tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-134703992024-03-19T05:14:22.364-07:00The $5 philanthropist - GiveMeaningThoughts on social networks, philanthropy, marketing by
Tom Williams, co-founder and CEO of <a href="http://www.givemeaning.com">www.givemeaning.com</a>
These are my personal opinions not that of GiveMeaningTom Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07446421330879259637noreply@blogger.comBlogger179125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13470399.post-24254700705096086632009-06-29T12:03:00.001-07:002009-06-29T12:06:34.187-07:00This weekend's articleI am saddened and discouraged to learn that David Baines is attacking me yet again, this time using GiveMeaning Foundation's 2008 annual report as the basis for his attack. This blog was once a place I used to share my thoughts about the emerging field of online micro-philanthropy. I shared my thoughts, ideas and enthusiasm with readers but early last year, in fact, on the day of my 29th birthday, a columnist from the Vancouver Sun, David Baines, began writing what became a series of articles questioning my character and the integrity of GiveMeaning Foundation. <br /><br />Baines and my anonymous internet blogging commenting detractors have spent the last year doing their absolute best to smear me, attack my character and question my integrity.<br /><br />And no doubt, within some circles, they have succeeded.<br /><br />As far as I can tell, what provoked this vitriol is at least in part my promoting GiveMeaning in the media by talking about myself as a "former whiz kid" and that I attracted so much positive media coverage including in Baines' own Vancouver Sun that, Baines & Co thought I needed to be taken-down several notches.<br /><br />If you troll through my past, you will find many stories that one can use of someone who was arrogant, selfish, dishonest and more or less lost. That said, I'm sure if most people's lives are subjected to Baines level of scrutiny, those same things can be found of most people in their late teens and twenties, to lesser or greater extents.<br /><br />I've always said that the media tells stories in binary forms. Either they build you up, and exaggerate your own story to the positive or they tear you down, again exaggerating the negative. When someone enters the public eye, they make a contract to accept the good with the bad. <br /><br />When I started GiveMeaning, I started it because I wanted to be known for something other than being hired by Apple when I was 15 years-old. And yes, in GiveMeaning's first few years, when I was articulating a novel concept for the charitable sector, I used the "whiz kid" story to attract national press coverage to grow GiveMeaning's awareness. And I don't in any way regret that. <br /><br />The last time, Baines wrote about GiveMeaning, he took issue with $645,000 of donations that came in through the foundation and were distributed to charities that did not have projects listed on the website. He asked the readers to subtract that donation, and suggested that the "real" amount GiveMeaning should have reported last year was $746,118.<br /><br />Baines has always portrayed our numbers in the most skewed and negative light possible. This time around, he adds back in the $645,000 he asked readers to discount in the last article so that he can claim that our donations were down 63% year-over-year. Regardless of how he presents our numbers, the actual amount raised through the website is down slightly year-over-year to $728,165. Some of that is Baines' own self-fulfilling prophesy here. His continued negative coverage exacerbated with anonymous bloggers who seek any site that mentions GiveMeaning to post Baines articles and nasty comments about me has no doubt had a negative effect. But in what has become the toughest economic climate in the last few decades, and with his flurry of negative articles, our web donations were down only slightly.<br /><br />But let's remember what GiveMeaning is: A site that facilitates micro-philanthropy. Most people donate $10, $20 at a time to the projects on our website. The whole point of the website is to pool small contributions together to achieve small but meaningful projects all around the World. And $728,165 in small contributions for projects all around the World is a huge achievement in micro-philanthropy, <br /><br />Since last fall, I have stopped taking any form of compensation from GiveMeaning yet still serve as GiveMeaning's CEO as a volunteer. No expenses are reimbursed by the Foundation, nothing. Baines knows that my wife has long stopped being paid for her work at GiveMeaning, but continues to mention it.<br /><br />At the end of his most recent article, he says that I still tell the "whiz-kid" story and that it's tiring and tired. I haven't done a single media interview since he began writing about me. In fact, I spent most of the last year trying to get over the hurt and pain of it all, and the last thing I've wanted is to attract more media attention, knowing that it's the positive profile that is - at least, in part - what makes Baines want to target me. When asked, I still give talks free to students about the importance of pursuing one's passions, but any reference to my past is rooted in that I started GiveMeaning not in a place of riches and wild success but rather pursuing a path that wasn't working.<br /><br />But more than that, Baines & Co have achieved something that in some perverse way, I am grateful for. They have helped strip me of a layer or layers of skin that I have had since the whiz-kid story was first written about more than a decade ago. I no longer have interest in being a public person. That part of my life is over and done with. I have been humbled not by the actual vitriol of my attackers but my the process of struggling hard to keep running an organization that I care so much about, and have spent the last four years working hard at.<br /><br />Baines concludes by indicating that he thinks GiveMeaning is an enterprise on the wane. He's right in some respects. My enthusiasm and energy to continue with GiveMeaning have been significantly deflated but I continue to invest my energy and resources in it, because of the positive impact it continues to have. Whether the sum total of our donation revenues grows or declines is less important to me than knowing that GiveMeaning continues to play a valuable role in achieving small but necessary impacts on communities here at home and around the World.Tom Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07446421330879259637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13470399.post-25751234298433587982008-10-07T13:40:00.003-07:002008-10-07T13:44:36.354-07:00Update from the Online Giving MarketsThis is my second year attending the Online Giving Markets forum, a gathering of leading giving sites from around the World. Officially, the conference ends today (just before tonight’s Presidential debate) but there is a conference hosted by Stanford tomorrow that many of us will be taking part in.<br /><br />In conference calls leading-up to this gathering, a number of participants from last year (which includes representatives from <a href="http://www.givemeaning.com">GiveMeaning</a> <a href="http://www.giveindia.org">GiveIndia</a>, <a href="http://www.donorschoose.org">DonorsChoose</a> and <a href="http://www.globalgiving.com">GlobalGiving</a>) had been trying to achieve a “Quick Win” from this gathering that would create the potential for collaboration amongst our platforms. What we had been trying to do was determine a way in which for us to share our project data with each other’s platforms as a first-step to potential collaboration.<br /><br />On a separate track but also involving discussions with technical representatives from a number of our marketplaces, Peter Deitz and his colleagues at <a href="http://socialactions.com/">SocialActions</a> had been facilitating discussions on defining a philanthropy microformat.<br /><br />A microformat is most simply described as a structured way of describing common data so that our data is easier to read by search-engines and 3rd party applications like SocialActions that want to make use of our data.<br /><br />Throughout the conference calls and our break-out session yesterday on this issue, a concern that was expressed a lot was whether a compelling business win needed to be in place as an incentive for our individual marketplaces to do the work required to implement a microformat (or other semantic description schema) and thanks to Pawan Mehra of <a href="http://www.giveindia.org">GiveIndia</a>, we were able to agree upon a tangible goal that would drive usage of the philanthropy microformat.<br /><br />Once a sufficient number of our marketplaces implement the microformat (which – from a technical perspective – shouldn’t be too cumbersome), we will submit the microformat to one of the two major search engines and engage in evangelism with the search engine folks to ask them to pilot including our collective microphilanthropy offers in their general search during December (the month of the year where most giving occurs).<br /><br />This would increase the overall traffic to all of the participating marketplaces and – assuming we can get buy-in from one or both major search engines – provide the necessary incentive likely required for significant buy-in amongst our marketplaces.<br /><br />More later. The conference is resuming after our lunch-breakTom Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07446421330879259637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13470399.post-49965795157498601612008-08-15T10:51:00.002-07:002008-08-15T11:28:08.218-07:00GiveMeaning Voting SystemWhen someone wants to start fundraising at GiveMeaning.com, the first step is to submit a proposal at the site, outlining a specific goal that they want to accomplish.<br /><br />It's then up to the person who submitted the proposal to gather 100 votes in support of the proposal. This system of collecting the votes is meant for two reasons:<br /><br />First, it puts the onus on the person to recruit a sufficient mass of support within their social network because if the person submitting the proposal can't collect 100 votes, they are not likely going to be able to recruit sufficient donors to fund their proposal. Second, it helps eliminate proposals with vague or questionable objectives.<br /><br />A number of proposals at GiveMeaning are for micro-philanthropy initiatives in Africa. Up until recently, most all of these proposals have come from people in North America who have returned home from travels with a promise to fundraise for a project that benefits a community they recently returned from. But we're now seeing a significant increase in proposals submitted directly from African NGO's.<br /><br />Based on the content of their proposals, many of these organizations seem to think that by posting a proposal, they are submitting a grant proposal to be considered for funding.<br /><br />Given that our site is fundraiser-centric (meaning that it's up to the person who submitted the proposal to gather funds within their social network to fund the initiative they are supporting), I think it unlikely that most rural African NGO's are going to succeed with micro-philanthropy campaigns but it's got me to thinking.<br /><br /><b>My question is this: Is there something that can be done to better leverage the proposals being submitted directly by African NGO's?</b> Could we create a new system which focuses first on a more crowd-sourced approach to approving proposals?<br /><br />For example, a more elaborate discussion system on each proposal could see greater clarification/detail emerge for each proposal. Instead of each vote being equal, people who have volunteered or traveled in the region could "vouch" for the local NGO, thus increasing its credibility to potential donors. A pledge-based system where funds are released only after a critical threshold has been raised could ensure that no project goes underfunded.<br /><br />It's a real shame to see so many great proposals go unserved by our current process and I'm not sure that what I'm describing above is something we could do but if someone isn't doing this already, I think <i>someone</i> should be looking into this.<br /><br />What are your thoughts?Tom Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07446421330879259637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13470399.post-10545225276783486642008-06-26T18:06:00.003-07:002008-06-26T18:35:06.760-07:00What is it with me and Texan Congressmen?A couple of months ago, I saw a movie that became an instant favorite of mine: Charlie Wilson's War. Charles Wilson was Congressman for the 2nd Congressional District of Texas. If you haven't seen the movie, check it out.
