record bugs and suggestions here

The "alpha" version of our website is here: http://myblink.org/. Please record any problems or suggestions as comments here. I have already suggested two items:

1. Make the tagline something like this: "BLink links organizations, issues, and people in the Greater Boston Area for social change."

2. Instead of using the word "node" anywhere in the site (for instance, "add a node," or "recent nodes"), use the word "BLink." You add a "BLink" to the map when you add an organization or an issue. Each dot on the interactive map is a BLink.

Changes in these items are welcome.

MDAO; Somerville and beyond

For a new node, I've added the Middlesex District Attorney's Office. I figured I'd share this, because I don't think many people would view this type of governmental organization as really doing much in the way of aiding Somerville's economic hardships, or any city within Middlesex for that matter, but after working with them for several months, I can tell you it is just the opposite. They have pursued several different initiatives and ideas to begin implementing new programs to either replace or in-conjunction with older ones, that will essentially save funds for years to come. For example, the juvenile diversion program that his run through the Cambridge Court House saves countless hours of the police from coming into courthouse, from the assistant district attorneys of having to go into the courtroom and prosecute the offenders, from the different advocates within the court, from the parents that must take time off from work and sit all day in the court, and so on. It's very much a rippling effect, that unless someone really knew about it, would never quite get the impact that it has in a financial manner.

I think being able to expand to other organizations and institutions that aren't solely in Somerville is still extremely beneficial, as there are many institutes like the MDAO that don't necessarily do work strictly in Somerville, but definitely do plenty to affect it. It's awesome to see that we now are moving in this direction, and I can't wait to see our final product as it expands with the reaches of Somerville and every hand that has a part in its makeup.

Identifying Overlooked Local Assets

Using the Asset Based Community Development Guide to Mobilizing Local Assets has really been a beneficial tool to assess the current standing of our map, helping me to identify the strengths and weaknesses as we approach turning the map over toward the users. On page 19, entitled “Connecting Organizational Assets to Community Assets,” there is a categorized listing of all different types of assets that might exist within an organization. The different categories include personnel, constituents, space and facilities, expertise, networks of connections, materials and equipment, and economic power. By analyzing these categories separately, we can think creatively about different ways to engage the community. For example, the “expertise” section is further broken down into “classes,” “educational workshops,” and “training courses.” Before reading the ABCD Guide, I had not thought about different community classes as a potential node on our map. However, an art class might be the ideal group to target for a social justice mural to be painted in the community, for example. Looking at the variety of different assets identified in this guide—expanding from just organizations, people, or ideas—can help us think creatively to ensure that this community map reaches its full potential.

The Anti-Social-Network Social Network

After reading Jenn's post on social networking in advertising, and after seeing the advertisement which equated hotel lobbies to social networking it made me think about this article I read in the New York Times last week about a variation on social networking sites.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/the-anti-social-network-social-network/

The article explains that there is a new social networking site named By/Association which has striped down the facebook social networking format to create a site specifically for the expansion of "social horizons." The idea is similar to a hotel lobby as well were professionals and "creative types" can reach out to people outside of their industry to people that they might never have the chance to meet. I like the idea because its a professional environment which promotes social out reach beyond the "people you know" button.

It's also interesting that the site does not include pictures or profiles which have become standards in the facebook format or dating sites. I think its food for thought to maybe think outside of the "facebook" box.

Site Online!

I think that is very exciting to have the site finally be interactive and online, even if only in a test mode. I've explored Blink and clicked on just about everything. I am very glad to see a geographical map on the page that will hold 'Opportunities.' I know we had been talking about needing a geographical representation, but I wasn't sure where it would end up. I also like the idea that with it on this page, when events are created, they can be tagged directly on the map, so when people click on them, the map will tell them where it will take place. I think that the map is really excellent. We played around with it in the last class, but after exploring it a little further, I like how it functions. I'm glad that there is more focus on the nodes closer to the innermost circle, however, it would be good to be able to click on fringe nodes.

I think that there is clearly a lot of work to be done with the nodes themselves however. I understand the goal of the final assignment, to add more nodes and to interact with the site. However, I believe that it is equally important to clean up the nodes that already exist. Many do not have all the links to other nodes that we know exist. There are duplicates and typos which make the site look less reliable, and therefore less likely to be used and trusted as a legitimate resource.

More on Social Capital

It seems like all my classes are intertwining lately. While researching for my Senior Thesis, I came across this great article on the Government Technology magazine website, entitled "Social Capital: Technology's Impact on Society" by Robert Bell that referenced a lot of the studies we discussed in class such as Nie's work and Netville. I liked it a lot because it combined their conclusions with more updated information, which I know was a criticism we all made of the original pieces. I really enjoyed a quote Bell made about the new generations growing up with the Internet. He references another study writing, "The Net generation is in many ways the antithesis of the TV generation... Rather than leaning back on the couch as passive consumers of media, they lean forward to interact, choose and challenge." I am curious how such generational differences will play out on our network map, will our map help this Net generation more, or can it span different age groups? Anyways, the Bell article is pretty short and definitely worth a look. Check it out at: http://www.govtech.com/gt/734063?id=734063&topic=117673&full=1&story_pg=1

Clay Shirky video

Below is an awesome video discussing the effects web 2.0 has on coordination of institutions: http://www.ted.com/talks/clay_shirky_on_institutions_versus_collaboration.html

The description of the video reads as follows:
In this prescient 2005 talk, Clay Shirky shows how closed groups and companies will give way to looser networks where small contributors have big roles and fluid cooperation replaces rigid planning.

It is a great summary of a lot of issues we have talked about class, such as how institution costs are shed with these new online networks. Shirky also focuses on the power law distribution, and the value of the smaller end of the spectrum, something we have not discussed much in class. He explains that in normal corporations, employees who only contribute one idea are a waste of resources but on networks online, a user who only contributes one idea does not cost anything extra, and in fact, a bunch of users who do that is actually a very valuable asset. Similarly, while creating our map, although it is easy to focus on big nodes, all those smaller nodes are valuable too, even if each organization contributes minimally. Check out the video if you want to hear more!