The Future of Social Actions, Part I: Partners and Projects

Over the next several weeks, I will be thinking out loud about the Future of Social Actions. Our initiative is approaching its two year anniversary at the end of August, and would benefit from some community participation in creating a long-term plan going forward. I hope this blog post, and others in the series, will serve as a spark for brainstorming where Social Actions should be headed, how to get there, and how best to make the operation fully sustainable.

Part I: Partners and Projects

In its first two years, Social Actions has been fortunate to work with an incredible group of partners. In addition to the 50+ action sources that participate in the Social Actions API, we have also partnered with an impressive group of foundations, companies, nonprofits, and individuals to develop innovative projects that engage people in making a difference.

Currently, the main Social Actions website, our presence on social networks, and the language we use to describe Social Actions do not fully reflect the diversity of groups we have partnered with and the range of collaborative projects we're involved in. Ahead of our two-year anniversary, I want to correct this shortcoming.

To help revamp the Social Actions website, our presence on social networks, and the language we use to describe Social Actions, my plan is to draw on the expertise and resources of a number of our partners. As part of the revamp, we'll be conducting an open conversation on Social Actions' Google group (dormant for the last six months), managing projects through our Basecamp account, and documenting our progress on the Social Actions wiki.

The goal of this exploration is to present Social Actions for what it is... a mature open-source initiative committed to collaboration in the online civic engagement and philanthropy sectors and working on a range of high-impact innovative projects that help engage people in making a difference.

If you would like to get involved in this deep dive, please leave a comment on this blog post or join the Social Actions Google group. I look forward to you thoughts on this first post in the Future of Social Actions blog series.

Tags: safuture, socialactions

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Comment by Peter Deitz on July 9, 2009 at 1:36pm: Hi Christine, It goes without saying... you're a huge part of the deep dive. Beatriz, Thanks for the offers to help. We'll loop you via My Social Actions and the Social Actions Google group. Very exciting!

Comment by Beatriz Pereira on July 9, 2009 at 1:31pm: I'm here to help. Please, let me know what I can do.

Comment by Christine Egger on July 8, 2009 at 4:03pm: Please sign me up for the deep dive. Looking forward to contributing in the weeks ahead ~

Comment by Peter Deitz on July 8, 2009 at 12:40pm: Hi Truth Now, Thanks for your offer to help. For now, please post your comments on this blog series (see the latest post here) and consider joining the SA Google Group. All the best, Peter

Comment by Peter Deitz on July 8, 2009 at 12:39pm: Hi Joe, Thanks for the thumbs up on the description. I think it can be honed further... but as a working draft, I agree it does the trick. All the best, Peter

Comment by JoeSolomon on July 8, 2009 at 12:20pm: "a mature open-source initiative committed to collaboration in the online civic engagement and philanthropy sectors and working on a range of high-impact innovative projects that help engage people in making a difference." - Great description!

Comment by Truth NOW on July 8, 2009 at 12:11pm: I am all for you keeping up the good work! - and I am even more for a think tank on the matter.. I for one would be happy to participate and be active in growth! .. Let me know what I can do to help!