stark REALITY check

at the Crossroads of Philosophy and Faith

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  • On the chart below you will find new technologies that enhanced our way to spread a message.

    Communication History

    x = the documented year it was introduced
    y = the number of years for the new technology to reach 50 Million users

    Verbal communications? 65,000,000 BCE
    Cave drawings 30,000 BCE
    Papyrus/Parchment 3,000 BCE
    Books 600 BCE
    ____________________







    ________________
    Years to reach 50 million users
    mySpace 4 years
    iPod 3 years
    twitter 3 years
    facebook 2 years

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  • The other day Joe Shoemaker wondered publicly on twitter why it was important to get #Indiana2Trend.

    From Joe: “I really don’t understand the need to have #Indiana as a trending topic. Seems synthetic to just add it haphazardly in tweets.”

    I answered on twitter and a rousing conversation ensued about why TWITTER is important and how its strategic focused use can help Indiana remain relevant in the 21st century.

    The parts of the conversation I transcribed below show just a few tweets from me and Joe, but there were several other tweeters – especially @NatFinn from nwindiana – who joined the conversation.  I promised to post a blog about my reasoning because sometimes 140 characters are not enough.

    Monday evening — January 11, 2010

    From Joe Shoemaker: Assembling twitter junkies? Reeks of “follow me” requests. Compel me. Otherwise, just #bandwagoning.

    From me  (Amy Stark):  it’s important because of the infrastructure history of communications. [right now] There are potentially 4 Billion twitter ready devices.

    As a species we are connected GLOBALLY at the grassroots level for the first time in recorded history.

    Even if 90% of all tweeters [participate] in the #bandwagoning crap – that leaves 10% of tweeters who realize it is an evolutionary game changer.

    ~~~

    Joe asked: @natfinn @amystark @daltonsbriefs What game is being changed by having #Indiana trend? What’s the purpose? What’s the intention?

    I tweeted : Having #Indiana trend isn’t the game changer. [But] Global grassroots communication at the speed of light is a BIG ass game changer. [My intent was] to bring #Indiana together with one voice to participate in the global dialog taking place round the clock on twitter.

    ~~~

    Joe then asked: one voice ABOUT WHAT?!?

    I responded : a [voice] to keep #Indiana relevant in an INFORMATION based global economy vs. an industrial based economy.

    The conversation went on without me as I was called away from the computer to tend to mundane items.

    When I sat down to write the words to compel Joe  it overwhelmed me. In order to understand the whys of my actions and passionate advocacy of twitter someone would have to understand:

    • Internet infrastructure
    • The history of communications
    • The concept of bridging social capital

    I decided to cogitate for awhile and gather the most compelling words out there.  The next time I sat down to carefully craft a post, I started thinking of even more things that would need to be clearly understood:

    • The exponential growth of connected digital devices
    • How diversity and connectivity will SUPERCHARGE innovation
    • How post-Internet time is measured differently <= perhaps the most important concept to fully appreciate and yet the most difficult to understand

    Then my daughter Sarah walked by and seeing her reminded me:

    • For every one Sarah there are 1,300 kids just like her in China- the largest English speaking country in the world
    • India is selling 15 Million cell phones PER MONTH
    • Sarah will not only have to compete with kids in the U.S. but kids GLOBALLY who are ALL growing up digitally connected

    Indiana has always been a slow and steady wins the race kinda state, it’s part of our charm. I love Indiana and want it to continue to win — but slow and steady may not serve us well in the post-Internet  INformation-based Global economy.

    We don’t have to be part of the bleeding edge of social media communications – that was so last year, anyhow — but we MUST keep ahead of the crowd if we want to thrive in this new world.

    The most convenient platform to learn social media skills – at this moment in post-Internet time — is twitter. Very basic interface – ubiquitous access – most potential devices out there.

    I will write more about those building blocks of understanding.

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  • Introduction

    What type of life do you think Stephen W. Hawking would have experienced if he had lived in the early 19th Century? How many ideas have been lost over time, simply because there was no outlet for their expression?

    New technologies are providing greater accessibility to the expressions of physically, mentally and socio-economically challenged individuals globally. These technologies promote learning within the boundaries of certain restrictions, and they provide a forum through which these individuals can share ideas. At the beginning of the 21st Century, Professor Peter David Blanck presented a statement to the US House of Representatives Subcommittee on the Constitution saying that, “increased accessibility to private Internet web sites and services may have yet undiscovered benefits to society.” (Blanck. 2000. p. 1).

    At its very core, the Internet is a heterogeneous collaborative space, which encourages exploration and provides a medium through which people may share ideas. But what are we exploring and what sort of collaboration is worthy of this tool?

    Every societal paradigm shift that benefited our species began with an idea. Thoughts and ideas translate easily into bits of information, and mass global-communication technologies provide an infrastructure to move those bits around the world within a matter of seconds. Ten years ago Nicholas Negroponte–who currently is spearheading the One Laptop Per Child Initiative –stated, “The change from atoms to bits is irrevocable and unstoppable […] small differences of yesterday can have suddenly shocking consequences tomorrow.” (Negroponte. 1995. p. 1). Negroponte, a professor and founder of the MIT Media Lab, defines a “bit”– written as a 1 or 0— as the “DNA of Information.”

