Healthy, adaptive, vibrant communities have a few things in common:

• clear boundaries that are not rigid
• a sense of belonging among members
• a pattern of service and care between members and of common resources

Turning Community Engagement Inside Out

imagine that all the world’s knowledge is stored, and organized, in a single vertical Steelcase filing cabinet. Maybe it’s lima-bean green. It’s got four drawers. Each drawer has one of those little paper-card labels, snug in a metal frame, just above the drawer pull. The drawers are labelled, from top to bottom, “Mysteries,” “Facts,” “Numbers,” and “Data.” Mysteries are things only God knows, like what happens when you’re dead. That’s why they’re in the top drawer, closest to Heaven. A long time ago, this drawer used to be crammed full of folders with names like “Why Stars Exist” and “When Life Begins,” but a few centuries ago, during the scientific revolution, a lot of those folders were moved into the next drawer down, “Facts,” which contains files about things humans can prove by way of observation, detection, and experiment. “Numbers,” second from the bottom, holds censuses, polls, tallies, national averages—the measurement of anything that can be counted, ever since the rise of statistics, around the end of the eighteenth century. Near the floor, the drawer marked “Data” holds knowledge that humans can’t know directly but must be extracted by a computer, or even by an artificial intelligence. It used to be empty, but it started filling up about a century ago, and now it’s so jammed full it’s hard to open.

From the outside, these four drawers look alike, but, inside, they follow different logics. The point of collecting mysteries is salvation; you learn about them by way of revelation; they’re associated with mystification and theocracy; and the discipline people use to study them is theology. The point of collecting facts is to find the truth; you learn about them by way of discernment; they’re associated with secularization and liberalism; and the disciplines you use to study them are law, the humanities, and the natural sciences. The point of collecting numbers in the form of statistics—etymologically, numbers gathered by the state—is the power of public governance; you learn about them by measurement; historically, they’re associated with the rise of the administrative state; and the disciplines you use to study them are the social sciences. The point of feeding data into computers is prediction, which is accomplished by way of pattern detection. The age of data is associated with late capitalism, authoritarianism, techno-utopianism, and a discipline known as data science, which has lately been the top of the top hat, the spit shine on the buckled shoe, the whir of the whizziest Tesla.

DWeb Camp 2023 Proposal Form

As DWeb Camp approaches, think about what you have to share in the redwoods—sign up for talks, workshops, games or even karaoke! 🎤


You are welcome to propose activities such as talks, panel discussions, presentations, or workshops about a variety of topics. It could be a project you are involved in, a personal interest, or an insight you’ve had recently. 


We encourage you to share knowledge and ideas, not pitch products!


Deadline: May 8, 2023, end of day wherever you are.

🔗 DWeb Camp 2023 Proposal Form

What is a territorial acknowledgment? How does it differ from a traditional welcome? If you are asking yourself these types of questions, you need to watch the video replay of TechSoup Connect Western Canada’s April 11 event.

Replay: Indigenous Protocols For Nonprofits – The Digital Nonprofit – a project of TechSoup Connect Western Canada

The platform, called Grantable, is based on the same technology as ChatGPT, and it markets itself to freelancers who charge by the application. That, she thought, clearly threatens opportunities in the industry.“For me, it’s common sense: Which do you think a small nonprofit will pick?” Ms. Brown said. “A full-time-salary-plus-benefits person, or someone equipped with A.I. that you don’t have to pay benefits for?”

Tinkering With ChatGPT, Workers Wonder: Will This Take My Job? – The New York Times