This week we had some guests. Amazing, brilliant thinkers who joined us to share ideas about…ideas. Specifically, can stories and ideas about successful community change help others achieve success in their own communities? And, is that information currently getting where it needs to go?

This was part two of a dialog we began in Washington DC a few weeks ago at The Case Foundation. There, we were joined by Michael Smith, Kari Dunn, Cindy Gallop, Jessica Kirkwood, Marsha Semmel, Michael Karpman, Rhonda Taylor, Ron Carlee, and Siobhan Canty. We chatted about the need of organizations with libraries of unpublished case studies and ideas, connecting local changemakers with the big picture of systemic change, bringing essential info to people at exactly the time they need it most, and using storytellers to communicate long (or boring) case studies in more entertaining and inspiring ways.

This week, twelve more friends came together in San Francisco for a different take on the conversation: Beth Kanter, Chris Gates, Craig Newmark, Frank Schulenburg, Gwyneth Borden, John Lyman, Kate Stahnke, Matt Garcia, Pamela Wheelock, Peggy Duvette, Rob Miller, and making it all amazingly fun was our facilitator Allen Gunn. Here, we talked a lot about the importance of people over information, how to reach those who aren’t online, what motivates people to tell their success stories, which organizations have already been doing work in this area, and what audiences might be most in need of improved information flow.

We think it’s important that those engaging in community change have access to the information that helps them be especially impactful. We were flattered that these great minds took time out of their busy schedules to spend time with us and share so many ideas. And, we’re excited to continue learning about projects that share success stories and whether Craigslist Foundation might play a role in the information flow.

What do you think?

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