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<br />Today, I checked out TMZ.com, a Hollywood gossip website that is one of my guilty pleasures. Under the title <a href="http://www.tmz.com/2008/06/25/who-knew-congressmen-were-cool">Who Knew Congressman Were Cool?</a> there was a small post about US Congressman John Culberson, who represents the 7th Congressional district who TMZ mentioned Twitters from the House floor.
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<br />So I followed him on Twitter and got a follow back immediately. I went to his <a href="http://www.culberson.house.gov/">website</a> and noticed that he was about to hold a live town-hall webcast.
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<br />Congressman Culberson was the first to tweet from the House floor (even though Blackberry's are frowned upon on the floor) and tonight made history with the first ever live town hall web cast by a US Congressman.
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<br />I was interacting with him through Twitter and his UStream chat just before they started recording on UStream and it was great to see him using Summize, USTream, Twitter, and some kind of group phone-bank conference app. Talk about convergence.
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<br />Here is the embedded link to the town hall which at the time of this post is still going on:
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<br /><embed id="w47fdfaaff6fbee07486443a5a7e9896e" width="320" height="260" flashvars="autoplay=false&brand=embed" src="http://www.ustream.tv/flash/live/202314" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="opaque" allowfullscreen="true"/>
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<br />Congressman Culberson was in his office alone and what was remarkable was that not only was he using these tools but he was totally open (i.e. not screening comments and phoners) and connected to his Constituents.
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<br />Congressman Culberson reminds me of Charlie in that he is very confident in his positions, a great orator, and quick on his feet.
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<br />It's now 930pm and the Congressman is still holding court with his constituents and has a following on his UStream of slightly more than 100 people. He is a pioneer in "Government 2.0" and a great example of what constituent communications using Web 2.0 looks like.
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<br />My prediction is that Congressman Culberson will develop a cult following (I predict an appearance on Colbert or Stewart within weeks). He is authentic, connected and accountable to his constituents and the feedback from his constituents on the town hall was overwhelmingly positive.
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<br />Elected officials everywhere, take note. Tom Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07446421330879259637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13470399.post-13544101197571403132008-06-26T14:54:00.003-07:002008-06-26T14:58:15.355-07:00Letter To The EditorI submitted this Letter to the Editor last week in response to an article written by David Baines in the Vancouver Sun. I wanted to give the Sun sufficient time to run the letter prior to publishing this response on my blog. <br /><br />I am writing in response to David Baines' column published Saturday, June 14th.<br /><br />In it, Mr. Baines makes statements that are irresponsible, misleading and frankly, mistruths. First, I am asking for a retraction for the completely false and defamatory statement that "a lot of the money raised by GiveMeaning ends in [my] pocket." This statement is completely without merit. Second, there is ample media coverage of my reasons for starting GiveMeaning, and I in fact have said many times<br />that I was in search of something meaningful to do with my life and career. To suggest that "I have stumbled from one business and personal failure to another" is false and derogatory.<br /><br />As GiveMeaning Foundation's CEO, it is my responsibility to point out that after Mr. Baines finishes with his attempts at character assassination, he then turns his attention to GiveMeaning Foundation's most recently filed financial statements with the Canada Revenue Agency. He starts by acknowledging that revenue nearly doubled from<br />our 2006 financial year, and that 73% of all revenue collected by the GiveMeaning Foundation in this most recent fiscal year was distributed to other charities. It should also be noted that this percentage is of all the revenue collected by the Foundation, including donations made to our Foundation for distribution to other charities, and gifts made to our Foundation specifically to cover our own costs of<br />providing the free service of a charity conduit. Mr. Baines also notes that as a percentage of overall donations, our administrative costs, which are covered by separate donations, have decreased from 2006.<br /><br />Mr. Baines himself acknowledges that this recent annual report as filed with CRA is a significant improvement over our first full year of operations. However based on the slant of his editorials on me and GiveMeaning, it would be impossible for his editorial to end there, so he ridiculously asks your readers to subtract $645,000 of donations that GiveMeaning Foundation gave to registered charities, from our<br />annual report. He asks this in order to justify finishing with the statement, "This is a pretty ugly picture." The only ugly picture is the one drawn specifically from Mr. Baines' attempts at re-writing our annual report.<br /><br />To be clear, in addition to processing gifts made directly via the website to specific projects, GiveMeaning also accepts donations made into donor advised funds. The purpose of a donor advised fund is to provide an individual donor benefits similar to those experienced by people with personal foundations. Having a donor advised fund at<br />GiveMeaning eliminates set-up costs and administrative obligations incurred by those with private foundations. Donor advised funds are not a new concept. This service is offered by leading financial institutions such as TD Bank and Scotiabank. Tides and Vancouver Foundation also offer donors the same service.<br /><br />It should now be clear to readers that Mr. Baines has not made any attempt to analyze GiveMeaning from any fair or balanced perspective and that he is using his column to attempt to attack our credibility.<br /><br />We are incredibly proud of how much progress has been made in creating and launching from scratch, a new, more efficient model for charitable giving. It's unfortunate that Mr. Baines continues to attempt to discredit GiveMeaning, a service which has helped hundreds of charities across Canada achieve their goals without charging any costs to them or their donors.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br /><br /><br /><br />Tom Williams,<br />CEO, GiveMeaning Foundation<br />givemeaning.comTom Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07446421330879259637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13470399.post-6515744191092054642008-03-12T14:52:00.002-07:002008-03-12T15:03:59.547-07:00Obama Donor Fatigue?Most everyone knows that I am a card-carrying Obamite. Many of my friends also know of my mild depression after HRC's wins in Ohio and Texas.<br /><br />As an Obamite, I've signed up at BarackObama.com and receive regular email appeals signed by either David Plouffe or Barack Obama. Most of the emails are genuine communiques but inevitably include an appeal to "donate right now" typically asking for $25 dollars.<br /><br />The success of Obama's online fundraising has been widely reported with particular emphasis Obama harnessing the "Power of Plenty" by receiving many small donations from a mass of individual donors.<br /><br />After Ohio and Texas, I know I'm already fighting "Campaign Fatigue" but I wonder to what extent "Donor Fatigue" is starting to set-in.<br /><br />A successful online fundraising campaign needs multiple appeals with different messaging which the Obama campaign has done well but I suspect that we'll see a dip (and perhaps a noticeable decline) in Obama's online fundraising due to a potent combination of Campaign and Donor Fatigue.<br /><br />As a means by which to counteract both fatigues, I would advise the Obama campaign to send out several emails with links to their favorite YouTube clips, websites and articles with no mention of an appeal. Have some candid YouTube clips of Obama like the dinner-party clips from a while back. Adjust the momentum of their outbound emails and start rallying the troops before April 22nd.Tom Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07446421330879259637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13470399.post-6395200639598500872008-02-19T16:46:00.004-08:002008-02-19T17:10:56.779-08:00Animals versus HumansOne of the most memorable nights I had last November in Africa was visiting with a couple that drilled bore holes (to provide clean drinking water) in Uganda. At the time of my visit, they were packing up to move operations to Sudan. <br /><br />The couple was originally from South Africa and were very gracious hosts to me and my traveling companions. At their house, they were caring for a litter of newborn puppies, one of whom is featured below.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.givemeaning.com/blog/uploaded_images/296236311_725496752c-789863.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://www.givemeaning.com/blog/uploaded_images/296236311_725496752c-789857.