It started on friday. I went to tuttle which enabled me to meet mark, vinay and dougald again. I was directed to speak to a chap called ollie, who speaks to ministers on a regular basis. The best part of the experience was speaking with lloyd who set up tuttle, the social artist. I failed in my conversation with ollie, something about my manner. I was tempted and indeed encouraged to talk about the wave notion with its thresholds, but it did not fall on receptive ears. My fault, since I could tell the energies involved, although lovely people, there is a certain brittleness that means a distinction between word and thought, between action and intention. I should have honoured this sense and been more playful and light in my presentation such that on another day, we could properly discuss it.
The engagement threw me for a while, and I berated myself a little. However, I left and went wandering. I found anna turley deputy director of nlgn, new local government network. I walked into their offices and asked the receptionist if I could talk to her. She happened to be free, and we talked for some 15 mins. The conversation went well, and I felt that I had redeemed my confidence in my ability to communicate. It was much nicer and lighter. Although she could not see a way for her to move forward on it, she wants to be in contact. If anything does happen, she will be an important player, and I would like her to be in any prospective meeting with a VIP change-maker.
Then off for a meeting with vinay. We ended up doing a recording in the lobby of a hotel in mayfair. It was meant to be a direct confrontation of our realities, but when we got together that evening, we followed dougald's interest of capturing a conversation on video. Don't think i wrote about dougald. Dougald is one of the founders of school of everything. Went to a talk of his at the temporary school of thought on wednesday; very impressive. Spectacular character, eloquent and genuine in his integration of his experience, and flowed really well when improvising. So, his desire to record something about the wave took precidence, and we ended up recording a dialogue between vinay and myself. The vid has not been put up on youtube yet. We then went to the school to hear vinay talk about an interesting, and I would say accurate and useful, understanding of magic. His manner of presentation was also very powerful.
On saturday, I went to progressive london. I met a chap called pierre and had lunch with him and joy johnson, who chaired on the first meeting I attended which was to do with barrack obama and what "we" can learn from his campaign. Very interesting discussion, since it revealed the completely different realities that either party are not aware of, even though they were in the same room and apparently talking about the same thing. Pierre is an intelligent young man, who is making his decisions as he goes along combined with an open-minded attitude, and is looking to study political relations. Joy has been a politico most of her life, worked with ken livingston, and has seen plenty of changes in the system and politics too and is not afraid of speaking her mind. I was privilege to share lunch with them, and I was a little foolish in suggesting to them that there was an opportunity for us to gather our respective perspectives and experience in such a way that it benefits us all.
The format of the progressive london was still far too archaic. People behind tables, on stages, with a minute or two's contribution from people on the floor. A bit of shouting, disjointed discussion. It is mostly used for information transference! Weird. Ken and the speakers in the last section of the day were very impressive, inspiring and genuine, and I decided to hang around at the end of the conference to speak to jon cruddas since mamading had recommended I speak to him. His attention to people seemed genuine too, and so I outlined the wave notion to him and how it embodied a lot of what the speakers had said, but it was all about practical action now, and not just talk about it. He gave me his email, and I hope he creates the opportunity for us to meet this week. Even if I think it might be too late to catch the wave, it might be a useful experience to hear the kind of ideas and practice and networks that I am an example of.
Sunday began with a discussion with mamading and his meeting with vinay and dougald the previous night. He seemed enthused with the notion of playing a stone, my term, of making a node of the Jisc Developers Happiness meet up in early february. Interesting possibilities. Sunday also meant a visit to the temporary school of thought where tony had booked a session called "What Can We Do By Tomorrow?". Only mamading, tony and I started it, and we gave ourselves half an hour to come to consensus. We tried a technique of only saying one sentence at a time, ensuring we were inviting others to continue. We didn't manage to conclude, and that was mostly because we invited a few kids in, one called omar, and another called james. We passed the time-window, and we ended up talking. James revealed that he has dreams of being at the Olympics 2012, and I believe his dream is the kind of vector that can align a community. If we put our self-organising sense and skills into practice, we might be able to field some superb atheletes for 2012. Champions who are living proof of the operationality of self-organisation. We exchanged emails, and I hope to remain in contact with him see if he is interested, with omar too. Dougald and vinay turned up too, and there was a little interview which I shall put a link to when I find out when it comes out.
Ended the night with a deep vibe. I read some of my XQ solution booklet to tav and sofia -- and it works! It actually makes some sense. I have some reservations about discussing it. Sofia and tav have different notions, perspective, systems and processes of ideas, and by sharing them it appears we end up falling into the illusion that we are discussing something, when of course the maths is reflective of our processes. The trick is noticing the similarities.
