Ecademy Members Question CAI Value. Who Is Right?

	Critical Questions

An interesting number of posts (7) has been generated by Suhit Anantula brief public message on Ecademy, after announcing his successfull application to the Communication Agents Initiative. many of the questions and doubts raised by Ecademy members reflect the standard reactions I have been getting from most people that have not heard before of the CAI or that have not seriously invested some time in reading the details of the Initiative or looking at the excellent work done by our first three pioneer Communication Agents online.

Josef Hasslberger - Health Supreme

Chris Gupta - Share The Wealth

Ivan Ingrilli - Grillo Parlante

From left to right: Sepp, Chris(in his previous lifetime), Ivan.

So here is what Ecademy members had to say, comment and question about the Communication Agents Initiative.

Joe wrote:

"Am I missing something?

Whilst very noble, the activities supported here look like the sort of site that socially aware networkers have been doing for the last decade in one form or another - paper, book, online, whatever.

It's very interesting, and I see the 'technical support' angle as being useful, but surely CAs are just another name for authors with things to say?

Joe

reply by Robin Good on 20/07/03 - 15:04

Joe, thank you for good critical comment. This is the type of questions I need to make sure that my offer is properly understood as I am refining the terms and wording through which I convey it.

Indeed the Communication Agents Initiative is NOT looking for authors "with things to say".
I am looking for uniquely skilled communicators that have something strong to say and something greater to do in one or more of the Areas for Change that compose our first reference Manifesto. I am looking for what many would call a present-day online social activist.

Joe, I have looked far and wide on the Internet and I have not been to find but a handful of individuals doing what I am describing. If you know anyone of those that are not already listed on our blogrolls, then we may like very much you to introduce a few more to us.

I am not looking for writers with something to say, I am looking for talented communicators who want to take on the opportunity given by today's rapid change, communication tools and fertile world social awareness, to initiate effective campaigns, actions and design of solution frameworks that allow non governmental forces to create alternative and parallel infrastructures to deal and solve major human issues.

All the best,

Robin GoodIdeas, Tools and Resources for Communication Agents
http://www.masternewmedia.org/
reply to this comment edit

reply by John Bolton on 20/07/03 - 19:39

"Take a look at www.oneworld.net. They empower people without charging the fees that you do. There are plenty of low-cost or open source software tools for activists which can make a real difference."

reply by Robin Good on 20/07/03 - 20:00

Thanks John for your comment and suggestion.

I have indeed looked at Oneworld.net but I do not see any of the offering that I am making available through their initiative.

Let me resummarize this:

What I offer is a learning partnership with skilled communicators to master while doing the key methods and tactics that are available today for carrying out effective communications.

The use of tools, tactics, and technologies like RSS, news aggregators, news syndication, site optimization and indexing inside major search engines, plus writing and content development skills are not features that you can find in any service, book, or online course available today.

Social activists online are a rare beast. Bloggers have hardly any major social activist doing sustained publishing outside of the 10-15 key ones that are quite well known. In my opinion there is no such group online, but I do invite you to point to me new directions and examples.

I am whether you like this or not a quite special human being and have collected a few credentials along the way to show that my personal mentorship is something of extreme value. The first three existing Communication Agents testify to this and I openly invite to show me other online writers that have the direction, focus and depth of these three. Please show me where they are.

I would be very interested in partnering with other technology and service suppliers tat could promote/associate their name with the Initiative while offering other tools to simplify or augment this challenging and ambitious task.

Finally, I really have a hard time making a parallel between Oneworld.net, where no matter how hard I search I cannot really download or login into any tool allowing me to publish news and articles instantaneously, nor I have a personal mentor that takes care of developing a strategic communication path tailored to my own social goals. Or is there one?

On top of this let me underline that what CAs publish online is also being picked up by major news sources, syndicated on multiple sites on the Internet and being indexed within the same day by Google.
Does Oneworld.net or any other communication specialist offer anything like this?
If you know him or her, put us in touch.

Looking forward to find out more about what I have been probabòy missing throughout.

