December 6, 2008
Status Update
The new web page is up and ready for regular use. As a result this blog is being moved to the new web page. From now on the Thinker's Party blog is located here. Check in over there from now on for updates.
November 25, 2008
Beta Testers Wanted
The beta version of the website and forums are up and ready for use over at the new main page. Check it out, let us know where you find bugs, if there's content you think is missing, or if the layout gives you trouble. If pertinent, please include information about your browser and screen resolution so we can recreate your situation.
As long as the holiday doesn't push us too far behind schedule, we plan to have everything up and running smoothly over there by the beginning of next week.
In the meantime, updates to the blog are going to slow from a minimum of 1/week day to 1/week as, hopefully, discussion moves to the forums.
Happy beta testing, all. ;-)
As long as the holiday doesn't push us too far behind schedule, we plan to have everything up and running smoothly over there by the beginning of next week.
In the meantime, updates to the blog are going to slow from a minimum of 1/week day to 1/week as, hopefully, discussion moves to the forums.
Happy beta testing, all. ;-)
November 21, 2008
Meet the Party
To cap off this week we'll introduce you to one of the founding members of the party. We'll do this periodically to give you an idea of who's working with the party. This time around we're introducing the Blog Maven.
Hi all. I'm the Thinker's Party's official Blog Maven. That means I'm responsible for maintenance of the blog, and updating it with content. I'm also working on our web page project and getting our forums set up to make sure we have a consistent visual appearance across all three spaces. Currently I'm doing research into the finances and logistics involved in running a school with the hopes of developing a model for privately-funded successful, free schools. I'll share more of that process later on.
As for me, I'm a Project Manager for a software company with a degree in Linguistics from the University of Chicago. I spend my free time reading, watching movies, and arguing about politics, social problems, and the world in general with just about everybody I know. I've worked as a volunteer TA in an elementary school and tutored high school students (in Geometry and Spanish).
I got involved with the Thinker's Party because I've lost any optimism that the government can be changed to take care of the major social problems we face today (My personal priorities being education and energy) and decided not to let that hold me back. If you want to talk about my background or experiences in more detail, or my work with the party, you can contact me at thinkers.party@gmail.com.
Hi all. I'm the Thinker's Party's official Blog Maven. That means I'm responsible for maintenance of the blog, and updating it with content. I'm also working on our web page project and getting our forums set up to make sure we have a consistent visual appearance across all three spaces. Currently I'm doing research into the finances and logistics involved in running a school with the hopes of developing a model for privately-funded successful, free schools. I'll share more of that process later on.
As for me, I'm a Project Manager for a software company with a degree in Linguistics from the University of Chicago. I spend my free time reading, watching movies, and arguing about politics, social problems, and the world in general with just about everybody I know. I've worked as a volunteer TA in an elementary school and tutored high school students (in Geometry and Spanish).
I got involved with the Thinker's Party because I've lost any optimism that the government can be changed to take care of the major social problems we face today (My personal priorities being education and energy) and decided not to let that hold me back. If you want to talk about my background or experiences in more detail, or my work with the party, you can contact me at thinkers.party@gmail.com.
November 20, 2008
Those who've gone before
Having a knowledge of previous projects similar to your own, or previous attempts to solve the same problems is always useful in your own work. But you don't have to limit yourself to looking at direct analogues in order to find lessons worth learning. One story that is particularly interesting for its sheer complexity is that of the Almighty Vice Lords, a gang that grew out of Chicago and, while consolidating its stronghold as a gang, did a great deal of good for the community. We certainly aren't suggesting that any project associated with the Thinker's Party copy the model used there, but we do think it's well worth studying and thinking about. Here are a few links to get you started in your research:
http://chicagogangs.org/index.php?pr=CVL
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice_Lords
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=vice%20lords
http://chicagogangs.org/index.php?pr=CVL
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice_Lords
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=vice%20lords
November 19, 2008
Making the most of the salons
Yesterday we gave some tips for how to successfully get a salon going. Today we're offering tips for how to make the most of the salon.