Went off to tango. Had some seriously nice dances with fiona, an interesting challenge when dancing with the teacher claire, two disasterous times where I could not find my partners which made me feel like I couldn't dance, but then had a delightful dance with... with... I can not remember her name. We didn't really talk after the dance, which means there were no words exchanged and hence any label like a name just gets lost in the ether. Got home, did some jaxing, which I shall post up a link to when I get them finished, and a video for the kids who I taught last year.
What a weekend!
Monday 26 January 2009
Thursday 22 January 2009
last couple of strokes
When trying to catch a wave, one has to first spot it, start paddling, then take three big strokes to try to meet the speed of the wave, and then you are being lifted by the wave. Then the job is to try to pop onto the board and ride it to shore.
The wave, as far as I understanding, is a consequence to the financial shock that hit the banks and economic core sometime autumn 2008. One of the biggest waves is flooding through the markets now, with eg 800k+ people in the uk expected to be unemployed this jan/feb. So, the wave is definitely here. Perhaps it is already too late. Certainly, I think we are being lifted by the wave, and my guess is, we needed to catch it by the end of this month, which means initial engagement with the powers that be needed to be done this week.
Because it is so late in the day when I got involved, as it were, I have had to develop a methodology that is in alignment with buddhist fundamentals. That is, from deep stuff within the self, to mindfulness and listening to one another in meetings, to awareness of what is without having to write endless reports about it, and to create simple and light opportunities for us to self-organise and manifest social movement. Most people are still under the delusion that they must create the movement. The principle learned is that there is movement, and this is obvious to us. The trick is to respond to it appropriately, collectively. That is, not creating another group or network or flag or whatever. That is, not writing a constitution or any documentation. That is, be fresh, be light, and connect with those who are already aware of the situation, already got their solutions and aware of the problems they are trying to solve.
The offering is simple, to avoid the problems. To work out the solutions as they occur. After all, we have so many skills, even to the point we are overskilled. We are over-informed. We have over-theorised. The time is ripe for action. The time is now, to catch this wave, concurrently.
So, given that I am not to use the phone here in the office because it is mainly an internal line, I am encouraged to go and visit the buildings where the decisions makers work. Of course, this approach is doomed to failure. There is no way I can just walk in and end up speaking to a VIP. However, I shall make it clear that I do not have the resources to phone, and the whole writing-up is self-defeating, and so I am in the rather innocent position of walking into their offices and asking to speak... to the queen, as it were.
What is my best approach? I am a maths teacher. I have learned about self-organising systems. And I have a solution to the nightmare that is the effect of the credit-crunch. It is not just a solution, it actually turns this social wave from a recession or depression into a social boon. And the way of manifesting it is simple. The opportunity will pass tomorrow, so it is up to someone there to listen and pass it up through the system.
These are my last few strokes, and I need to put into practice with absolute self-discipline the principles of action. No writing, no group, no proof. Engage people honestly, aware of who they are and the constraints of their post in the institution they are in. Point at what is, offer threshold 1, offer challenge to achieve trust for threshold 2, and idealise threshold 3. Honour the executive power of each person. Keep light, since the opportunity is nothing to mourn, it is something to respond to, this wave, which will lead to so much suffering unless this wave is caught, and perhaps in this manner. It is, after all, merely an offering.
The wave, as far as I understanding, is a consequence to the financial shock that hit the banks and economic core sometime autumn 2008. One of the biggest waves is flooding through the markets now, with eg 800k+ people in the uk expected to be unemployed this jan/feb. So, the wave is definitely here. Perhaps it is already too late. Certainly, I think we are being lifted by the wave, and my guess is, we needed to catch it by the end of this month, which means initial engagement with the powers that be needed to be done this week.
Because it is so late in the day when I got involved, as it were, I have had to develop a methodology that is in alignment with buddhist fundamentals. That is, from deep stuff within the self, to mindfulness and listening to one another in meetings, to awareness of what is without having to write endless reports about it, and to create simple and light opportunities for us to self-organise and manifest social movement. Most people are still under the delusion that they must create the movement. The principle learned is that there is movement, and this is obvious to us. The trick is to respond to it appropriately, collectively. That is, not creating another group or network or flag or whatever. That is, not writing a constitution or any documentation. That is, be fresh, be light, and connect with those who are already aware of the situation, already got their solutions and aware of the problems they are trying to solve.
The offering is simple, to avoid the problems. To work out the solutions as they occur. After all, we have so many skills, even to the point we are overskilled. We are over-informed. We have over-theorised. The time is ripe for action. The time is now, to catch this wave, concurrently.
