is "Deborah Replacement.") Please feel free to post your avatar's name in a comment here.
Wednesday
Please save the date for our May meeting
Samuel Klein, also known as "Sj," will be speaking about his work with the One Laptop Per Child project.
Ethos Roundtable
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Business center conference room
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge
Our meetings are scheduled to complement the monthly get-togethers of the Boston 501 Tech Club, which begin at 6:00 pm at the Charles Hotel. All Ethos Roundtable attendees are welcome at Boston 501 Tech Club events, and vice versa.
Please join us!
Ethos Roundtable
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Business center conference room
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge
Our meetings are scheduled to complement the monthly get-togethers of the Boston 501 Tech Club, which begin at 6:00 pm at the Charles Hotel. All Ethos Roundtable attendees are welcome at Boston 501 Tech Club events, and vice versa.
Please join us!
Sunday
Please save the date for our April meeting
Gary Goldberger will be speaking about his work with Games For Change, Fablevision, and the Research Centre for Media Psychology.
Ethos Roundtable
Tuesday, April 17th
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Business center conference room
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge
Our meetings are scheduled to complement the monthly get-togethers of the Boston 501 Tech Club, which begin at 6:00 pm at the Charles Hotel. All Ethos Roundtable attendees are welcome at Boston 501 Tech Club events, and vice versa.
Please join us!
Ethos Roundtable
Tuesday, April 17th
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Business center conference room
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge
Our meetings are scheduled to complement the monthly get-togethers of the Boston 501 Tech Club, which begin at 6:00 pm at the Charles Hotel. All Ethos Roundtable attendees are welcome at Boston 501 Tech Club events, and vice versa.
Please join us!
Wednesday
Next Ethos Roundtable event: Tuesday, 03/20, 4:30 pm
The next Ethos Roundtable event will be on Tuesday, March 20th, and is scheduled to complement the Boston 501 Tech Club gathering that will follow immediately afterward.
Ethos Roundtable
Tuesday, March 20th
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Business center conference room
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge
Stan Labovitz of Infotool will be presenting on Tuesday. He is the designer and CEO of the Infotool Organizational Analysis Tool, and lawyer by trade. He was formerly an active OD consultant for 15 years with Organizational Dynamics, Inc (ODI).
InfoTool is a shared online tool used by OD consultants to measure and coach organizations worldwide. It facilitates the detailed analysis of cross-silo operations, interactions across multiple external stakeholder groups, and 360-degree reviews, just to name a few.
In just 2 short years Infotool boasts clients such as Liberty Mutual; Insurance, Staples, Yale, Harvard, Dannon, Nextel, The Cotton Industry, CSC Consulting, and many others. Infotool has resellers in India, South America, Australia, Central America and throughout the US.
Infotool was founded in Boston, Massachusetts by a team of organizational research consultants that needed an effective tool to measure and analyze key organizational business drivers in a simple and cost-effective manner. The team needed a web-based application that was dynamic, interactive and intuitive enough to empower clients to analyze the root cause needs of their employees and their customer's perceptions, as well flexible enough to meet the changing requirements of the marketplace.
At the conclusion of the Ethos Roundtable session, we will stroll down the hall to enjoy the good company, food, and drink at the 501 Tech Club that is so generously underwritten by TechFoundation. The 501 Tech Club is the monthly gathering of technology professionals who work with nonprofit organizations.
All Ethos Roundtable attendees are welcome at the Boston 501 Tech Club, and vice versa.
Ethos Roundtable
Tuesday, March 20th
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Business center conference room
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge
Stan Labovitz of Infotool will be presenting on Tuesday. He is the designer and CEO of the Infotool Organizational Analysis Tool, and lawyer by trade. He was formerly an active OD consultant for 15 years with Organizational Dynamics, Inc (ODI).
InfoTool is a shared online tool used by OD consultants to measure and coach organizations worldwide. It facilitates the detailed analysis of cross-silo operations, interactions across multiple external stakeholder groups, and 360-degree reviews, just to name a few.
In just 2 short years Infotool boasts clients such as Liberty Mutual; Insurance, Staples, Yale, Harvard, Dannon, Nextel, The Cotton Industry, CSC Consulting, and many others. Infotool has resellers in India, South America, Australia, Central America and throughout the US.
Infotool was founded in Boston, Massachusetts by a team of organizational research consultants that needed an effective tool to measure and analyze key organizational business drivers in a simple and cost-effective manner. The team needed a web-based application that was dynamic, interactive and intuitive enough to empower clients to analyze the root cause needs of their employees and their customer's perceptions, as well flexible enough to meet the changing requirements of the marketplace.