1) Listen, and take notes. The note taking is particularly important if you are doing a series of salons because it will make it much easier to notice a pattern of complaints or issues across the groups. You don't have to do the note-taking during the salon itself, though. If you're more comfortable waiting until afterward to write down your observations, then do that.
2) Start the group off on talking about what they like about their community. Knowing what works, and why it works, is an important part of being able to figure out what doesn't and why. It's also helpful in figuring out the community's priorities. If the project you want to work on is a low priority for the community that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, but it does mean you'll have a different set of challenges you'll need to prepare for.
3) Help the people at the salon get comfortable with each other and the situation. Be welcoming, facilitate introductions, give people the opportunity to share a little information about who they are, why they're there, and their relationship with the community. This will make it easier for them to share thoughts and opinions later.
4) Just because somebody is timid or quiet doesn't mean they don't have something to say. Sometimes speaking in front of strangers is intimidating for people, but you don't want to lose their insight because of that. Try to actively involve the quiet people. Keeping one or two individuals from dominating the conversation can help with that, but so can reaching out to the quieter people and directing questions at them. If you get the sense that they don't want to talk, don't force them too, though.
5) Give out an email address or other way to contact you with followup thoughts. Now that you've established a relationship with these people you'll want to cultivate it.
That's five tips we consider important for a beginner, but there are hundreds more out there. Share any you have from similar experiences in the comments below.
1) Listen, and take notes. The note taking is particularly important if you are doing a series of salons because it will make it much easier to notice a pattern of complaints or issues across the groups. You don't have to do the note-taking during the salon itself, though. If you're more comfortable waiting until afterward to write down your observations, then do that.
2) Start the group off on talking about what they like about their community. Knowing what works, and why it works, is an important part of being able to figure out what doesn't and why. It's also helpful in figuring out the community's priorities. If the project you want to work on is a low priority for the community that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, but it does mean you'll have a different set of challenges you'll need to prepare for.
3) Help the people at the salon get comfortable with each other and the situation. Be welcoming, facilitate introductions, give people the opportunity to share a little information about who they are, why they're there, and their relationship with the community. This will make it easier for them to share thoughts and opinions later.
4) Just because somebody is timid or quiet doesn't mean they don't have something to say. Sometimes speaking in front of strangers is intimidating for people, but you don't want to lose their insight because of that. Try to actively involve the quiet people. Keeping one or two individuals from dominating the conversation can help with that, but so can reaching out to the quieter people and directing questions at them. If you get the sense that they don't want to talk, don't force them too, though.
5) Give out an email address or other way to contact you with followup thoughts. Now that you've established a relationship with these people you'll want to cultivate it.
That's five tips we consider important for a beginner, but there are hundreds more out there. Share any you have from similar experiences in the comments below.
November 18, 2008
Thinker's Party Salons
What does somebody interested in joining the party and helping out do? The first thing we'd recommend is let us know, either by commenting on the blog or sending us an email. Tell us a little bit about yourself, who and where you are, and what you're interested in working on. The tricky question is, if you don't already have a project in mind, say your community seems to be well supported in every way as far as you know, what do you do?
We've found that several answers to that question can arise from organizing a salon-style gathering in your community. Gather a manageable group of people together and get them to talk about what the community's strengths and weaknesses are - what's missing, what works badly, what could work more efficiently. These events are for you to listen to how others view the community, and begin to actively involve them in it on a small scale. You're there to ask a few questions and listen - save recruiting help and other members for later.
Here are some tips for how to run these salons successfully:
1) Know the area you want to work in and make sure to target all of it. Are you in a big city and want to focus on one particular neighborhood? Then set the salon in that neighborhood. But if you want to work on an issue that affects the entire city, move the salon location around to attract people from different parts of the city. This is a good way of learning different perspectives on an issue and developing an understanding of the big picture.
2) Try to set the salon in a comfortable public area. Bookstores, coffee shops, libraries, and community centers are the typical places, but don't be afraid to get creative. Go where the people are - they might not come to you. Wherever you do hold the salon, develop a relationship with the owners of the location first. Tell them what you're doing, how many people you expect to come, and make sure they are okay with having their place used that way. Business owners are part of the community to, and (in our experience so far) they're often willing to host these events if they have forewarning - especially if they sell food or beverages.