So, given that I am not to use the phone here in the office because it is mainly an internal line, I am encouraged to go and visit the buildings where the decisions makers work. Of course, this approach is doomed to failure. There is no way I can just walk in and end up speaking to a VIP. However, I shall make it clear that I do not have the resources to phone, and the whole writing-up is self-defeating, and so I am in the rather innocent position of walking into their offices and asking to speak... to the queen, as it were.
What is my best approach? I am a maths teacher. I have learned about self-organising systems. And I have a solution to the nightmare that is the effect of the credit-crunch. It is not just a solution, it actually turns this social wave from a recession or depression into a social boon. And the way of manifesting it is simple. The opportunity will pass tomorrow, so it is up to someone there to listen and pass it up through the system.
These are my last few strokes, and I need to put into practice with absolute self-discipline the principles of action. No writing, no group, no proof. Engage people honestly, aware of who they are and the constraints of their post in the institution they are in. Point at what is, offer threshold 1, offer challenge to achieve trust for threshold 2, and idealise threshold 3. Honour the executive power of each person. Keep light, since the opportunity is nothing to mourn, it is something to respond to, this wave, which will lead to so much suffering unless this wave is caught, and perhaps in this manner. It is, after all, merely an offering.
Wednesday 21 January 2009
email response
So, I decided to respond to MIT open-course, and then responded to the requests for more information from lulu, liftshare and mybnk. I took time writing personal responses, outlining the idea. Quite useful for me, but if I had to do this with thousands, it would not be possible, and I would end up having to write generic mail. Again, I think this conforms to a principle which is to not extend beyond a small network. We should not be playing the one-to-many game which is demonstrated by TV and radio. This path leads to competition, as we can see in eg youtube, as if we are competing for the same market. The shift in consciousness is better exemplified by those who are personal, who have a few friends, and invest in them. The trick then, is to trust one another to connect up our friendship groups to manifest social collectives for particular purposes. Even the azaaz thing, is the wrong direction, or rather a direction that meets with some limited success.
Essentially, the people I spoke to on the phone yesterday, are the executives. Once we comprehend this, the entire system will be different. We are approaching this state, the trick is, will we manage it before things fall apart...?
So, here's an example of the email I sent off, in this case to cecilia at liftshare:
3
hello
cecilia
you are most kind to reply
and your appreciation of the idea
most appreciated
and i mean that
at this stage
that is all that i have to work with
the trick
as far as i can appreciate
is to find suitably empowered VIPs who are willing to act on hearing a good idea
to create the opportunity for self-organisation to prove itself
and thus we start a cycle of positive change
based on our experience
how can i describe what i am attempting to do?
to bring about social change
without being a group or company or network or any form of membership body
there seem to be plenty of services out there
which yours exemplifies
however
the basic paradigm in which you exist is that of competition
whereas
i believe that the principle upon which you exist is
co-operation
that means
that we need more people to be in this mindset
for your company and others like yours
to thrive...
hence
we need a critical mass of people
and we need them to use the services during a critical period of time
that is
for mindmass to phase
as it were
my contribution is simple:
i am pointing at the figure that economists are estimating
(800k+ people unemployed in the first two months of this year in the uk alone)
and thinking that is a huge potential energy
if it can be harnessed
that is
if that mass of people were directed into self-organising services
not only does it increase your flow-through and potential money-generation
but it creates a current of experientially developed individuals...
i can dream of other steps beyond this
but there is no need to get into detail regarding them
since the time is not right...
involving various self-organising groups like transition towns and life coach meetings etc
and further
manifesting a substantial current of individuals who are all effectively social entrepreneurs...
to come back to a first step
my attempts are to offer a list of self-organising services to local and national government
who in turn offer them to those who are becoming unemployed...
if this manifests as a step-change in member uptake
then we have proved something
and we may then contribute further in more direct co-operation
to manifest even greater levels of co-operation
and again
without actually forming a super-group or network or anything which involves membership
that is
the social manifestation occurs
we are all more aligned
and a positive cycle which we hear so much about in terms of theory
is actually happening...
the other organisations recommended include:
* wikipedia
* firefox
* school of everything
* make movement
* freecycle
* gumtree
* zopa
* mybnk
* zubka
* peopleperhour
* moneysavingexpert
* facebook: not sure if i want to contact these guys...
* tunecore
* tipjoy and twitter
* lulu
* phone co-op
* mit open coursework
this is not a definitive list
of course
and if things get to the point where they are actioned by government bodies in the next two weeks
then i shall be asking for assistance in generating a tighter list...
i hope this puts you in the picture
cecilia
or rather the opportunity which is being attempted
to turn this economic downturn to the benefit of self-organisation and thus as a consequence all of us...
be well!
david
Essentially, the people I spoke to on the phone yesterday, are the executives. Once we comprehend this, the entire system will be different. We are approaching this state, the trick is, will we manage it before things fall apart...?