    Bits travel more efficiently, as atoms are quite massive–rendering them difficult and costly to transport. Bits also have a greater capacity to store information compared to chromosomes. At the speed of light, mass global-communication technology—referred to as MGC throughout this discussion–can deliver: ideas, literature, art,history, religion, music, educational curricula— or virtually everything not made of matter! Robert Austin, an associate professor at Harvard Business School, states, “This has the potential to supercharge innovation, because we can prototype more ideas and share them with each other much more rapidly.” (Grant. 2005. p. 1) Austin was directing his message to the for-profit sector, but it is the nonprofit sector that has a better track record for innovations. Small nonprofit associational-groups precipitated several major paradigm shifts throughout recorded history including: the civil rights movement, all religious denominations, and the formation of the United States, to highlight only three.

    In order for a specific innovation to catch on—both good and bad–the information regarding this idea must become “habitually and conveniently” available to the public. According to Alexis de Tocqueville, “nothing but a newspaper can drop the same thought into a thousand minds at the same moment.” (Appendix II) What about a million minds at the speed of light? Within a matter of months, new technologies will be introduced that may change entire communities, hopefully for the better. With this research, I examined the importance of two common uses of MGC for nonprofits—E-Fundraising and E-Marketing. I also reviewed Ephilanthropy through the lens of one of its primary sub-sectors– Education. I then examined the premise that Bridging Social Capital is alive and well, and thriving on the Internet–providing diverse communities a space where they can habitually and conveniently promote ideas. If nonprofit organizations wish to remain a vital sector in modern culture, they must embrace these new technologies and harness its potential.

    IUPUI Summer 2007 Introduction. E-Philanthropy: Current trends in the use of Mass Global Communication devices, and the opportunities they offer to nonprofit innovation.

    By Amy Stark- Masters Candidate

    What type of life do you think Stephen W. Hawking would have experienced if he had

    lived in the early 19th Century? How many ideas have been lost over time, simply because there

    was no outlet for their expression?

    New technologies are providing greater accessibility to the

    expressions of physically, mentally and socio-economically challenged individuals globally.

    These technologies promote learning within the boundaries of certain restrictions, and they

    provide a forum through which these individuals can share ideas. At the beginning of the 21st

    Century, Professor Peter David Blanck presented a statement to the US House of Representatives

    Subcommittee on the Constitution saying that, “increased accessibility to private Internet web

    sites and services may have yet undiscovered benefits to society.” (Blanck. 2000. p. 1).

    At its very core, the Internet is a heterogeneous collaborative space, which encourages exploration and provides a medium through which people may share ideas. But what are we exploring and what

    sort of collaboration is worthy of this tool?

    Every societal paradigm shift that benefited our species began with an idea. Thoughts

    and ideas translate easily into bits of information, and mass global-communication technologies

    provide an infrastructure to move those bits around the world within a matter of seconds. Ten

    years ago Nicholas Negroponte–who currently is spearheading the One Laptop Per Child

    Initiative–stated, “The change from atoms to bits is irrevocable and unstoppable […] small

    differences of yesterday can have suddenly shocking consequences tomorrow.” (Negroponte.

    1995. p. 1). Negroponte, a professor and founder of the MIT Media Lab, defines a “bit”– written

    as a 1 or 0— as the “DNA of Information.”

    Bits travel more efficiently, as atoms are quite massive–rendering them difficult and costly to transport. Bits also have a greater capacity to store information compared to chromosomes. At the speed of light, mass global-communication technology—referred to as MGC throughout this discussion–can deliver: ideas, literature, art,history, religion, music, educational curricula— or virtually everything not made of matter! Robert Austin, an associate professor at Harvard Business School, states, “This has the

    potential to supercharge innovation, because we can prototype more ideas and share them with

    each other much more rapidly.” (Grant. 2005. p. 1) Austin was directing his message to the for-profit

    sector, but it is the nonprofit sector that has a better track record for innovations. Small nonprofit associational-groups precipitated several major paradigm shifts throughout recorded history including: the civil rights movement, all religious denominations, and the formation of the United States, to highlight only three.

    In order for a specific innovation to catch on—both good and bad–the information

    regarding this idea must become “habitually and conveniently” available to the public.

    According to Alexis de Tocqueville, “nothing but a newspaper can drop the same thought into a

    thousand minds at the same moment.” (Appendix II) What about a million minds at the speed of

    light? Within a matter of months, new technologies will be introduced that may change entire

    communities, hopefully for the better. With this research, I examined the importance of two

    common uses of MGC for nonprofits—E-Fundraising and E-Marketing. I also reviewed EPhilanthropy

    through the lens of one of its primary sub-sectors– Education. I then examined the

    premise that Bridging Social Capital is alive and well, and thriving on the Internet–providing

    diverse communities a space where they can habitually and conveniently promote ideas. If

    nonprofit organizations wish to remain a vital sector in modern culture, they must embrace these

    new technologies and harness its potential.

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stark REALITY check

at the Crossroads of Philosophy and Faith

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at the Crossroads of Philosophy and Faith

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Lewis Hine

Lewis W. Hine studied sociology before moving to New York in 1901 to work at the Ethical Culture School, where he took up photography to enhance his teaching practices

Photo of a woman worker.