At the conclusion of the Ethos Roundtable session, we will stroll down the hall to enjoy the good company, food, and drink at the 501 Tech Club that is so generously underwritten by TechFoundation. The 501 Tech Club is the monthly gathering of technology professionals who work with nonprofit organizations.
All Ethos Roundtable attendees are welcome at the Boston 501 Tech Club, and vice versa.
Thursday
Where have all the developers gone?
These days, it seems like the constant refrain in the Boston area is, "Deborah, can you find us a database and web developer who is highly qualified and willing to work with small nonprofits?"
It's really difficult right now, but I'm not surprised, because it's part of a larger trend that I started to worry about two years ago.
We've had a real dry spell in funding for nonprofit technology in our region. In the past few years, a lot of extremely talented young techies, who would have been thrilled to take jobs with organizations that strive to make the world a better place, have searched in vain for work. I hear from the ones who have become embittered and taken jobs in other regions or other sectors. It isn't difficult for them to find work, because they have solid skills in the proprietary web and database platforms that are used in every sector.
Fortunately, the developers who have stuck around (in the region and in the nonprofit sector) are very good. Unfortunately, even the most brilliant web and database developer, no matter how utterly devoted to serving the nonprofit sector in Massachusetts, only has 24 hours in any given day.
Meanwhile, the new cohort of young idealists is emerging. These folks tend to be recent college graduates who want to make the world a better place, through open source software. (The latter is variously known as free, libre, FOSS, and FLOSS.) They aren't waiting for nonprofit organizations to create staff positions for them as web and database developers; they are starting their own development and consulting firms, and working on the FLOSS projects that interest them.
This new cohort of idealistic techies - and the tools that they are developing for use in the nonprofit sector - comprise an amazing boon to our work. In the future, we will probably reap benefits that we can't begin to foresee right now.
However, in the meantime, the nonprofit sector in our region is stuck with an embarassing problem of our own making. Most of the FLOSS tools currently under development are not mature enough to serve the immediate, every day needs of nonprofits. So we have a cohort of idealistic young techies who don't want to develop databases or web sites with the platforms that we are currently using, and a cohort of embittered techies who have the skills to work with the platforms we use but have already fled the scene.
What are we going to do? I'd like to encourage my colleagues to brainstorm about this.
(This item is based an article from my blog, "Technology for the Nonprofit and Philanthropic Sector.")
It's really difficult right now, but I'm not surprised, because it's part of a larger trend that I started to worry about two years ago.
We've had a real dry spell in funding for nonprofit technology in our region. In the past few years, a lot of extremely talented young techies, who would have been thrilled to take jobs with organizations that strive to make the world a better place, have searched in vain for work. I hear from the ones who have become embittered and taken jobs in other regions or other sectors. It isn't difficult for them to find work, because they have solid skills in the proprietary web and database platforms that are used in every sector.
Fortunately, the developers who have stuck around (in the region and in the nonprofit sector) are very good. Unfortunately, even the most brilliant web and database developer, no matter how utterly devoted to serving the nonprofit sector in Massachusetts, only has 24 hours in any given day.
Meanwhile, the new cohort of young idealists is emerging. These folks tend to be recent college graduates who want to make the world a better place, through open source software. (The latter is variously known as free, libre, FOSS, and FLOSS.) They aren't waiting for nonprofit organizations to create staff positions for them as web and database developers; they are starting their own development and consulting firms, and working on the FLOSS projects that interest them.
This new cohort of idealistic techies - and the tools that they are developing for use in the nonprofit sector - comprise an amazing boon to our work. In the future, we will probably reap benefits that we can't begin to foresee right now.
However, in the meantime, the nonprofit sector in our region is stuck with an embarassing problem of our own making. Most of the FLOSS tools currently under development are not mature enough to serve the immediate, every day needs of nonprofits. So we have a cohort of idealistic young techies who don't want to develop databases or web sites with the platforms that we are currently using, and a cohort of embittered techies who have the skills to work with the platforms we use but have already fled the scene.
What are we going to do? I'd like to encourage my colleagues to brainstorm about this.
(This item is based an article from my blog, "Technology for the Nonprofit and Philanthropic Sector.")
Please save the date for our February meeting
The next meeting of the Ethos Roundtable will be on Tuesday, February 20th, from 4:30 to 6:00 pm at the Charles Hotel.
Shava Nerad, executive director of the Tor Project, will speak about how tools for online anonymity can facilitate civic engagement. This may seem counter-intuitive, but in settings where freedom of expression leaves the speaker open to reprisals, anonymity is a crucial safeguard.