So, here's an example of the email I sent off, in this case to cecilia at liftshare:
3
hello
cecilia
you are most kind to reply
and your appreciation of the idea
most appreciated
and i mean that
at this stage
that is all that i have to work with
the trick
as far as i can appreciate
is to find suitably empowered VIPs who are willing to act on hearing a good idea
to create the opportunity for self-organisation to prove itself
and thus we start a cycle of positive change
based on our experience
how can i describe what i am attempting to do?
to bring about social change
without being a group or company or network or any form of membership body
there seem to be plenty of services out there
which yours exemplifies
however
the basic paradigm in which you exist is that of competition
whereas
i believe that the principle upon which you exist is
co-operation
that means
that we need more people to be in this mindset
for your company and others like yours
to thrive...
hence
we need a critical mass of people
and we need them to use the services during a critical period of time
that is
for mindmass to phase
as it were
my contribution is simple:
i am pointing at the figure that economists are estimating
(800k+ people unemployed in the first two months of this year in the uk alone)
and thinking that is a huge potential energy
if it can be harnessed
that is
if that mass of people were directed into self-organising services
not only does it increase your flow-through and potential money-generation
but it creates a current of experientially developed individuals...
i can dream of other steps beyond this
but there is no need to get into detail regarding them
since the time is not right...
involving various self-organising groups like transition towns and life coach meetings etc
and further
manifesting a substantial current of individuals who are all effectively social entrepreneurs...
to come back to a first step
my attempts are to offer a list of self-organising services to local and national government
who in turn offer them to those who are becoming unemployed...
if this manifests as a step-change in member uptake
then we have proved something
and we may then contribute further in more direct co-operation
to manifest even greater levels of co-operation
and again
without actually forming a super-group or network or anything which involves membership
that is
the social manifestation occurs
we are all more aligned
and a positive cycle which we hear so much about in terms of theory
is actually happening...
the other organisations recommended include:
* wikipedia
* firefox
* school of everything
* make movement
* freecycle
* gumtree
* zopa
* mybnk
* zubka
* peopleperhour
* moneysavingexpert
* facebook: not sure if i want to contact these guys...
* tunecore
* tipjoy and twitter
* lulu
* phone co-op
* mit open coursework
this is not a definitive list
of course
and if things get to the point where they are actioned by government bodies in the next two weeks
then i shall be asking for assistance in generating a tighter list...
i hope this puts you in the picture
cecilia
or rather the opportunity which is being attempted
to turn this economic downturn to the benefit of self-organisation and thus as a consequence all of us...
be well!
david
mit open-course
1
i sent a generic email to mit open course
and got this email back
2
Dear David,
Thank you for your interest in MIT OpenCourseWare. We are open to find new ways to extend the reach of our content. Kindly advise me the project you have in mind and which other organizations may be involved.
Regards,
Yvonne
3
for some reason
after the phone issue
i decided to write a response...
which then followed with responses to the other email requests for information
i sent a generic email to mit open course
and got this email back
2
Dear David,
Thank you for your interest in MIT OpenCourseWare. We are open to find new ways to extend the reach of our content. Kindly advise me the project you have in mind and which other organizations may be involved.
Regards,
Yvonne
3
for some reason
after the phone issue
i decided to write a response...
which then followed with responses to the other email requests for information
phone limitations
Hmmm.... Just got into the office, and the chap who runs the hive, Mitchell, asks to have a word in private. He tells me that I was using the phone yesterday and this was a problem. He explained that it was effectively an incoming line, and that my constant use of it over two hours yesterday afternoon, my first attempt to contact live people in local and national government, was a problem. He suggested I should look into alternatives.
I am unemployed. I am using this office-space without paying. My computer has been here for some months, while I was in Thailand, for the use of anyone who needed it really, so I think I have some right in being here for a little while and using the services. I wouldn't even mind paying the phone bill... I just eat beans for a month :)
So, I am not sure how to progress. I would like to think there is a positivity and things feedback so that I can take the thing one step further. This does not seem to be the case. I had hoped that I get the support from melanin and the hive, and this is a little problematic. I shall attempt to use skype to conduct the business calls, and we shall see if that works. Mamading is not about, so I am not sure how to align phone with my skype account. Hmmm...
One of the principles I am operating is that I need only go forwards based on a positive conditions. That is, the people whom I spoked to yesterday, even given their position within government, attempted to offer alternative approaches for me such that I can continue with the fulfilment of this idea. They did not block, and though I did not follow the procedure, they came up with a possible avenues for me to progress.