Robin GoodIdeas, Tools and resources for Communication Agents
http://www.masternewmedia.org/

reply by Joe Pritchard
on 21/07/03 - 07:40

"Hi Robin,

"Social activists online are rare beasts..." - ummm....not really. Where do I start? What do you define as a social activist? Let's keep it broad. I didn't know what to look for so I just typed in 'social activist networks' in to Google. Here are a few relevant references from the 88000 pages returned by Google. Now, I KNOW that a lot of these will be irrelevant, but....these are meta-lists, pointing to lists of activist groups / individuals.

http://community.web.ca/index.shtml
Activists Networks
http://www.unaids.org/links/activist.asp

In addition there's a wealth of academic research there. I myself in my IE Favourites lists have several online social activist groups, including a self-help philanthropy group in the US (www.modestneeds.org) a sites about the LETS system (http://www.gmlets.u-net.com/) and a further site helping supply balanced information and support about the plight of women in post-war Afghanistan. I've assisted a developer work with the last site, just as I have, in the last 10 years, aided and abetted numerous social groups with technical support, hosting, etc. all free of charge - for the love of the cause.

Ever since the publication of books like 'The Aquarian Conspiracy' there have been social networks with purpose forming and exploiting the technologies available, without the assistance of mediators. If people needed techie help, they would come to sympathisers with the knowldege required.

"I am whether you like this or not a quite special human being and have collected a few credentials along the way to show that my personal mentorship is something of extreme value." - I don't think anything was said by anyone here to contradict that. I too am a quite special - nay, genetically, intellectually and ideologically unique, I think - human being and I also provide services that add value to people's lives, both in my profession and in my 'extra-curricular' activities.

I think the issue is, Robin, that what you provide, albeit a 'one stop shop' is not necessarily unique and that perhaps you need to target and focus your selling pitch.

Regards,

Joe"

reply by Robin Good on 21/07/03 - 09:47

Dear Joe,

thank you so much for stretching yourself a bit and helping our reader friends get some good critical questioning and some alternative viewpoints on what I am offering. I think that what you are providing is of value both to them and to me.

Let me try to give a little more information on the correct points that you have just raised in your last reply:

You write:

"Social activists online are rare beasts..." - ummm....not really. Where do I start? What do you define as a social activist? Let's keep it broad. I didn't know what to look for so I just typed in 'social activist networks' in to Google. Here are a few relevant references from the 88000 pages returned by Google. Now, I KNOW that a lot of these will be irrelevant, but....these are meta-lists, pointing to lists of activist groups / individuals.

http://community.web.ca/index.shtml
Activist_Networks
http://www.unaids.org/links/activist.asp"

Joe, let's set the references correctly so that we can be talking about the SAME thing. A social activist, in the vision of the Communication Agents Initiative, is an individual who is highly skilled in publishing and communicating personal messages, and who leverages with high skill a mix of present-day digital technologies to not only pass information but to directly address and facilitate change in one or more of the Areas for Change defined.

I do not see among the URLs you have submitted anyone organization or individual that resembles in any way what I am describing above.

Let's make matters simpler. Let's look at the social activists that have ALREADY come on board in this project. What prompted them to see things differently from you? How come do they find so much value in this?

Here is my personal answer: each one of them had been a great social activist, and a great mover of information to other activists via email and/or Web sites. These people have been doign real activist job and have invested much time and resources over many years to defend the interests and freedom of choice of consumers particularly in the health area.

When I came along and made the offer to these guys they did not see any immediate advantage or benefit in jumping on my vision for Communication Agents. So, I offered them to try me out first, and then to assess themselves if what I was offering was the same as what you describe achievable with no money and with a skilled friend who will land a hand when needed.

I am sure you have read what they have written. If not please check these true testimonials from them.

"In addition there's a wealth of academic research there. I myself in my IE Favourites lists have several online social activist groups, including a self-help philanthropy group in the US (www.modestneeds.org) a sites about the LETS system (http://www.gmlets.u-net.com/) and a further site helping supply balanced information and support about the plight of women in post-war Afghanistan. I've assisted a developer work with the last site, just as I have, in the last 10 years, aided and abetted numerous social groups with technical support, hosting, etc. all free of charge - for the love of the cause."

The Communication Agents Initiative wants to empower individuals, not groups. You may find this silly, superficial or even counter productive. That is OK. I believe that the potential to change things today is effectively in the hands of such individuals. In turn they may swarm, group, flock, network and flashmob to obtain and bring about greater effects and attention that they could do by themselves.

