A lot of it was an education—and sometimes not a very pleasant one. I was a believer in open data, a believer in the power of technology to help people, a believer in the founding idea that technologists could solve problems if they just coded the right things. I came to see the limits of these tools and the value of bringing technologists together without a community context.
An Education in Community Technology | Civicist by Daniel X. O’Neil
This is a very interesting exit interview with Dan O’Neil as he leaves the Chicago Community Trust and Smart Chicago, where he has been transforming the relationship between technologists and civic communities for five years. While ChicagoTalks.org was intended to bring journalism to communities so they might find a voice, we had similar experiences as we realized that communities already exist, and it is better to join and work with those, rather than try and create a new on and get everyone under your own tent.
Barbara K Iverson 