Community 3.0

I went with Betamax.  The technically superior videotaping platform at the time, it was also supported by Sony, which was not exactly a boutique electronics brand.  Years passed, and I stubbornly stuck with the platform, only to find my movie watching choices inexorably erode to Little Shop of Horrors or The Three Amigos.  Those costumes, that singing bush ... pure comedy gold.

Gutenberg had a good run, but technology marches on.  The Interweb seems to be catching on, so we're launching Davenporttoday.com.  If anyone tells you they know exactly where it will lead, they’re off their rocker.  The basic goal is to facilitate a connected community making more inclusive decisions about our future, utilizing 21st century technology.  We’d like site visitors to return frequently and have a sense of ownership in the site.  We’d like to add value to Davenport businesses (including media).  We’d like to serve as a model for other local governments to be more open & inclusive.

Will it work?  Who knows.  I’m sure Al Gore gets a little down at times that the beauty of his invention isn’t appreciated by a troll or two, and that its power to bring truth and freedom to the world’s populace is hampered by all the bandwidth taken up by kitten videos and the Kardashians.

We’re going to give it a try.  Cities are complex entities.  They are constantly adaptive and undertake life and death work.  Ignoring communications advances in such a setting is ill-advised at best, and derelict at worst.  We don’t live in a Gutenberg world anymore.  A connected community is not a zero sum exercise, and I hope Davenporttoday reflects this basic truth.  It’s your platform, for your community’s future.

Davenporttoday allows a “Community 3.0” approach to inclusion, information flow and decision making.  The first communities were sustained by oral tradition, passed on by generations.  Then, someone carved some letters into stone.  This surely impressed the bibliophiles of the age, but carting around slabs of granite must have been tiring.  Paper and the priniting press followed, and held dominion for centuries (particularly for the guys who owned the presses).  While I still prefer to turn pages, thumb and index finger flipping on touchscreens is becoming a bodily function on par with breathing for the youngs.  Immediacy of communications and expectations for near instant customer service pervade our society.  Government can't stand off to the side, hoping things slow down.

Connected, innovative communities succeed, and Davenport expects to lead.   So, have at it.

One last thing - anyone want to buy my old Blackberry?  How bout a flip phone ?