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />I remember my hosts complaining that NGO workers and other temporary workers in Northern Uganda who adopted stray animals should have the "decency to kill the dogs when they leave." I understood (though didn't totally agree with) the point she was making: That it's "far worse" to give stray dogs a home and a stable food supply only to then abandon that dog months later and force it to return to a life of disease, starvation and suffering.<br /><br />Then, on January 1st, I was reading an article published in the Globe & Mail by Lisan Jutras (no longer available free online) which spoke about the problem of stray animals in vacation "hot spots" like the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Mexico. <br /><br />As someone whose heart is split evenly between a passion for international development and animals of all kinds, I often feel a tug-of-war between my passion for animals and my passion for people. How (I often think) could I possibly invest resources in a few stray dogs when people in that same community are starving? <br /><br />I wonder how other people who have almost equal compassion for animals as they do humans resolve or manage this tension? <br /><br /><a href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/14/AR2008021402556.html?g=1'>here is a story</a> about a rescue dog being flown from Iraq to the USA.Tom Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07446421330879259637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13470399.post-31143761809916380842008-02-11T14:20:00.000-08:002008-02-11T14:31:44.859-08:00Obama and online fundraisingAccording to Barack Obama's official website, more than 280,000 people have created accounts on BarackObama.com.<br /><br />From those online accounts, 6,500 grassroots volunteer groups have been created and more than 13,000 off-line events have been organized through the site.<br /><br />Over 370,000 individual online donations have been made, more than half of which are <i> less than $25 donations </i>.<br /><br />And most interesting to me, personal fundraising pages (individual fundraising pages where you proactively recruit your social network to donate through your personal fundraising page) have raised over $1.5m.<br /><br />Obama's campaign really emphasizes the "Power of Plenty" and demonstrates the power of grassroots fund-raising.<br /><br />My critique of the Barackobama.com website is that the functionality of the fundraising page is that it provides no opportunity for me to link my blog (the site offers simple hosted-blog functionality) with my fundraising page, which seems to be a big missed opportunity.<br /><br />Also, there is probably a ton of great social media buried deep within the site but no <br />way to easily search or browse other great stories of people joining the Hope Revolution.Tom Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07446421330879259637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13470399.post-88377211906036616612008-02-02T20:49:00.001-08:002008-02-02T20:54:21.308-08:00Weekend replyMr. Baines has published in the Vancouver Sun his fourth installment on his opinion of me and that of GiveMeaning and the work it has set out to do.<br /><br />Baines told me when I first responded to him that as an editorialist, he was free to write his opinions. And so, in summary, his opinions appear to be:<br /><br />1) I have gotten too much positive attention and praise in the media, most of which I don’t deserve;<br />2) I am most undeserving of praise because as a teenager and young-adult, I made some mistakes;<br />3) That before starting GiveMeaning, I ended a business relationship acrominiously and that story (or one side of it) merits publication and judgment in the court of public opinion;<br />4) That I naively bragged of my media savviness in an interview more than 7 years ago, which almost merits publication ;<br />5) And finally, that neither I nor GiveMeaning should be trusted because of the points above;<br /><br />It is quite clear from his articles that Baines doesn’t like me and apparently a few former “friends” and associates feel the same way. But I am not sure this is worthy of 4 articles which are almost entirely personal and don’t establish any balanced or well reasoned arguments as to why GiveMeaning should not be allowed to operate as a registered charity financed by generous donations. Baines brings up the point that GiveMeaning’s donations have been subsidized by tax-payers. He repeatedly makes this statement knowing full well that the same is true of any other registered charity.<br /><br />Baines has chosen an interesting time in my life to attack me: I have finally grown up. In his four articles, he has attacked me not for anything that I am currently doing now but for mistakes I've made in my past. This must be because there is no story in suggesting that GiveMeaning is up to anything other than trying to achieve and facilitate social good.<br /><br />I admit I have made mistakes in my life. GiveMeaning is evidence that I have learned from those mistakes and am now devoting my energy to the betterment of others rather than myself. <br /><br />Baines has no evidence of nefarious behaviour at my foundation or that it is not in complete compliance with CRA’s regulations. We can all take confidence in the fact that an investigative journalist of Baines’ experience has nothing but innuendo after 4 weeks of “research”. His primary innuendo is that the measure of GiveMeaning Foundation’s efficiency is the percentage of receipted donations which is transferred to other charities in the same fiscal period. To be clear: <br /><br />100% of what is raised through GiveMeaning Foundation for projects listed on the website is distributed to qualified donees. <br />GiveMeaning has operating costs like any organization and like any start-up, costs are high in creating a new organization from scratch. Those operating costs have been funded by donors who recognize that overheads covered by GiveMeaning Foundation reduce the overheads of other charities, primarily struggling small charities. <br /><br />We take it as a point of pride that we do not share or sell the names of donors and have had this policy from the very beginning. In fact, we state it clearly in the About page of our website and so I cannot release donors names. This is undoubtedly a prudent policy in a sector when too many charities sell the names of their donors.<br /><br />Baines also mentions that before I decided to stop speaking to him that I offered him the opportunity to speak with some of our donors. This is true. I don't think it should be of any surprise that after reading his articles, that none of our supporters would wish to speak with Baines. Had he chosen to wait and speak with donors before writing his articles, I know he would have found what he says he's looking for: Donors who understand and respect the service we are providing. Given the personal nature of his articles and his reputation for a particular form of editorial, it should come as no surprise that I was advised not to talk with him. Note that this is the first time I have ever stopped talking with a person of the press.<br /><br />To now enter Blake Bromley into Baines questioning of my or GiveMeaning's integrity only hurts Baines' case further. Blake is one of the most highly respected charity lawyers in Canada, if not the world. Not only was Blake Bromley proven innocent of the charges that Baines brings up, his reputation and professional practice thrives in spite of the assaults of CRA and David Baines. Baines fails to mention that Blake was also cleared by the Law Society which investigated the accusations as they would of a complaint against any lawyer. <br /><br />One of the very few new things that Baines has written about today is a charity called Amazing Grace Foundation of which I am a director. <br /><br />I have received no fees or had any expenses paid by Amazing Grace Foundation. Amazing Grace has received funds for specific projects, as have many other charities. The reason money didn’t flow directly from donors to Amazing Grace is because this charity (like others who use GiveMeaning) doesn’t have the technology to raise money via the internet nor does it have the money to fundraise. Instead he refers to a “circular flow of money”. What is circular about a donor coming to GiveMeaning.com and making a donation which is flowed through to Amazing Grace at 100 cents on the dollar and spent by Amazing Grace to achieve its charitable purposes? Perhaps by “circular” Baines meant “straight line”.<br /><br />Baines has said that as a young man, I had some screw-ups and wasn’t as much of a “whiz kid” as I and some media outlets have portrayed myself as. Ok. <br /><br />It is my past that has led me to my present. My past drives me to work as hard as I do. In the past, as Baines has made readers aware, I often ran or walked away from challenges and problems. That time is over. David Baines has only increased my resolve and inspired me to most certainly stay and continue to fight for this fledgling charity the Vancouver Sun has devoted so much energy and space to discrediting.<br /><br />Ironically, Baines has said what I have known and spoken about for a long time. That up until starting GiveMeaning, I was more “famous for being famous” than for actually accomplishing anything. Baines has perhaps done me a service by bringing that weakness to the fore. It is a pity that in his zeal to tear me down he could not recognize that with the help of so many of you I am now finally building something great. I want to thank Baines for inspiring me to be both a better man and a better steward of GiveMeaning’s resources. More importantly, I want to thank you for standing with me in this time of trial.Tom Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07446421330879259637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13470399.post-39856474930361942972008-01-29T08:12:00.000-08:002008-01-29T08:17:56.827-08:00Here we go again.Readers of the Vancouver Sun might have noted that Sun columnist David Baines continues to pursue a selective investigation of my past, this time beginning with a quote from a 2000 CBC Interview I gave seven years ago.