Peggy, Kelsang, and Melinda just got back from the US Social Forum in Atlanta, Georgia, where they spent three days presenting WiserEarth to thousands of organizations and people.
They were glad to get out of the virtual-web-world here in the office and get out, on the ground, into the real world, where, notwithstanding flight delays in both directions, they met tons of committed people working on a diverse array of projects. In describing these projects, one word kept coming up: inspiration. They just kept on mumbling that word.
They also did some work: they got a lot of fresh eyes on WiserEarth, and gathered a lot of good feedback. They found that people very quickly figured out how powerful WiserEarth could be in keeping them connected.
Some other highlights from the 2007 US Social Forum:
*They presented WiserEarth to 35 members of the Funders Network on Trade and Globalization (FNTG), and are excited to collaborate with them.
*They met Adrian, a local organizer and musician who seemed to know everybody in Atlanta. Somehow our team missed out on getting a table on the first day at the event, so the next day Adrian loaded up his truck with a table and 3 chairs, and helped set up their booth. He also passed out flyers, enthusiastically helped new users explore the website, and helped out with other logistics. Much thanks goes to you, Adrian — you’re an angel.
*They met Cody and Heather, who will be walking almost 5,000 miles across 20 Eastern US states in an effort to register voters. They’re calling it Liberty Walk, and hoping that it will help make the 2008 presidential election the largest in US history. They were thrilled with WiserEarth, particularly as a way to connect with organizations in each state along their route
*They met a whole bunch of students from Powershift 2007, a coalition of 16-to-26-year-olds who want to tell presidential candidates about global warming. They were psyched by the potential of WiserEarth as a tool to reach new students to join their efforts.
*They met Kathie and her children, who together started VoteHealthCare.org. They’re going to use WiserEarth to coordinate outreach around the country.
Reflecting on the trip Peggy, Kelsang, and Melinda told me about how they realized that more important than getting tons of new people to join WiserEarth (we just passed the 2,000-user milestone) was making sure that those who do join find what they need. So they’re on a new mission to listen. And to serve. So please let them know what you like, what you don’t, and what you want to see.