3) These are not recruitment sessions for the Thinker's Party. Don't invite people to come and talk about their community, then try to persuade them to join an organization they've probably never heard of. You can talk about it if people ask, or list on your publicity materials that the event is sponsored by the Thinker's Party (please only do this if you are working with us on it), but otherwise leave the salon for listening.
4) Advertise where people will see. That means fliers at the establishment where you'll be holding the salon and where members of the community frequent, Craig's list postings, ads in local papers or on local events pages, etc. Do not depend exclusively on the internet for your advertising since there are still lots of people who will never see it that way. If you contact us we can help you develop the materials you need and locate good places to display it.
5) Have fun. Getting involved with your community and meeting new people should be exciting. Remember that.
We've found that several answers to that question can arise from organizing a salon-style gathering in your community. Gather a manageable group of people together and get them to talk about what the community's strengths and weaknesses are - what's missing, what works badly, what could work more efficiently. These events are for you to listen to how others view the community, and begin to actively involve them in it on a small scale. You're there to ask a few questions and listen - save recruiting help and other members for later.
Here are some tips for how to run these salons successfully:
1) Know the area you want to work in and make sure to target all of it. Are you in a big city and want to focus on one particular neighborhood? Then set the salon in that neighborhood. But if you want to work on an issue that affects the entire city, move the salon location around to attract people from different parts of the city. This is a good way of learning different perspectives on an issue and developing an understanding of the big picture.
2) Try to set the salon in a comfortable public area. Bookstores, coffee shops, libraries, and community centers are the typical places, but don't be afraid to get creative. Go where the people are - they might not come to you. Wherever you do hold the salon, develop a relationship with the owners of the location first. Tell them what you're doing, how many people you expect to come, and make sure they are okay with having their place used that way. Business owners are part of the community to, and (in our experience so far) they're often willing to host these events if they have forewarning - especially if they sell food or beverages.
3) These are not recruitment sessions for the Thinker's Party. Don't invite people to come and talk about their community, then try to persuade them to join an organization they've probably never heard of. You can talk about it if people ask, or list on your publicity materials that the event is sponsored by the Thinker's Party (please only do this if you are working with us on it), but otherwise leave the salon for listening.
4) Advertise where people will see. That means fliers at the establishment where you'll be holding the salon and where members of the community frequent, Craig's list postings, ads in local papers or on local events pages, etc. Do not depend exclusively on the internet for your advertising since there are still lots of people who will never see it that way. If you contact us we can help you develop the materials you need and locate good places to display it.
5) Have fun. Getting involved with your community and meeting new people should be exciting. Remember that.
The Thoughtful Elevator Story
In a comment to our last post, square pegs said, "I would like to start telling people about the Thinker’s Party. I would love to be able to point to it and say, “This can be the real mechanism for positive change!” But right now, I’m just not sure what I would say." This is pulled out of context from a longer comment with other good points in it, but we thought this portion of the comment warranted a specific response. So we present to you the 30 second explanation for just what the Thinker's Party is.
It has the same flaw as most elevator stories, i.e. it's a touch stodgy and dry, but it contains what we consider to be the most important message about who we are. We encourage you to make it your own and share what you find exciting about what we're doing.
That said, we'd like to thank everybody who has taken the time to provide feedback about what we've done and said so far. It's ranged from "Only kooks call it a manifesto" to "there's too much apathy for that to work," and we've appreciated every bit of it.
The Thinker's Party is a networking organization designed to inspire and support individual attempts to solve social problems within local communities. They hope to develop not only a network of experts in various social issues and their potential solutions, but of sources of funding for these projects.
It has the same flaw as most elevator stories, i.e. it's a touch stodgy and dry, but it contains what we consider to be the most important message about who we are. We encourage you to make it your own and share what you find exciting about what we're doing.
That said, we'd like to thank everybody who has taken the time to provide feedback about what we've done and said so far. It's ranged from "Only kooks call it a manifesto" to "there's too much apathy for that to work," and we've appreciated every bit of it.
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