<br /><br />In it, I reference a CBC television interview done much earlier. I was featured jumping on a couch singing and dancing to a song. In the 2000 interview, I'm quoted as saying "Do you think I ever woke up in the morning, surveyed my apartment and said, 'Maybe I'll crank the tunes and jump on my couch for a while?' I don't think so." I spoke confidently and naively about my media awareness, going further with a comment that I told people "amazing, wonderful, and, in most cases, untrue stories about [myself]." <br /><br />In this second column, Baines searches for investigative credibility in quotes taken from my father’s participation in the same interview. He said that I was “a prototypical child of the electronic age. He knows how to use the sound-bite. ... He will give you a sentence that will be tailored for you to put into your news broadcast. He is a child of the age in that sense." <br /><br />The point in bringing this material up from seven years ago and then observing the amount of media that together with GiveMeaning I have garnered quite deliberately since, is to suggest that if I was "spinning" then, I must be spinning now. In a vain effort at making his point Mr. Baines brings up my short-lived employment at a firm called Whalen, Beliveau. I began there when I was 17 and ended a year later when the Vancouver office of the firm split to merge with another firm. <br /><br />My entire salary was paid as an advance or draw against commissions. This simply meant that before I was entitled to any bonuses from commissions, all of my salary would be deducted and any additional expenses I incurred would first be repaid. Mr. Baines is correct that I did not close any deals where a commission was paid to Whalen, Beliveau, but this is because I was working to develop a new field of client, not because I didn't work strenuously on behalf of my employer. <br /><br />Under the terms of my employment I was responsible for my own expenses and Whalen Believeau lent me the money to pay these expenses pending receipt of commissions. When Whalen, Beliveau split to join a new firm I was sent a letter by the Montreal office of Whalen, Beliveau demanded that I repay the loan. Since my employment had ended unexpectedly I had no income to do so and Whalen Beliveau ultimately did not pursue me further. <br /><br />Quite separately, because this money was in fact a “debt owing”, and under the advice of counsel, certain of the facts are as Mr. Baines reports; specifically that I declared as income the advances I received and claimed the paid expenses. It is true that Canada Revenue Agency originally disallowed the expense claims on the grounds that I didn't pay them. It is true that I appealed that ruling, arguing that even though I didn't pay the expenses directly, I was liable to the firm for the full amount. The Tax Court decided that I had done everything correctly and Canada Revenue Agency did not appeal the court decision. It is not true that I didn’t “earn” this income as Mr. Baines quite wrongly suggests. I consider the matter closed although I am reserving the right to consider Mr. Baines assertions more formally. <br /><br />In his first column focusing on me, Baines quotes a recent interview I gave to a Victoria-based newspaper called "Monday Magazine" in which the interview asked me "why aren't you more of a dick?" I responded with a column filling quote captured by Mr. Baines "I think because I was a dick," Williams replied. "This path I'm on now is only something I arrived at after having fully explored my own dickiness." But really there isn’t anything new here. I have been consistent and candid in suggesting that the motivation to start GiveMeaning lay in part to redeem myself and correct the course that I seemed to be headed-down. <br /><br />And so, Mr. Baines speaks of my past grabbing thoughtless quotes from a teenager delighted with the new attention of the media. What a sleuth! He points to the typical failures of anyone attempting to find the right path to follow in his search for a worthy future. With GiveMeaning now a cause for celebration Mr. Baines is sure there is something wrong with the picture and so he has chosen to search in the past in an effort to discredit me and the work of GiveMeaning. <br /><br />When Mr. Baines first called me, I decided to speak openly to him and spoke to him several times both the day before his first column and then a few days after it appeared. That won’t happen again. <br /><br />If Mr. Baines had taken the trouble to read or watch any of the recent interviews in full, the ones particularly about GiveMeaning, he would know that I am in this for the long haul and I am in this completely. I am nothing if I am not open although people like Mr. Baines are quickly making me much less naïve. <br /><br />As far as anything else that might appear on the web posted in an effort to capitalize on the cheap shots of someone who should know better, I would much rather you wrote me directly.Tom Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07446421330879259637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13470399.post-84109185218421092762008-01-21T13:46:00.000-08:002008-01-21T13:52:16.018-08:00My response to David Baines' article this past SaturdayA writer named David Baines called me on Friday morning to let me know he was writing a piece on me and GiveMeaning in the next morning's paper. Armed with our 2005 and 2006 annual reports we file with Canadian Revenue Agency, he recites publicly available numbers namely that we received $234,632 in tax-receipted donations (which are largely donations we received through our website for the projects on GiveMeaning.com) and another $730,350 from charitable foundations to pay GiveMeaning's administrative costs in operating the website in Canada.<br /><br />He specifically states that I "refused to identify any of these donors" when in fact, I offered for him to speak with some of GiveMeaning Foundation's donors and yet he didn't take me up on this. I find it odd that Baines appeared to rush to publish this article, calling me for the first time the day before the article was supposed<br />to run.<br /><br />Nevertheless, his main contention is that GiveMeaning Foundation has spent more money building the GiveMeaning brand and service than it has raised money for its projects. This is not only not in dispute but not surprising to anyone that knows anything about a start-up business. GiveMeaning launched its re-vamped website in late September of 05. Prior to that, our web presence was in Beta and very little transactions flowed through. The numbers that Baines is reporting on is our first full year of collecting tax-receipted donations in Canada for the GiveMeaning website. Given that our<br />average donation through the website is about $40, our first-year tally of money raised for projects is not surprising. It's also not surprising to anyone that understands the nature of a start-up that in the first few years of operation that start-up costs will exceed revenues. It took eBay eight years to make a profit.<br /><br />Baines can't understand "why certain undisclosed charities would give money to pay overhead for what is essentially a charitable conduit." Foundations are investing in GiveMeaning because they recognize that the GiveMeaning service is helping charities of all sizes make fundraising easier and less costly. By supporting our work at<br />GiveMeaning, they are providing an infrastructure for all charities to use. He seems unaware that foundations regularly make grants to other foundations for capacity and infrastructure costs.<br /><br />Of course I draw a salary and yes, my wife works as a contractor for GiveMeaning. Baines seems to think that GiveMeaning should run without staff and expense and that it's wrong for charitable foundations to provide GiveMeaning with the financial resources to build its service, a service used by charities of all sizes.<br /><br />Baines seems unable to draw distinction between money raised through the GiveMeaning.com website for projects and money raised separately from donors who support our admin costs. When he says "Williams insists that, whenever a person gives money for a particular charity, 100 per of that money gets to the named beneficiary. That may be true, but it does not mitigate the fact that the vast majority of the<br />overall money collected during 2006 went to administration." By lumping together these two costs as one, he is ignoring the simple fact that the donors giving to our operating costs are doing so specifically FOR our operating costs and that donors giving through the website for projects have 100% of their funds passed on<br />the Implementing Organization responsible for carrying-out that<br />project.<br /><br />It can't be laid out more clearly than what we have in our About Us section which reads "We charge nothing for donations collected online and even cover the credit card costs associated with each donation. We rely on the support of generous donors and advertisers to provide this service."