a few weeks back i was having a conversation with some friends. we were all discussing the need for younger members of fresno to really start stepping up and organizing and working toward a better fresno. one thing i knew about organization is that it's often easier to piggy back off someone else's work, to use a ball that's already rolling rather than trying to start something new. so, i started suggesting some of the fresno's public arenas that are already out there.
we talked about creative fresno, and how it offered some of this, but that it didn't have some of the things that we were looking for. i offered that i heard they were restructuring some, and that perhaps it would change in this direction. but, creative fresno, due to it's nature, is focused on drawing in creatives, boomerangs and fighting the brain drain of fresno. definitely worthy causes.
so we chatted on more, and i remembered that i knew a guy who had started a website called future of fresno, and it was intended to cover the mayoral election process. i wondered what had become of it since the election, and we all really dug the name. so, i sent him an email and inquired about the site. we've dialogued a bit, but the site is currently being used for the purpose of..."Future of Fresno is a local social network for civic-minded citizens, professionals, and business owners who are invested into our city's development and progress."
hmmmm, sounds a lot like what we were talking about. i invite you to check out the site and comment here on whether or not you think it could be a viable network to help instigate change in fresno.
8 comments:
It would certainly take some work and require the efforts of some very dedicated people but it seems like it could be a thriving forum with the right catalyst.
I'd like to offer up a little something. Creative Fresno is what it is because of it's core members. It's a flexible thing that can move in many directions based on the dedication/motivations/passions of its people. And I'm not sure exactly what you're looking for, but ...
It doesn't grab me visually.
The other day I was surfing around looking at various sites trying to find out more about the downtown projects. Mindhub had a bunch of good links on their site, but it isn't the first place I would go. I did subscribe to the listserve, but I'm finding it to be pretty annoying. I think the content and comments would be better served by a website/bog format.
What are boomerangs? Is that people like me that leave but (possibly) come back?
What are some of the things you are looking for in a public arena?
For my part I would suggest something that allows those of us who have left to somehow participate. I'm not sure how that would work, but I am clearly spending more time thinking about returning, but there is no way that I can participate in groups like Creative Fresno until I actually come back. If they are interested in boomerangs, then how do you draw people in and get them to participate in a way that encourage them to physically return som day?
I should say that the Mindhub link led me to the downtown association, which led me to some other links, and then I started reading more about Forest City (downtown developer) and some of the debates/controversies. It was a convoluted path, and I have yet to find a good site that condenses all of the relevant links.
famous - let me clarify, i'm not trying to criticize creative fresno. i like cf, and understand it's about who's in it. but, it's also sort of focused on creatives, at least in it's name. the people i was talking to don't necessarily consider themselves "creatives" but would think of themselves as progressive leaders.
justin - boomerangs are people that have moved away, for whatever reason (like education) and have returned to their hometown. so, they are trying to strategize to encourage boomerangs, but i'm not exactly sure what they're doing. mainly because i'm pretty uninvolved with cf, except for relationships to members and attendance of events here and there.
Ed, as I mentioned in my email, the site's current iteration is essentially a blank canvas that uses a popular tool for building social networks. It seemed pointless to leave up my posts from early in the election, but I hated to let a good domain go to waste; and to be fair, I haven't had to touch it, as Victor did the work in transitioning the site.
All that said, if there's a need and a group that will use it, I'm willing to build something, and I know of a few others that are willing to help.
As for Creative Fresno, I think they're doing good things, and Josh has a good point about it being directed/driven by core members. But a lot of what you're describing has been proposed to them (in a couple of different forms), and has never gained traction.
MindHub is a great resource, but it's antiquated in its capabilities for dialog, archiving, etc. - I like Justin's suggestion to transition it to more of hosted discussion (which could send people emails as they wish). Again, it's been proposed...
@Justin...Creative Fresno is exploring (initial design is built) the option of using the Ning platform to increase the level of engagement. To Ed's point, Creative Fresno exist to engage knowledge workers and creative professional in our community (present r future). This cover the spectrum from engineers to academics to artists to attorneys to teachers to business professionals. Essentially, we (Creative Fresno) believes that the creative economy is a great driver for progress.
I think more organizations should exist. James Collier (Future of Fresno) gets this and covered the mayoral campaigns very well. CF has a government relations committee which engages elected officials and advocates for change which aligns with the CF mission...for example we have a representative from the Fresno RDA making a presentation at our board meeting this Saturday to discuss the South Stadium project (meeting are open to the public).
Sorry about the lengthy comment (almost longer than a blog post). Here are some thing one can do to keep involved:
1) CF has a fan page on FaceBook...become a fan.
2) go to creativefresno.com and join our mailing list
3) Move back to Fresno...we'd love to have you.
thinking i'll go to this board meeting. info on facebook said it will be at 10 am this saturday @ 1630 e shaw. anyone want to carpool over there with me?
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