But I feel it is important to circulate this well written piece from Alpie.net. Of course, regular readers will recognize it as one of my favorite tropes, although I usually phrase it differently. Being a citizen rather than a “consumer” means making the jump from bitching about reality to trying to change it. Yes, God knows we're all busy, trying to make ends meet, raise families, etc. etc. But, like getting enough exercise, making sure the kids do their homework, eating a balanced diet, etc., it's something that you either make time for because you think it's important or suffer the consequences.

Stay tuned . . .

Generally, I try to limit myself to talking about things I know about and recognize what I don't know about. But, like most of us, I occassionally think I know more than I do. Such is the case of my recent comment in ComputerWorld about the muni deployment situation in San Francisco. In the last few days, I've received a barrage of angry letters and calls from friends of mine on the ground in SF wanting to know what the Hell I was thinking when I said: “”They've created a mess in San Francisco where the city seems to be negotiating with Google or Earthlink and not the community."

Sadly, I cannot even say I was misquoted or taken out of context. Matt Hamblen got my quote exactly right. It turns out, however, that I had it exactly wrong. As my angry SF friends have let me know in no uncertain terms, the City of San Francisco, Google and Earthlink have been conducting neighborhood surveys, meeting with local community leaders, and responding to this input with substantive changes.

So how did I screw up so badly? And what did I learn from all this? See below . . . . [Read More!]