<br /><br />Baines leaves readers with his own judgement on what is or isn't philanthropy, passing judgement on a fantastic grassroots economic development initiative out of Uganda which trains Ugandan people to build guitars and then sells those guitars in North America to create self-sustaining, economic development and on Wild ARC, which is the<br />division of the BC SPCA that provides rehabilitation and care to injured animals. Baines doesn't think Sea Otters and poor Ugandan people fall into the class of "quality charities." He's entitled to his opinion but the whole point of GiveMeaning is to give grassroots initiatives an opportunity to find their audiences as we believe that any charitable initiative deserves to have the opportunity to better find and connect with supporters who care about those causes.<br /><br />Baines' final point sums it up nicely. He says that "we have a responsibility to scrutinize all charitable endeavours to ensure that we are getting decent value for our dollar." He clearly doesn't think that GiveMeaning's service is needed, valuable or useful to the charities and donors we serve. And that spending money on a new way<br />of fixing a big problem is not warranted. He's entitled to his opinion.Tom Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07446421330879259637noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13470399.post-81866453012982989662008-01-19T14:51:00.000-08:002008-01-19T15:03:41.004-08:00Change Conference Q&ALast night I spoke at the 8th annual Change Conference in Victoria, BC. I asked those in attendance to write and submit questions about making the changes they want to make in the World and I would do my best to answer each question. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of people who asked questions. This morning, I spent some time answering each of the questions I was asked. Here are both the questions and my answers.<br /><br />For those of you at the conference who didn't get a chance to ask me a question, don't worry about it. Add me on Facebook and/or email me at my name at givemeaning.com<br /><br />Thanks to everyone who participated!<br /><br /><br /><b>How do I find out what I am passionate about?</b><br />I’m sorry I didn’t do this yesterday. Here’s a good way of trying to focus in on what you care about. Start by writing down 10 words that describe what’s in your heart and head. From that list, create another list but limit the words to five. From that list of five, further limit it to three.<br /><br />I find that this little exercise helps clarify the issues that I’m passionate about, so that I can focus on then learning about and doing more about the things that I’m most passionate about.<br /><br /><b>Music and leadership / making positive change is my life. How can I integrate the two to benefit others?</b><br /><br /><b>(Another question with the same answer:)</b> What role do you think music plays in positive change?<br /><br />Well as the husband of a Musician, I can tell you that I have witnessed the impact a Musician can make. When a Musician hears from a listener that their music got them through a tough-time, helped them grieve, helped them open their heart to love, all of these things are making positive change.<br /><br />So I think that simply by following your music, by making music from your heart, you are capable of making change. <br /><br />At GiveMeaning, we’re exploring an idea we call “MusicGivesMeaning” which would promote various artists’ shows in exchange for the artist agreeing to raise some money that night for GiveMeaning.<br /><br />I believe strongly that every artist should also seek to nurture art in others, so I think in addition to making music, helping others develop their musical craft is a great way of making meaning.<br /><br /><b>Change superficial and prejudice/racists bullying.</b><br /><br />I’m not entirely sure of the question here so I’m going to riff on “sameness.”<br /><br />The people who make fun of others who are “different” you must truly feel sad for. These people are so desperately insecure that they spend a tremendous amount of their time worrying about how to stay the same. They are totally powerless So insecure are they that they obsess about “what is cool” and do their best to live up to someone else’s definition of this. For as long as they do this, they are empty vessels, depriving themselves of understanding and respecting themselves.<br /><br />Dare to be different. Celebrate the fact that you are not the same. Embrace your individuality. And understand that anyone who is making fun of you is actually jealous of who you are. Don’t treat them with disdain or disrespect. Just have compassion for the fact that they have not found what you have found. Yourself.<br /><br /><b>I think I know change is a positive thing and I would love to do all I can to help what can I do to change – make a difference? Any ideas?</b><br /><br />I think one of the things to be aware of is that Change can’t just be a project, it has to be a daily way of living. In other words, someone who spends an entire month involved in a specific project but then spends the other 11 months not being aware of their world around them, is making only limited change.<br /><br />I suggest you start with trying to listen and inform yourself more of what’s going on in the world and then follow your tears. But while you’re looking for that, start by trying to be more compassionate to those around you. Who do you have a hard time finding time or respect for? Start there.<br /><br /><b>I believe we should “bring ourselves down” instead of bringing 3rd world countries up” (wealth wise) What do you think?</b><br /><br />I absolutely agree that we should see to “bring ourselves down.” I think we need to find the right way to express that sentiment. I really don’t like the term “sustainability.” I mean, do you want a sustainable marriage or do you want a GREAT marriage? Sustainability lacks a certain enjoyment in my mind. So I challenge you to come up with a way of “selling” what you’re really talking about, which is about celebrating ENOUGH. As I said last night, “more is always more” but enough is enough.<br /><br />But I don’t think our focus on ourselves and enough should be done at the expense of trying to help others. Instead of seeing it as “one or the other” I think if we focus on enough, the logical next step becomes “ok then, what do I do with the abundance” and the natural answer is to give your abundance to someone who doesn’t yet have enough.<br /><br />So by striving for enough, we will be led to give our abundance.<br /><br /><b>What occupation do you think would allow someone to affect change? Teacher, politician, doctor?</b><br /><br />Any job that puts you in contact with another human being, even if that contact is through art or the written word or over the phone, is an occupation that allows someone to affect change. <br /><br />Because it’s not about the job you do, it’s about the person that you are and the way in which you conduct yourself and treat others.<br /><br /><b>Me and my friends are organizing a 30 hr famine @ our school and I was wondering if you ever have done one and if you have any advice.</b><br /><br />I have never done a 30 hour famine. The closest I have ever been to that experience is being in Northern Uganda in this tiny little town where a massive feeding operation was underway. People had lined up all day in the sweltering heat to get their rations of about 1 months supply of the most basic food supplies. The experience led me to actually feel physical pain for what it must like to starve and I remember sitting in this tiny little shack eating Casava and beans with my hands and feeling so grateful for that food.<br /><br />My advice would be that if you want an easy way to collect pledges for donations, you can each create your own personal fundraising page at GiveMeaning.com which makes the process of raising money for the 30 hour famine much easier.<br /><br /><b>What gave you the idea to start GiveMeaning?</b><br /><br />A bunch of conversations with friends, led me to three conclusions. Most every single person I know cared about something but it seemed as though none of us were actually doing anything about the issues we cared about. When I started to try and understand why, I realized there were three issues that prevented most people from doing something or doing more:<br /><br /><u>When I give, I’m asked to give more:</u> Many people are put-off (rightly so) by the fact that after they’ve given their time or money to a charity, they get many requests to give more. The number of emails, letters, phone calls - altogether I call it “charity spam” – just really pisses people off, and so they don’t give any more.<br /><br /><u>How do I know that my money is being used effectively?</u> Many people don’t feel as though they know how their money is being used by the charities they give to. And increasingly, people who can’t have the confidence of where their money is being spent, prefer not to give. <br /><br /><u>I don’t have enough to make a difference:</u> Even some of my very wealthy friends said that they felt as though even if they gave ALL of their money away, it wouldn’t be enough by itself to change the issue that they care about. So if they feel that way, my friends with $5 dollars to spare certainly felt the same.<br /><br />So I wanted to solve these three problems because I felt if I could, that more people would actually want to give.<br /><br />So we solve this at GiveMeaning.com in the following ways: When you give money or sign-up at GiveMeaning.com, we never share your personal information with the charity or organization you are supporting. And we at GiveMeaning, never send you emails. <br /><br />Everything at GiveMeaning that you can give to or fundraise for is a specific tangible project. Instead of just giving to Poverty relief, you can give to help a specific family, build a specific school or water well, or send a specific class on a field-trip. And then once the funds are raised, you can keep track of how the project you are supporting is unfolding because blog updates, photos and sometimes video will be posted at GiveMeaning.