We just received received partial payment for the Geeks Proposal project on Friday (8/11). We haven't yet received anything for the business connectory project, but probably will later this week.

But I think the funding has created a crucial momentum for our currency projects. It seems we've reached a kind of tipping point that we were having difficulty crossing on our own. The floodgates have opened and new currency projects are pouring in.

Thanks for your part in making this happen!

Excerpted post from the Geeks Discussion

I'd like to share my gratitude with the community for seeing the value of this kind of work and believing in us to deliver that value. I think the community funding provided a kind of tipping point. We went from having none of our paying projects being "currency" related and trying to eke out these tools on our own, to having four significant currency projects. This should accelerate development and even help us exceed the requirements of the community funding project with more features, tools and modules.

I would also like to relay thanks from my team of geeks working on this project who can now pay their rent and put gas in their cars to come to work. The money was well-timed as they were reaching the end of their ability to continue on a pro-bono basis.

Thank you - each and every one of you.

I'm thrilled about how much support I've been hearing for currency projects and for my work in particular. I think it's awesome that, despite my declaration of sitting out the funding cycle, two groups (and for a while Ted's portion of his group) assembled proposals for funding currency projects for their communities.

But with the way the dialogue about these projects has gone, I'm feeling conflicted.

• Even though I'm not on either of the teams, I feel I can't vote, posie or advocate without it being perceived as a conflict of interest (for obvious reasons). Yet I think I might be one of the more eloquent voices for the specific benefits the communities will receive.
• The proposals are being referred to as "Arthur's Projects" (again for obvious reasons). I'm worried that the benefit to the communities receiving the money and technology is being overshadowed by the selection of us as the technology provider. There are other groups which would be receiving funds without having to specify what they're spending it on nor promising results of what would be produced. Maybe they're all hiring me! ;)
• I have supported the drafting of the proposal (such as deliverables, due diligence, etc.) because it was requested of me. Now I no longer feel like I'm a bystander, but have become involved in helping with their success. Yet I'm not a team member and if I were, the rules don't allow me to be on two (or 2.2) projects, so I'm concerned that what is happening is in conflict with O-Net/Thomas' intentions.

I need some feedback from y'all.

• Should one or both of these projects withdraw? (Ted already has. And I can't decide this for them, but I'm sure they'd appreciate the feedback if that's the overwhelming opinion.)
• What would help re-focus the dialogue and impact assessment on the communities being served?
• Should I feel free to posie posts/threads/workspaces?
• Should I vote?
• How is it that I find myself in a position of looking like I'm gaming the system to get as much funding as possible, when I didn't want to participate in it because of my concerns about this sort of thing happening?

Any words of wisdom?

-art

I'll be in Burlington, VT for a series of currency events, a pre-conference on local currencies, and the BALLE conference (Business Alliance for Local Living Economies) on Creating Sustainable Communities.

I don't know how much I will have Internet access or be available on O.net.

I'm specifically announcing this because of the team funding projects that are interested in implementing currency tools for their communities. There have been a number of folks directing questions toward me. I need to let you know that I may not be very responsive.

My suggestion - talk to the teams. These are their proposals. They have undertaken these projects to fulfill on their own plans, schemes and dreams and that's where the focus should remain.

If specific technical questions are awaiting a response from me, please let me know by email or PM so I can address them promptly.

I figured this notice was especially important because of my recent fleeting status as an O.net celebrity from being so active the past few days. :)

I don't know if this is an accomplishment to be proud of, or if it simply shows how few billable hours I booked this weekend...

...but I just discovered that I made it to number 10 in the most active users list.

I stand among the O.net giants! :)

I probably haven't been in the top 50 beyond the first day I set up the Targeted Currencies Group. This recent activity is due in part to the flurry of posts that folks like Jean & Gerry have spurred in currency discussions and to the barrage of questions from funding teams.

I've always felt like I was lurking in the margins of O.net and discover I have accidently fallen into its midst. ;)

Sorry about being slow to post the news myself. Ted and Jean have already let many people know in their personal profiles or news.

My father won't be posting here anymore as he passed away a few weeks ago somewhat suddenly (3/31/06). Posting the news here brings the tears anew.

In the true spirit of the Information Age, we won't be having a chunk of engraved stone to go visit where his remains are entombed, but rather I will be creating an online memorial site. Those who have known or loved him are welcome to share memories, tributes, thoughts, photos, etc.

Bernie reached into many communities and impacted many lives and this is the only way I've found to be able to give them voice. I'll post a link when it's live.

He very much enjoyed his conversations with the people here and was telling me about the positive feedback he was getting about his book and ideas. Thanks for welcoming him and giving him your respect.

-art

I just registered to go to the O-net conference in Chicago that Ted Ernst is organizing. And to do my part to spread the meme, changed my name to "Arthur Brock is going, R U?"

I'm primarily adding this news entry in case somebody clicks on my name to figure out where I'm going and if they should be going there too.

You can find out more about this conference and have the opportunity to meet other great people from the O-net community.

I look forward to seeing you there!

-art

I started telling my father a bit about the conversations happening here and "lured" him in by telling him about some of the dialogue starting with Yetunde about Arts & Culture and Economic Development.

It's a pet topic of his that he just can't resist.

He's been doing a lot of really great research and strategy work in that arena.

Welcome, Dad!

-art

Congratulations to Thomas Kriese and Sue Braiden!

Thanks so much for your dedication, sharing, insight and energy in contributing to this community!

[In honor the recent congratulatory tradition that Olivier Gérard started with Tom Munnecke .]

I feel quite comfortable talking about ideas. I'm even quite comforatable sharing intimate and personal information about myself. But for some reason I'm not nearly as comfortable talking about myself to purposely impress.

To appease a committee reviewing a proposal of mine to speak on the topic of Targeted Currencies at an Economic Development Conference, I recently struggled to write a personal profile which makes me sound very professional and "legitimate." It was a slow and bothersome process that I hope I don't have to repeat in the near future.

But now that I've done it and somewhat embraced it, it seems appropriate to make it available to people who are trying to find out who I am, what I'm doing and understand the connections of all of it... So I'm posting it here.

I've been lurking around here for a over a week and now I'm finally posting a bunch of stuff regarding using currencies for business & social transformation and also "open source" business models.

I started getting responses very quickly! This seems like quite a vibrant, living community. I like that.

-art