We hope that you'll join us for Shava's fascinating presentation and for the discussion that will follow.
Shava Nerad, executive director of the Tor Project, will speak about how tools for online anonymity can facilitate civic engagement. This may seem counter-intuitive, but in settings where freedom of expression leaves the speaker open to reprisals, anonymity is a crucial safeguard.
We hope that you'll join us for Shava's fascinating presentation and for the discussion that will follow.
Wednesday
Thinking locally and acting globally with Ethan Zuckerman
We are very much obliged to Ethan Zuckerman for coming to the Ethos Roundtable to speak about Global Voices Online yesterday! Geeks and non-geeks alike were enthralled with the stories about the work that he and his colleagues do.
If you have follow-up comments, links, or suggestions that are inspired by GV, please feel free to post them here as blog comments.
If you'd like to join the GV team, the good news is that they are currently seeking to hire an advocacy director!
If you have follow-up comments, links, or suggestions that are inspired by GV, please feel free to post them here as blog comments.
If you'd like to join the GV team, the good news is that they are currently seeking to hire an advocacy director!
Sunday
Next steps for the Commonwealth Civic Roundtable
The Commonwealth Civic Roundtable's next meeting will be on January 26th, and the agenda is centered on prioritizing ideas for creating sustained civic engagement.
If you are interested, please send an email to John Schneider at jschneider (at) massinc (dot) org .
If you are interested, please send an email to John Schneider at jschneider (at) massinc (dot) org .
Thursday
Links recommended by Ethan Zuckerman of Global Voices Online
Ethan Zuckerman, co-founder of Global Voices Online, will be giving a presentation at the next meeting of the Ethos Roundtable, and has been kind enough to recommend some links for us to review:
We hope that you will feel free to comment here about these links or about the presentation. If you have ideas, recommendations for further reading, or suggestions about other resources, you are welcome to share them!
We hope that you will feel free to comment here about these links or about the presentation. If you have ideas, recommendations for further reading, or suggestions about other resources, you are welcome to share them!
Now online: MassNonprofitNet.Org
Monday
Sunlight, local politics, and information in the internet era
Last week, I was very flattered to receive an invitation from the Sunlight Foundation to participate in a working meeting about local politics and information in the internet era at the Berkman Center.
Nisha Thompson of the Sunlight Foundation emailed me to say:
I'm ready to assist the Sunlight Foundation and others with internet strategies, if it means that we'll all be better informed and more deeply engaged in local politics, but I'm a little vague when it comes to having a platform or a slate of candidates to call my own. In this, I feel some kinship in to W.H. Auden, who apparently said, "We are here on earth to do good for others. What the others are here for I don’t know."
Related blog articles:
This item is based on an article that was originally posted to my blog, "Technology for the Nonprofit and Philanthropic Sector.")
Nisha Thompson of the Sunlight Foundation emailed me to say:
Today the Internet provides access to candidate information which was unimaginable a decade ago, and yet citizens still have trouble finding the basic information they need concerning candidates in their districts. The problem is a result of data that is scattered or difficult to understand, and when a good resource does in fact exist, it cannot be found easily. Your work in making this knowledge accessible is exemplary, and we would like to take the time to discuss methods with others in the field.
Actually, I would say that my work in this area is hopelessly goofy and idealistic, rather than exemplary. Still, I do care very deeply about deepening civic engagement, promoting inclusiveness in discourse and decision-making, and using technology to increase knowledge in the public interest. In the last few years, I've greatly enjoyed belonging to and volunteering my time with the Commonwealth Civic Round Table, the civic engagement advisory group of the "What's Next?" seminar series, the "Hello Boston" campaign, and the Ethos Roundtable. However, I have to admit that while I'm all for supporting civic engagement by taking public information online, I'm not that much of an expert on local politics.I'm ready to assist the Sunlight Foundation and others with internet strategies, if it means that we'll all be better informed and more deeply engaged in local politics, but I'm a little vague when it comes to having a platform or a slate of candidates to call my own. In this, I feel some kinship in to W.H. Auden, who apparently said, "We are here on earth to do good for others. What the others are here for I don’t know."
Related blog articles:
Growing Enthusiasm for Online Tools for Civic Engagement in Massachusetts
What's Next? Can We Foster Civic Engagement and Leadership Development with Online Tools?
New Civic Leadership and Machine Dreams
What's Next? Can We Foster Civic Engagement and Leadership Development with Online Tools?
New Civic Leadership and Machine Dreams
This item is based on an article that was originally posted to my blog, "Technology for the Nonprofit and Philanthropic Sector.")
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