Even Mitchel attempted to assist me to finding an alternative mode of communication. Very kind of him.
Although there is no great supporting energy, I make my lone way, slowly, in the storm, passing from door to door, hoping that my efforts meet with those who might appreciate them, that is, they recognise that I am here to help, and that this proposed solution and manner of implementation is simple and elegant enough to work.
I am unemployed. I am using this office-space without paying. My computer has been here for some months, while I was in Thailand, for the use of anyone who needed it really, so I think I have some right in being here for a little while and using the services. I wouldn't even mind paying the phone bill... I just eat beans for a month :)
So, I am not sure how to progress. I would like to think there is a positivity and things feedback so that I can take the thing one step further. This does not seem to be the case. I had hoped that I get the support from melanin and the hive, and this is a little problematic. I shall attempt to use skype to conduct the business calls, and we shall see if that works. Mamading is not about, so I am not sure how to align phone with my skype account. Hmmm...
One of the principles I am operating is that I need only go forwards based on a positive conditions. That is, the people whom I spoked to yesterday, even given their position within government, attempted to offer alternative approaches for me such that I can continue with the fulfilment of this idea. They did not block, and though I did not follow the procedure, they came up with a possible avenues for me to progress.
Even Mitchel attempted to assist me to finding an alternative mode of communication. Very kind of him.
Although there is no great supporting energy, I make my lone way, slowly, in the storm, passing from door to door, hoping that my efforts meet with those who might appreciate them, that is, they recognise that I am here to help, and that this proposed solution and manner of implementation is simple and elegant enough to work.
Tuesday 20 January 2009
dwp executive office
Spoke to a nice chap called Oliver at the executive offices of Department for work and Pensions. He was not in an official position to make a decision, and so at first he suggested that I should write information about the idea. I told him about the manner of my engagement, and the ideal or principle I am following, and he was very kind in trying to work out a solution that was mutually agreeable.
He finally suggested I speak to external managers, Darren Woolfenden and John Reid of London and Scotland respectively. I thanked him and asked how he would like to leave it and so I gave the contact of this blog. I found myself apologising for its state, since it is not something which looks very convincing. After all, I am merely an individual, and any form of organisational structure goes against the potential of realisation of the idea. I thought about putting a link to stuff I wrote last week, and perhaps, Oliver, you might want to check it and give some feedback :)
http://www.43things.com/things/view/2375192/emplayment-a-positive-credit-crunch-confluence
for the initial idea
and
http://www.43things.com/things/view/2388695/swell-the-wave
for processural learning...
So far, I have talked with two or three people. They are all very nice, though they are definitely constrained by the system in which they are in. After all, they are employed to carry out such and such a process. I find that those lower down the structure are more constrained, they have little executive decision-making power. What I am suggesting, is that I am happy to give them this executive power. In fact, I was ready to leave something alone when I spoke to Lucy at the GLA. Her advice, Olivers, meant that my idea or principle would miss the opportunity, that of implementing an idea to deal with the expected 800k+ people in these two first months of 2009. They recognised this, and hence I asked them to come up with an alternative. They have both been lovely in trying to help.
It is actually very uplifting. I believe that by honouring the person, genuinely, we can make substantial progress. For example, I would be happy to include Lucy or Oliver in any executive meeting should one ever materialise, if they believe they have something useful to contribute.
So, no matter what happens, whatever the outcomes, I am happy with the genuine response of humanity I have engaged today.
He finally suggested I speak to external managers, Darren Woolfenden and John Reid of London and Scotland respectively. I thanked him and asked how he would like to leave it and so I gave the contact of this blog. I found myself apologising for its state, since it is not something which looks very convincing. After all, I am merely an individual, and any form of organisational structure goes against the potential of realisation of the idea. I thought about putting a link to stuff I wrote last week, and perhaps, Oliver, you might want to check it and give some feedback :)
http://www.43things.com/things/view/2375192/emplayment-a-positive-credit-crunch-confluence
for the initial idea
and
http://www.43things.com/things/view/2388695/swell-the-wave
for processural learning...
So far, I have talked with two or three people. They are all very nice, though they are definitely constrained by the system in which they are in. After all, they are employed to carry out such and such a process. I find that those lower down the structure are more constrained, they have little executive decision-making power. What I am suggesting, is that I am happy to give them this executive power. In fact, I was ready to leave something alone when I spoke to Lucy at the GLA. Her advice, Olivers, meant that my idea or principle would miss the opportunity, that of implementing an idea to deal with the expected 800k+ people in these two first months of 2009. They recognised this, and hence I asked them to come up with an alternative. They have both been lovely in trying to help.