It is indeed wonderful that you have chosen to invest your time and resources to help such well-meant organizations and groups and on top of this that you have done this for free. I myself have been providing a enormous wealth of information for free to all people that may have needed and not just to those of my liking. Please check the amount of free valuable know-how, information, tols and techniques available for free at:

Master New Media

MasterView International

So it doesn't look like as I have just woke up thinking of squeezing out some money from those very ones that I have been helping throughout, knowing well that this very group is possibly one with the least financial freedom and with the smallest survival budget.

I have simply realized that if I wanted to give them something that could MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE I could have not done so without finding a way to get the expenses paid for.

Now, I invite you once again to look at the work of my first three baby Communication Agents, at work only since 7-weeks, and to tell me WHERE there are other social activists doing something equivalent in terms of focus, style, format, reach and depth. Please provide us with some tangible and comparable online activists.

But Joe, let's also look well beyond the surface:

1) I have offered to the ones that do not have the financial capability to support this to be completely sponsored by those who instead can. Is this irrelevant to you?

2) I, unlike most of the organizations you refer to, I am and will be keeping a completely transparent accounting showing exactly where all of the money that I receive is being spent.

Therefore, if I spend money to allow you to learn things that are not done by others, which are reserved to a technically-savvy elite and if I take good care of showing to you methods and tools that are not even well understood by online marketers I believe I am offering something different than what you have envisioned.

Learning is what this people pay for. This is what I provide to them, along with the a number of great facilities to support their hands-on learning path. If a $ 130/month learning fee that supplies with a whole command center to effectively act for social change, while being part of an intimate and unique network of highly talented individuals is an unfair offer, than what do you call Chris Pirillo's $97/month to be part of his discussion forum Brain Trust?

Have I the right to offer a professional learning opportunity, that anyone has yet to show not being unique for what it looks to me as a RIDICOLOUS price?

You wrote:
"Ever since the publication of books like 'The Aquarian Conspiracy' there have been social networks with purpose forming and exploiting the technologies available, without the assistance of mediators. If people needed techie help, they would come to sympathisers with the knowldege required."

Thanks for saying this Peter.

I am not a mediator.

I do not provide "techie" help.

I wish to help people who do not give a shit about how technology works and why this protocol is better than this other one. These people want to communicate and learn in the most effective way possible. This is what I specialize in and this the know-how I provide to them.

Can you please point to me somebody else who does this?

"I think the issue is, Robin, that what you provide, albeit a 'one stop shop' is not necessarily unique and that perhaps you need to target and focus your selling pitch."

Peter, you maybe very right about this claim, but unless you show us by way of real examples HOW I am not unique, the negative prejudices maybe only born out of your perception that there is nothing really to pay for here. If that is the case, and if you are honestly curious to reveal some truth for others by way of this discussion, would you kindly contact by email, or post a comment to one of the pioneer Communication Agents and check your point of view with one representing the actual interested group?
Chris Gupta, Share The Wealth
Sepp Hasslberger, Health Supreme

Wih my best and warmest regards,

Robin GoodIdeas, Tools and Resources for Communication Agents
http://www.masternewmedia.org/
reply to this comment edit

reply by Joe Pritchard
on 21/07/03 - 07:18

"Thanks for the reply, Robin.

I've encountered many individuals and groups (for good AND 'evil') who communicate effectively using e-mail and web sites without any facilillitator in the middle. People just go out and get a web account set up then learn enough HTML to publicise their message.

Look at local societies and clubs, web sites for large organisations like Greenpeace, the 'black' websites set up to support the activites of terrorist groups like Al-Queada, etc. When I was more active in social causes the approach we took when requiring a web site was to go and get some space and a domain name. That was it - we regarded that knowing enough HTML to put a page together was necessary for us to communicate, just as knowing how to use a duplicating machine was essential for communication in earlier 'non-electronic' times.

At worse, and I'm sure that this isn't the case, you'll be seen as effectively acting as a 'vanity' publisher for people. As it stands I'm still not sure of the added value that you provide for the subscription fee - perhaps that's an area for focus?

Regards,

Joe"