<br /><br />And finally, it’s about pooling each person’s contribution together with other like-minded people so that your $5 and my $50 bucks and someone else’s $500 can all add up to be enough to complete the project.<br /><br /><b>On your website, do you help small growing charities or just large ones?</b><br /><br />We welcome every charity of every size at GiveMeaning.com. We particularly love to help the small, growing charities because they are the ones who need our support the most.<br /><br /><b>What do you think the pros and cons are of political and religious ties?</b><br /> <br />Oh wow, I could write an essay on this one! I think faith is a beautiful thing. What amazes me is how much most every religion agrees with every other religion. In terms of what it means to be a faithful person, to be a good person, most every religion asks the same thing of its followers. It’s the ideology of the religions that causes so much pain, suffering and conflict. And it’s the desire for some people in positions of authority in their religion to abuse their power for their own reasons/motiviations that can turn many people off from faith. What a horrible line to write. That a small group of people can turn another away from faith. <br /><br />Similarly with Politics, many Politicians don’t disagree with their members of their opposing political parties but it’s the ideology (again) and the desire to hold on to power that leads to a tremendous amount of arguing for arguing’s sake.<br /><br />Your question asked specifically about the ties to religion and politics. I think the more that one affiliates with a certain ideaology, the more unlikely they are to be able to find people who share their same beliefs and desires to make change. And in order to truly change the world, I think we need to reach across the lines that divide us, stop being “right” and “left” “Christian” and “Muslim” and start being brothers and sisters, people who share the same fears, the same aspirations, the same desire to make the World a better place. So I think it’s much better to have a respect for all and a desire to include everyone no matter their faith or politics in the effort to make change.<br /><br /><b>What is the issue you feel most strongly about?</b><br /><br />I care most about helping others connect with their passions and helping each person achieve their goals of making meaning in the World. That’s why GiveMeaning.com is the perfect place for me because I get to help everyone no matter what the cause or where they are working.<br /><br /> <br /><b>We have a tight neighborhood and we get together in the fall for a block party. I’d like to introduce the idea of a sister neighborhood in Africa. </b><br /><br />This is a great idea and myself and my team can help you connect with a village to support. The notion of a neighborhood supporting a neighborhood from another place is a fantastic idea. I’ll be in touch via email to help you on this.<br /><br /><b>What is the most difficult choice you have made in your life, and who inspired you to make the decision?</b><br /><br />I have always trusted and relied upon my instincts so I have never deliberated in the moment about a decision for a long-time. In other words, the biggest and most difficult choices APPEARED easy at the time, because I have always trusted in my own ability to survive, no matter if my choice turned out to be the wrong one. I think, looking back on it, it’s the choice to have created GiveMeaning and put all my remaining money into it. There have been many moments in making that decision, where I worried it was the wrong decision or that it wouldn’t work, but I persisted because I believed so strongly in what I was doing. Where I’ve drawn my greatest inspiration is from the people I’ve met along the way of this journey. The people that are trying to make the world a better place in their own ways. <br /><br /><b>Why did you end up giving your fortune away after working so hard to achieve it?</b><br /><br />Because giving away my money to help others is the best thing I could spend it on. But let's be clear, when I started GiveMeaning, I wasn't a tremendously wealthy man, financially.<br /><br /><b>To start-up a non-profit for microloans what are the first three things to concentrate on?</b><br /><br />Geographic Focus: Where will you focus your lending:<br />Lending Criteria: Who are the target beneficiaries of your loans? (Single mothers? Children? Anyone affected by poverty?)<br />Banking Partners: What criteria will you use in selecting micro-lending banking partners? Reporting, Credibility, Communications capabilities? Etc.<br /><br /> <br /><b>How do I motivate my friends to see a good cause as something they should support?</b><br /><br />I’ve said about selling anything that I’ve never sold anything in my life but I’ve had a lot of people want to buy things from me. By this I mean that for as long as you’re trying to CONVINCE someone that your cause is right and just, it will be an uphill battle. But if you can find a way for them to see that they WANT to be involved in that cause, then they will be asking you to join. How do you have them WANT it? By positioning that cause as desirable to them based on their existing values and interests. <br /><br /><b>I wish strangers on the bus would chat more. It’s so quiet.</b><br /><br />I totally agree! So take the lead and start a chat! Make it happen. And don’t get discouraged if it takes a while to get people to open up. Here’s a random idea: On Valentine’s day, buy a bunch of flowers and get on the bus and give one out to each person, along with a little note saying “we’re all on the same ride together” or something like that. I tell you, these simple kinds of things become infectious. <br /><br /><b>Some people find change difficult, especially if its for a cause like becoming sustainable). Is it our job to convince them? Is it our responsibility to always foster change in others?</b><br /><br />While I think it’s important to reach out to as many people as possible, I think it’s far more important to live the life you are talking about. The quiet example of leading the life that many others TALK about will inspire others around you. They will then ask you questions about why you live the way you do or care about the things you do.<br /><br /><b>First of all, we <3 u! Second, do you think there is a solution/change to homelessness and how should, if we do, come about it?</b><br /><br />First, thank you! I <3 all of you. There is most certainly a lot we can do about homelessness. How many houses have extra rooms? How many of the families living in those homes talk about their compassion for the homeless? How many of those families would be willing to take a homeless person into their homes? There is a disconnect between what we say we care about and what we are willing to do about it. Think of all the extra beds in Victoria alone. We have enough roofs to end homelessness. Do we have enough compassion to open our doors?<br /><br /><b>In my school people generally only hang out or interact with people in the same grade. I would like to see more inter-grade interaction and inclusion.</b><br /><br />I think that’s a great cause to work on. What can you do to kick-start this? Can you talk to the student leadership in each grade and ask them to get their friends together once a week for a social with people in a different grade as a starting point? Also, start thinking of what you will do when you are in the oldest grade in your school? How will you use that position to create change and leadership.<br /><br /><b>If you’re passionate about an idea and you’ve raised awareness locally and money for a large-scale problem, how do you go about making sure that money goes specifically into solving the problem and doesn’t get lost in translation? Especially if there are no charities for that issue?</b><br /><br />This is exactly what GiveMeaning.com was built for. You can start your own project page at GiveMeaning. We will issue the tax-receipts to your donors, collect the money online and then find what we call an Implementing Organization who will agree to take the money you raise and spend it on the problem you’re trying to solve. They will then report by blog update, photos and sometimes video on exactly how that problem is being addressed with the money you raised.<br /><br /><b>How do you decide if an organization/group is for you? There are so many options! I want to volunteer in Africa in an orphanage but I don’t know who to go with.</b><br /><br />My staff and I at GiveMeaning.com can help you with this. There is a friend of mine from Victoria named Logan Cochrane who runs a great small Orphanage in Ethiopia. You can learn more about it at <a href='http://kidshome.givemeaning.com'>kidshome.givemeaning.com</a> No matter what your passion is, GiveMeaning.com can help connect you with an appropriate organization is for you. <br /><br /><b>Out of all of your experiences, what was the moment that touched you the most prominently? </b><br /><br />There are so many moments but if I had to choose one, it was probably sitting in the Hotel Des Milles Collines (aka The Hotel Rwanda) listening to the birds chirp on a beautiful sunny morning the day after I watched the movie Hotel Rwanda in my hotel room. I had been traveling throughout Africa for two weeks, meeting people that we had helped through the GiveMeaning.com website. I wrote about the experience on my blog and said that I truly knew in that moment the power that each person has to change the World.