Idea: What if Facebook shut down once per day, every year? Turn it all the way off. No one could get to it.  No walls, timelines, profiles, friends, games, apps or messages. They could call it Facebook Appreciation Day. Some people would appreciate that Facebook was off for the day and turn their attention to … Continue reading →

One of the benefits of education is that it can provide people with the tools, perspective and knowledge they can use to meet their needs without resorting to intimidation, theft or violence. In school buildings and on college campuses, we learn about our history, how the world works and how to coexist with each others` … Continue reading →

This blog post is serving as a bookmark for the recently deactivated website IshCon.org, which I used to maintain. After reading Ishmael and some of Daniel Quinn's other books and finding them moving and challenging, I ended up being involved in creating and hosting several conferences for other people who wanted to discuss the ideas … Continue reading →

After my post this past weekend about why I think paying for access to local news reporting is worth it, I checked out some of the reasons that people who were complaining about said fees were giving for not wanting to pay.  Chief among them was the argument that "if it's on the Internet, it … Continue reading →

Daniel Ray Carter Jr., a sheriff's deputy in Virginia, claims he was fired because he "Liked" a Facebook post belonging to the political rival of his own boss. When he fought the firing in court, the judge ruled against him saying that clicking the "Like" button isn't protected speech: "It is not the kind of substantive statement that … Continue reading →

I have a guest editorial piece in today's Palladium-Item, End risky economic games.  I've also reproduced the edited version of the piece below.  I had originally hoped to title it "What can James Bond teach us about economic development?" but I decided that's not actually a question I want to know the answer to.  So … Continue reading →

This post originally appeared in the June 4 2012 Palladium-Item as a guest editorial.  Many who might read this are already very "civically engaged" and so may find it overly simplistic, but there are also many in Richmond who are asking what's being done about our challenges - crime, the economy, etc. - and so I … Continue reading →

Over the weekend Jon Bischke made the interesting comparison of a start-up company to city government in A City Is A Startup: The Rise Of The Mayor-Entrepreneur.  Bischke notes that the factors that go into a successful entrepreneurial effort are similar to the ones that make for a successful city: Build stuff people want, offer products … Continue reading →

I work in a world with a lot of artificially constructed structures and images, and those structures and images have a lot of straight lines, right angles and cold, industrial, unfeeling surfaces.  Computer monitors, e-mail composition windows, 8 1/2 x 11 paper with black lines on it, rectangular desks, rectangular parking spaces in dark grey … Continue reading →

When I ran for office earlier this year, I noticed that a lot of people I talked to thought of themselves as existing firmly on one side of a certain line, and elected officials existing on the other side.  It was the "who can be a leader and get things done in our community?" line. … Continue reading →