It is actually very uplifting. I believe that by honouring the person, genuinely, we can make substantial progress. For example, I would be happy to include Lucy or Oliver in any executive meeting should one ever materialise, if they believe they have something useful to contribute.
So, no matter what happens, whatever the outcomes, I am happy with the genuine response of humanity I have engaged today.
Monday 19 January 2009
no change
Since last Friday, there has been no change. My emails have not been returned. I was hoping to have a few more leads, like those below... but so far nothing. I sent off generic emails to various organisations, specifically government or council bodies. Clearly, they are not as efficient as the NGO's who have replied sharpish.
This indicates the order of the problem. I shall pursue the contact through the bottom-up approach, through Dillon, and see how far that goes. From tomorrow, I shall attempt a more direct approach, trying to phone and speak to the people who make the decisions. Towards the end of the week, I shall visit their offices with the hope that I can catch someone in the organisation if not the decision-maker.
Some initial wording, which I have given up on: emplayment, and the wave. The problem with writing is that it begins the seeding process that leads to accretion.
This indicates the order of the problem. I shall pursue the contact through the bottom-up approach, through Dillon, and see how far that goes. From tomorrow, I shall attempt a more direct approach, trying to phone and speak to the people who make the decisions. Towards the end of the week, I shall visit their offices with the hope that I can catch someone in the organisation if not the decision-maker.
Some initial wording, which I have given up on: emplayment, and the wave. The problem with writing is that it begins the seeding process that leads to accretion.
Friday 16 January 2009
contacting mybnk
1
generic email to mybnk
tipped by sophia
and got this reply
2
Hello David,
Thanks for your email. Please do email me directly with more information regaring your initiative, or you can call me on either of the numbers below and leave a message if I am unavailable.
Thanks,
Sharan Jaswal
Education Project Manager
3
again
the request for more information...
generic email to mybnk
tipped by sophia
and got this reply
2
Hello David,
Thanks for your email. Please do email me directly with more information regaring your initiative, or you can call me on either of the numbers below and leave a message if I am unavailable.
Thanks,
Sharan Jaswal
Education Project Manager
3
again
the request for more information...
contacting liftshare
1
generic email to liftshare
and receive this response:
2
Hi David -
Thanks for your message. I am probably the best place to start.
I would be interested to know more about the initiative - it sounds like a
very good idea.
Best wishes,
Cecilia
Cecilia Bromley-Martin | Communications & PR Manager | liftshare
3
like the lulu one
what do i say?
generic email to liftshare
and receive this response:
2
Hi David -
Thanks for your message. I am probably the best place to start.
I would be interested to know more about the initiative - it sounds like a
very good idea.
Best wishes,
Cecilia
Cecilia Bromley-Martin | Communications & PR Manager | liftshare
3
like the lulu one
what do i say?
contacting lulu
1
generic email to lulu
and they respond initially with
2
Dear David, thanks for your email.
Can you tell me which kind of cooperation you'd like to have with us, so that I can understand who's the right person for you?
Thanks.
Eleonora Gandini
3
not sure if i want to get involved with explanations
but i have to offer something surely...
any ideas anyone?
generic email to lulu
and they respond initially with
2
Dear David, thanks for your email.
Can you tell me which kind of cooperation you'd like to have with us, so that I can understand who's the right person for you?
Thanks.
Eleonora Gandini
3
not sure if i want to get involved with explanations
but i have to offer something surely...
any ideas anyone?
contacting freecycle
1
sent a message to freecycle
and got this back
2
David,
You may contact Neil Morris our UK Director who is copied on this email. Membership is open to all, of course, and a great deal of disadvantaged citizens and nonprofits assisting the same use our web services. We are free, nonprofit and address things pretty much as you describe. You may certainly link to us or reference us if you like.
Deron Beal
3
will wait to see if neil gets into contact
or if we need to contact him...
sent a message to freecycle
and got this back
2
David,
You may contact Neil Morris our UK Director who is copied on this email. Membership is open to all, of course, and a great deal of disadvantaged citizens and nonprofits assisting the same use our web services. We are free, nonprofit and address things pretty much as you describe. You may certainly link to us or reference us if you like.
Deron Beal
3
will wait to see if neil gets into contact
or if we need to contact him...
Thursday 15 January 2009
bottom-up government
Today was a day of waiting. I left the house at 10:30am and got back at 5:30pm spending most of the day waiting. I was signing on, claiming housing benefit. The entire day was not wasted, however, since I met Dillon at the Job Centre Plus.
Dillon was very nice, and he helped me out with various transferal forms which I needed to complete from Edinburgh to London. I explained some aspects of The Wave, and he verified that the institution was slow in trying to deal with the expected number of unemployed. He suggested at first that I speak to others, but I made it clear that I was not going to put things into writing and if we managed to make an appointment with anyone higher up, I hoped he might take part. He was open to the idea and contributed his assistance. I returned later that day, but he was busy and I ended up having to wait for an hour.