<br /><br /><b>I have been trying to get more involved with local chapters of two organizations and I know I can bring some energy to these groups but there is a lack of interest. The events that ARE planned are generally in 18+ areas like pubs.<br />[Note: I summarized this email question.]</b><br /><br />I think the first thing I would do is approach one or both of those organizations and offer to captain an under 18 specific group and ask for some support and resources by which to make this happen. If this doesn’t happen, I would gladly support you in creating an under 18 youth group for GiveMeaning.com.<br /><br /><b>Have my Children plz?!</b><br />That’s probably the one question where my answer is no.Tom Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07446421330879259637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13470399.post-33493789363474151832008-01-10T15:16:00.000-08:002008-01-10T15:25:08.482-08:00Days like thisSo back in October, I <a href='http://www.givemeaning.com/blog/2007/10/cineplex-odeon-worth-ticket-price-at.html'>blogged about</a> a touching experience at a Cineplex Odeon cinema and featured a charity called Gordon House Youth S.E.A.R.Ch. that was responsible for getting the young man that I wrote about at Cineplex Odeon, his job.<br /><br />Then, just before Christmas, I noticed that Gordon House Youth S.E.A.R.Ch. posted a <a href='http://www.givemeaning.com/proposal/computerreplacement'>proposal</a> at GiveMeaning trying to raise money for 12 computers and wrote a <a href='http://www.givemeaning.com/blog/2007/12/looking-for-12-used-computers.html'>follow-up piece</a> on my blog directing readers to their proposal. <br /><br />Gordon House needs the computers so that they can provide at-risk youth with a means of searching for jobs online, updating their resumes and providing basic IT skills development.<br /><br />And yesterday, I got a call from a man named Sergio Vettese who works for <a href='http://www.softchoice.com'>Softchoice Corporation</a>, a publicly-traded (TSX-SO) Toronto-based company, which describes themselves doing for IT what I'm trying to do at GiveMeaning. Here's what they say:<br /><br /><i>"A distinctive corporate culture developed at <a href='http://www.softchoice.com'>Softchoice</a>, one that continues to promoted integrity, forward-thinking and individual responsibility as the basis for every customer interaction. To this day <a href='http://www.softchoice.com'>Softchoice Corporation</a>’s focus on finding better ways to help customers buy and manage their IT resources remains the central motivating force behind everything we do.</i><br /><br />Sergio has facilitated a donation of 12 Laptops to Gordon House S.E.A.R.C.H, thus fulfilling the proposal before it even got its 100 votes!<br /><br />I'm most certainly going to turn this into a Podcast! It's stories like this that make all of us GiveMeaning giddy!<br /><br />Thanks <a href='http://www.softchoice.com'>Softchoice Corporation</a>!!!Tom Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07446421330879259637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13470399.post-81859378463490373692008-01-07T12:47:00.000-08:002008-01-07T15:12:13.544-08:00Kenyan Situation Reports<b> Below are correspondences we have received from members at GiveMeaning who have posted fundraising projects at GiveMeaning benefiting communities in Kenya. We've asked each of our project founders to update us with what they are experiencing or their colleagues are experiencing on the ground to try and give you a perspective that might not otherwise be able to be obtained. <br /><br />Because of the tribal violence, I have decided to remove any specific geographical references and any names of people mentioned in these reports. I hope to be updating this page with more reports in the coming days. These comments are infused with their own perspectives and not that of GiveMeaning or my own.</b><br /><br /><br /><b>This update was received by a Kenyan-born Project Founder currently living in the US on January 3rd.</b><br /><br /> Dear Tom,<br /> I come from Kenya, where i was born and raised. The reason i started to mobilize my friends to begin our organization [name withheld] is because i feel passionate about the plight of Kenya's children. What is happening in the Kenya is obviously unprecedented. The people of Kenya through history have been peace loving; always going about their businesses peacefully and trying to create a prosperous future through education and change. It is for this reason that they came out in large numbers to vote and exercise their democratic right, boy, they were cheated.<br /> <br /> So many people have been displaced. Everyone i speak to in Kenya including my sisters and mother is scared. I have heard a frightened voice of my older sister, [Name withheld], an otherwise strong and courageous woman, quiver and afraid. For the first time she's of the realization that her marriage to a luo, a man she has married a number of years ago could have been a "mistake" and perhaps it might just bring death sentence to her and her entire family (something that was never a problem before). To think that her entire family could be a target is hard to fathom. Her family has lived in [location withheld] with several people of different tribal descent. Suddenly, she's become sceptical, afraid and dubious about her neighbors and what they would think of her. <br /> <br /><br /> <br /> In my home are of [location and details withheld] this problem has exacerbated the usual poverty and pauperism that has existed for generations. Speaking to my Mom, she said, "I have nothing to eat son; i have been sleeping without food for days." For an old woman, suffering from acute high blood pressure and arthritis, it is impossible to imagine my take about the situation. I have the money to send to her for food, but how? She cannot collect it because the service canters are closed. No food can be transported into the village; yet the village has been hit by a long spell of drought that has left the inhabitants of over 30,000 people with no much to eat.<br /> <br /> Here in [location withheld] my friend in the small town where i live, just called me to tell me that his brother in-law and wife's uncle (both Kikuyus) have been hacked to death by an angry mob in western Kenya. My friend's wife would love to go home and attend the funeral, but how do you travel into a "war zone?" We are thinking of organizing a "Harambee" (pulling together) {fund-raising} to assist [Name withheld] with funeral arrangements. It was just the other day on New year's eve that i was at [name withheld] house where i had been invited to celebrate the start of year. [name withheld] and i had talked at great length about Kenya's after this disputed election. Never did i ever imagine that tragedy would hit this close.<br /> <br /> War is destructive. If the leadership would realize that greed, power, pride and arrogance won't feed or bring hope to the hopeless, perhaps reason would prevail.<br /> <br /> <br /><b>Sent January 2nd from the Province of Nyanza</b><br /><br /> "Thank you very much for your communication. Things do not look good here. The Opposition leader who was rigged out of the presidential election comes from my home Province-Nyanza. So the violence is intense here.The current president comes from a tribe called the Kikuyu and together with members of a tribe called Abagusi, they are the only people who voted for him. Now all the rest of the Kenyan tribes have risen against them, Rwanda style with pangas and arson (burning of houses). In my home area we live side by side with the Abagusi. Their houses were burnt and scores killed. It is amazing how people who have lived side by side for decades suddenly turn against one another.<br /><br />A curfew has been imposed in several parts of the province and everything is grinding to a halt. There is no food, no public transport, no water because people fear venturing out to fetch it. People are just indoors fearing the chaotic blood letting. towards the event. Kisumu is a Ghost town as i write this and nobody can eneter or leave it."Tom Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07446421330879259637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13470399.post-37053526887707629622008-01-06T15:00:00.001-08:002008-01-06T15:09:25.430-08:00Twitter could become the next Digg.I just Twittered this idea but here's the expansion to this thought. First the thought again: That Twitter should add the tinyURL function into Twitter. By doing this, it would be able to track which URL's are being Twittered and build the conversation around the URL's. Add my tagging idea I've discussed before and we're really cooking with gas.<br /><br />And since we have more vested interest in our Followers than an anonymous commenter on Digg, the conversation stream around the story should be better quality.<br /><br />Calling all programmers, the Twitter folk or someone already working on a really awesome Twitter-based social network, let me give you my brain on this. I just want Twitter to live up to its potential.Tom Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07446421330879259637noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13470399.post-34068066860416681292008-01-04T16:24:00.000-08:002008-01-04T17:24:08.254-08:00Obama and the Power of PlentyI call myself a "CanadiAmerican:" I was born and raised in Canada up until 15 when I moved to the US where I grew-up in the US until about 22. I went to the US as many immigrants do, to take part in the pursuit of the <i>"American Dream"</i>, the one where you arrive with a nickle in your pocket and several years later, you're a millionaire. <br /><br />I arrived as a 9th grade drop-out working for Apple Computer and while I didn't leave a millionaire, I became a consultant to Fortune 500 companies, charging thousands of dollars a day for my uneducated advice and telling CEO's and executives of major companies how to run their companies better and they were listening. I started companies, helped manage a half a billion of venture capital for some of the World's richest people and had all the material trappings of wealth. <br /><br />I always say that "success requires a persistent misreading of the odds" (a quote from Tom Peters) for the odds were not that I had a <i> good chance </i> of having the success I did when I left home for California. But I was full of hope.