My weblog has gotten a lot of traffic in the last week...but you wouldn't know it from the lack of comments on the posts drawing attention (mostly the ones related to the recent EDC controversy). It makes me wonder what's keeping folks from sharing their two cents, especially since blogs are such a great tool for such things. I know at least some are constrained by their own organizational/business affiliations such that making a public comment of even the most innocuous sort could backfire. (Maybe I should follow their lead more...hmmm. 🙂 ). Others who have contacted me directly seem wary of or inexperienced with the medium of a blog as a place to have a discussion, and I can certainly understand that. Still others seem content to observe without participating just because, which I have to admit is usually my preferred role on the other blogs I read unless circumstances merit otherwise. But certainly if there's anything about the way this site is set up that anyone would like to comment upon -- content, tone, posting tools, or otherwise -- I'm certainly eager to make any improvements that I can. In the meantime, here's a big shout out to all you folks just joining us...thanks for reading!
Month: November 2005
In response to my post about the Pal-Item's reporting on the controversy surrounding the EDC president, Don Holbrook has posted a lengthy explanation addressing some of the issues brought up in those stories. I believe it's the first publicly available statement from him since the Pal-Item's series on Sunday. Holbrook also commented on my account of the IU Business Outlook panel, and his thoughts on what it will take to move our community's economy forward.
I was surprised to pull up today's Palladium-Item online and see four more articles about Don Holbrook and questions surrounding his role with the Wayne County Economic Development Corporation. Last Thursday's article, "EDC leader takes hits from all sides," already seemed unnecessarily harsh in that it publicly framed the EDC's current budget concerns around Don Holbrook's working relationship with the EDC board; the implication was almost that he'd been stealing cash from their bank account. And then today's articles, "Heat's on Holbrook,""'Character assassination' played part in the past,""Raising concerns may cost board member leadership post," and "What EDC members say" make it sound like the EDC is falling apart at the seams with political earthquakes and personal smears. What the heck is going on here?
Continue reading "EDC airs out dirty laundry in Pal-Item"
One: Dave Pollard has posted a really interesting (and quite long) series of essays, studies, and narratives about how to build the ideal collaborative team and the collaboration process in general. Though I haven't grokked all of the implications yet, I generally find their primary conclusion, that attitude is more important than experience or specific knowledge in collaborative work, to be quite true in my own experience. Two: I've posted a list of my personal and professional affiliations. As the traffic on my blog increases and I get some more feedback about some of the more "controversial" posts, I want to make sure I fully disclose what kinds of organizations and projects I'm involved with and have allegiances to - noting just as emphatically that none of them necessarily endorse or agree with what I write here. Three: As reported by Slashdot, the Federal Election Commission has issued a draft advisory opinion essentially finding that bloggers can qualify as journalists for the purpose of the 'press exemption' in federal campaign finance laws. As a blogger, I don't really consider myself a journalist, but I know plenty who do and it's interesting to see this conversation evolve about what protections and privileges bloggers should have.
Wednesday night I attended a screening of The Ambassador, a documentary about John Dimitri Negroponte, currently the U.S. Director of National Intelligence and formerly U.S. ambassador to Honduras, the United Nations and Iraq. Negroponte has been a controversial figure due to his involvement in the Iran-Contra Affair and human rights violations in Honduras, and the film took on those controversies by documenting Negroponte's career as a diplomat, his public and private statements about the accusations made against him, and the forces that influenced his path all along.
Continue reading "The Ambassador"
Last Monday I had the opportunity to attend the Indiana University Kelley School of Business's "Business Outlook Panel" during their luncheon stop in Richmond to provide a forecast of the national, state-wide and local economies for 2006. Sponsored by Bank One (er, Chase Bank) and Richmond Baking and well attended, it was an interesting event all around:
Continue reading "IU Panel's Business Outlook: Charming and Wretched"
A few quick notes: 1) As promised, I've completed the transition to having all my photos hosted at my Flickr account, so feel free to browse around there. 2) I've posted a short little poem I wrote some time ago, but felt compelled to add to the site now. 3) I believe it's safe to say that The Review of Indiana Blogs has suffered and possibly expired at the hands of its own (perhaps unanticipated) scope - no real substantive entries since mid-October, a few links breaking, and no word from the maintainer. 4) I can't really talk, though - I've been working on several posts but none of them have made it out the door yet, and that developed into a more intentional hiatus from blog posting (if you can call two weeks a hiatus). But I'll be back soon with all sorts of self-indulgent musings. Until then, check out my favorite website after which Summersault models all its work, Zombo dot com. And as the recently spray-painted words of wisdom in the alley behind our office say, "fall in love, not in line."