There is a possibility that he might make contact with people he has worked with who are further up the decision ladder. It will be interesting. I will, of course, be trying to approach those further up myself independently.
Although I took pains to describe the situation even to the point that our mode of communication defeated our attempts, his talking about my idea or planting a seed in his head. I can only emphasise that it is a matter of looking at the external conditions and for each of us to respond to it. It really is as simple as that. Then we look around to see what we are doing, and if we are listening to one another, we will find that all the ideas, all the services, all our skills, are more than enough to deal with this situation. And indeed, to strengthen our social ties because of it. In times of war, we bond socially. We face a major problem: let us come together. Together we can ride this wave.
Remember, we only have a week or two to get this thing happening.
090120
Dillon hasn't been able to contact David, someone he has worked with in the past who occupies a position higher up the system. I invited him to come to the hive, and he might turn up tomorrow afternoon. Meanwhile, I am going to try to hit the Department of Work and Pensions.
Looking around their site, I find there is no phone number, and it is all bottled through a single email entry. There is an address, but I suspect this is just for mail, and it will not be the base for the department. It is like a moat. There is only one way in. How on earth do we go about trying to communicate to eg Rt Hnr James Purnell, or anyone in the executive committee (http://www.dwp.gov.uk/aboutus/executiveteam.asp)?
This is going to be trickier than I thought. I thought I could at least talk with someone on the phone. Oh dear.
Dillon was very nice, and he helped me out with various transferal forms which I needed to complete from Edinburgh to London. I explained some aspects of The Wave, and he verified that the institution was slow in trying to deal with the expected number of unemployed. He suggested at first that I speak to others, but I made it clear that I was not going to put things into writing and if we managed to make an appointment with anyone higher up, I hoped he might take part. He was open to the idea and contributed his assistance. I returned later that day, but he was busy and I ended up having to wait for an hour.
There is a possibility that he might make contact with people he has worked with who are further up the decision ladder. It will be interesting. I will, of course, be trying to approach those further up myself independently.
Although I took pains to describe the situation even to the point that our mode of communication defeated our attempts, his talking about my idea or planting a seed in his head. I can only emphasise that it is a matter of looking at the external conditions and for each of us to respond to it. It really is as simple as that. Then we look around to see what we are doing, and if we are listening to one another, we will find that all the ideas, all the services, all our skills, are more than enough to deal with this situation. And indeed, to strengthen our social ties because of it. In times of war, we bond socially. We face a major problem: let us come together. Together we can ride this wave.
Remember, we only have a week or two to get this thing happening.
090120
Dillon hasn't been able to contact David, someone he has worked with in the past who occupies a position higher up the system. I invited him to come to the hive, and he might turn up tomorrow afternoon. Meanwhile, I am going to try to hit the Department of Work and Pensions.
Looking around their site, I find there is no phone number, and it is all bottled through a single email entry. There is an address, but I suspect this is just for mail, and it will not be the base for the department. It is like a moat. There is only one way in. How on earth do we go about trying to communicate to eg Rt Hnr James Purnell, or anyone in the executive committee (http://www.dwp.gov.uk/aboutus/executiveteam.asp)?
This is going to be trickier than I thought. I thought I could at least talk with someone on the phone. Oh dear.
mediawiki
1
sent generic email
and go this back:
2
Dear david pinto,
Thank you for your email.
david pinto wrote:
hello
i am in contact with national and local government representatives
and promoting wikipedia and wikis in general
as part of a self-organised way to deal with the credit crunch
that is
i hope to provide a link to wikipedia for those who are recently made
unemployed
as part of a programme to educate people and improve the chance of
what i call social confluence
i have just returned from thailand
from writing a relationship between buddhism and maths
and i find that the economic situation is as it is
i believe wikipedia is a leading example of co-operation or confluence
could you please advise me on how this may be best achieved?
what may the start page be?
should there be some kind of introductory portal?
much appreciation for the time you have taken to read this
be well
david
______________________________
if those in the future look back upon us
upon our unique place in human history
what would one say to them...?
Wikipedia isn't in the business of self-help or how-to, so I'm not sure what
page you should link to.
