Newsletter of Note II
Two in the mail so far this week worth mentioning. One, Net-Working, a newsletter subtitled "Business without boundaries." The June 2002 charter issue concentrates on teleconference success strategies, open dialog about purpose, how to manage email, and balancing collaboration needs with risk and security. Looks like a solid first issue, but the subscription fee -- $136 for a charter subscription to this monthly eight-page pamphlet, $195 otherwise -- makes me think that newsletter publishing is a scam and that I should quit my job. Newsletters are all about people -- subscribers -- mistakenly valuing information thinking that it's scarce and strategic. As interesting as Net-Working is, this charter issue is not worth $16. But it's a fair cop.

I also received the Spring 2002 edition of The Chaordic Commons of Terra Civitas, the newsletter of the Dee Hock-inspired group that explores new organizational models. Harlan Cleveland discusses how technology can help develop leadership settings in which no one person is in charge. Joel Getzendanner analyzes what a global network of mothers interested in breast feeding learned while developing their group's guiding principles. Dee Dickinson outlines the promise and structure of community learning centers. And Jim Fournier describes the Link Tank project. I'll return to this before Net-Working, and it's exciting to see so many people in so many places experimenting with network theory. Kudos!