Yours sincerely,
John Reaves
sent generic email
and go this back:
2
Dear david pinto,
Thank you for your email.
david pinto
hello
i am in contact with national and local government representatives
and promoting wikipedia and wikis in general
as part of a self-organised way to deal with the credit crunch
that is
i hope to provide a link to wikipedia for those who are recently made
unemployed
as part of a programme to educate people and improve the chance of
what i call social confluence
i have just returned from thailand
from writing a relationship between buddhism and maths
and i find that the economic situation is as it is
i believe wikipedia is a leading example of co-operation or confluence
could you please advise me on how this may be best achieved?
what may the start page be?
should there be some kind of introductory portal?
much appreciation for the time you have taken to read this
be well
david
______________________________
if those in the future look back upon us
upon our unique place in human history
what would one say to them...?
Wikipedia isn't in the business of self-help or how-to, so I'm not sure what
page you should link to.
Yours sincerely,
John Reaves
methodology
(This is a copy of the material written down in a google doc. The objective of this blog is to report what we have done, rather than strategise or share contact information. You are most welcome to take part in the google doc, by sending a message to me. In fact, if the wave is to manifest, then your thoughts need to be on that doc, and your actions written here. If the wave swells, the doc will most likely become a wiki, but again, with the following principle: what is important is what we do in the real world when we engage one another -- everything else is just opinion and thought.)
Don't write stuff down. Like this, hehehe. I am writing this because I am bored, since I can't go ahead and talk to people because I don't know who they are, and I don't have contact details. Hopefully I shall find a few names, and hopefully they shall be chosen by others. I will then spend a week trying to get into their offices. When an appointment is made, we might consider this to be a success. I shall then invite whoever might be suitable and available to come. Every individual prepares for the meeting, but there is no "group" that turns up and certainly whatever thoughts we have, they have not been agreed upon. We approach the meeting free, inviting the potential for the best solution to be found, ideally invented in the meeting as this unique combination of individuals share their perspectives.
If a meeting with a VIP is managed, either through working up internally through the institution or just by a combination of luck and perseverance, I shall present them the list of recommended sites with the intention that they are distributed through their network or institution. If we are talking about government, then I might ask that this list be given to everyone who is unemployed. Instead of the distribution being conducted internally, a decision may be made to outsource it to us or an individual in the meeting, who prints them and then distributes them, or perhaps creates a website or whatever, and then all the institution need do is point at it. However, I do not expect anyone to trust us. I would rather we just offer what we can free with no major obligation on their part. We may ask for their assistance or support in a future projection, ie their name so when we approach another group we can say we have their support but even this may be too much to expect. My impression is, we need to offer some way for them to trust us, and by us, I mean the self-organising collective. It is like a challenge to us, to prove that we can muster action. Like we get 100k people to hit a site in a week, or we get 1k people to join a group in facebook; the point being that there is no group, but it is a mobilisation of different unaffiliated networks. We are talking mind-mass and time, the same nature of movement in the real world because of the credit crunch.
Such a task serves two purposes: to wake up the community at large to direct action, and to win the trust of the VIP. A further meeting then may allow them more trust and participation, perhaps coming up with potential solutions to realise the second and third thresholds.
Don't write stuff down. Like this, hehehe. I am writing this because I am bored, since I can't go ahead and talk to people because I don't know who they are, and I don't have contact details. Hopefully I shall find a few names, and hopefully they shall be chosen by others. I will then spend a week trying to get into their offices. When an appointment is made, we might consider this to be a success. I shall then invite whoever might be suitable and available to come. Every individual prepares for the meeting, but there is no "group" that turns up and certainly whatever thoughts we have, they have not been agreed upon. We approach the meeting free, inviting the potential for the best solution to be found, ideally invented in the meeting as this unique combination of individuals share their perspectives.
If a meeting with a VIP is managed, either through working up internally through the institution or just by a combination of luck and perseverance, I shall present them the list of recommended sites with the intention that they are distributed through their network or institution. If we are talking about government, then I might ask that this list be given to everyone who is unemployed. Instead of the distribution being conducted internally, a decision may be made to outsource it to us or an individual in the meeting, who prints them and then distributes them, or perhaps creates a website or whatever, and then all the institution need do is point at it. However, I do not expect anyone to trust us. I would rather we just offer what we can free with no major obligation on their part. We may ask for their assistance or support in a future projection, ie their name so when we approach another group we can say we have their support but even this may be too much to expect. My impression is, we need to offer some way for them to trust us, and by us, I mean the self-organising collective. It is like a challenge to us, to prove that we can muster action. Like we get 100k people to hit a site in a week, or we get 1k people to join a group in facebook; the point being that there is no group, but it is a mobilisation of different unaffiliated networks. We are talking mind-mass and time, the same nature of movement in the real world because of the credit crunch.
Such a task serves two purposes: to wake up the community at large to direct action, and to win the trust of the VIP. A further meeting then may allow them more trust and participation, perhaps coming up with potential solutions to realise the second and third thresholds.
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