<br /><br />One of my favorite quotes is "“Man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air, but only for one second without hope” <br /><br />I have always been interested in politics and I've watched many political speeches both of living Politicians and of those who have passed. I have watched grainy videos of Martin Luther King Jr, JFK, Bobby Kennedy, Roosevelt, (not so grainy) Trudeau and many other Politicians of a different time wondering if ever there would be a speech given by someone in my lifetime as powerful as theirs by a person as galvanizing and enchanting as them. <br /><br />Instead, I have had to content myself with remarking how well a spin was made, an accusation or barb thrown, a defense or criticism made, a policy articulated. The closest I got was Jeb Bartlett created by Aaron Sorkin and Hugh Grant as Prime Minister of the U.K. I, like many people, had lost hope that a Politician would come around and actually inspire me. Until last night.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yqoFwZUp5vc&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yqoFwZUp5vc&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br />This speech moved me to tears. <br /><br />His opponents' criticisms (e.g. his inexperience and naivety on foreign affairs) now seem to me part of his appeal. Of course, it shouldn't surprise you that a 9th grade drop-out who became a consultant to CEO's feels that sometimes, inexperience is to be coveted.<br /><br />I often tell people the story of how the Polaroid camera was invented. <a href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Land'>Edwin Land</a> was a Harvard-educated Scientist who tried to share his scientific experience while on vacation with his three-year old daughter. She wanted to see the pictures they were taking right away and he was trying to explain the process by which pictures are developed. Not having any of the inertia that comes from experience, she wasn't convinced that his explanation was the ONLY answer. Edwin was prompted to think outside the box and soon after, the Polaroid camera was invented.<br /><br />With experience comes inertia. An acceptance of the "norm" the "status quo." A cold, calculating look at the odds as a means by which to determine whether to try.<br /><br />"Hope is the power that gives us the power to step out and try.”<br /><br />Last night, a Politician gave me and millions of other people Hope. His name is Barack Hussein Obama and I believe that he is now destined to become the 45th President of the United States of America.<br /><br />Pragmatically, one can question whether it would be better for Obama to be elected President later after someone else who is more hardened tries to clean up the massive mess that's been made. As an investor, I was taught to never throw "good money after bad" but this assumes you are content to write the investment off. We're talking about a Country here, a Country that Obama reminded us last night has the potential to be great.<br /><br />I don't think anyone wants to write off the United States of America. It's time to throw good after bad. <br /><br />I've decided that I'm going to head down to South Carolina on January 26th.<br /><br />I'm making the trip because I've never been as inspired by a Politician living in my lifetime as I have been by Barack Obama.Tom Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07446421330879259637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13470399.post-24328123279299671092008-01-03T11:43:00.000-08:002008-01-03T12:10:00.480-08:00Before a biz model, Twitter needs some featuresWith all of this talk about Twitter and it's potential to become a billion dollar business and what business model it should take, I'm thinking a couple features need to be added before Twitter can hit and more importantly maintain 100m users.<br /><br />As a preamble, let me say to my most tweety friends who might have their feathers ruffled that I of course LOVE all of your tweets but consider the following:<br /><br />At present time, when following someone, I have to take everything they're going to Twitter. This includes kids puking, drunken bar posts and conversations between two people that should be Direct totally lacking any context but for some reason are posted publicly.<br /><br />Feature #1: Start tagging posts. They could even be one letter tags (#t = tech, #p = politics, #r = random stuff etc etc.) I could then choose when following someone, which of these types of tags, I want to listen to.<br /><br />Feature #2: Allow Twitter users to rate others' posts. Reply to each post with a 1, 2, 3 or do it binary style "hot" or "not". This would build a Twitter Hot list that would be something to shoot for. Currently we have quantity over quality, and that poses a problem long-term. After all, how many of us respect people for <i>how often</i> they talk? <br /><br />Feature #3: Build a Blackberry App! I Twittered this a little while ago to no reply but there is such a DOS/Linux command-line thing going on that so isn't retro-cool. Give me a slick interface that makes it such that I don't have to remember all of the command-lines. Command-line interfaces relegate the service to a more techie-oriented crowd, not the masses.<br /><br />Feature #4: Last but certainly not least, get to the root of your service outages, missing tweets etc because if you're going to start charging or even adding advertising, QoS is going to be increasingly expected of you.<br /><br />Of course, should you choose to implement these features, I'm available for consulting for a few stock options ;)Tom Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07446421330879259637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13470399.post-28770719310638044772007-12-20T13:35:00.000-08:002007-12-20T13:49:04.276-08:00Looking for 12 used computersIn late October, I <a href='http://www.givemeaning.com/blog/2007/10/cineplex-odeon-worth-ticket-price-at.html'>blogged about</a> Gordon House Youth SEARCh, an innovative charitable program here in Vancouver provide training and resources for "at-risk" youth.<br /><br />In the blog entry, I talked about my first-hand experience with a client of their program and I'm happy to report that the young man I spoke of has now been hired-on full-time by Cineplex Odeon.<br /><br />The organization has just recently posted a project proposal on the GiveMeaning website and is now seeking votes. You can see their project proposal <a href='http://computerreplacement.givemeaning.com'>here</a>. Please consider voting for their proposal or better yet, if you're sitting on 12 computers of similar make/model and OS, get in touch with me and consider donating them to this worthy cause.<br /><br />Your computers will help many at-risk youth connect with employers, keeping them safe and providing them a much-needed income.Tom Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07446421330879259637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13470399.post-88535806528991500742007-12-19T15:21:00.000-08:002007-12-19T15:24:37.866-08:00Thoughts from TorontoWritten from the back of my cab as I head to YYZ. Published a day later from my office in Vancouver.<br /><br />“The chicken is involved, the pig is committed”<br /><br />If an online community is just the “plumbing” that facilitates engagement amongst its members, what real value does the brand have?<br /><br />Next year, you're going to be hearing a lot about CommunityLend. It is to consumer lending/borrowing what GiveMeaning is to philanthropy.<br /><br />For Sale. Baby Shoes. Never Used (Mark Twain). What is your six-word biography?<br /><br />“The problem with the Bible is that it’s had too many Wikipedia edits” <br /><br />Wiki’s fall short around capturing subjective knowledge. What is the tool that mediates the disagreements around subjective knowledge?<br /><br />ScotchCamp was fun. But ScothCamp AFTER a long, wet dinner? Not as fun.<br /><br />The most enviable thing about me? How many great friends I know and people I get to hang out with. Good news for the people I hang out with? Most of them know each other. <br /><br />So here’s the deal with “Merry Christmas:” I’m going to share my celebration with you and I hope you’ll do the same with yours to me. What I don’t like is that in our desire for political correctness, we’re watering down each special celebration to this homogenous grey as Toronto slush, meta-celebration.<br /><br />The problem with capitalism is it seeks infinite growth in a finite world. How much is enough? What do you do with the rest?<br /><br />I think we're going to try and get a bunch of UI/UX people together and do a Design Slam for GiveMeaning in the New Year.<br /><br />Merry Christmas my Toronto friends. See you soon.Tom Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07446421330879259637noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13470399.post-62500402592840436002007-11-21T23:04:00.001-08:002007-11-21T23:06:07.523-08:00First video blogAt the end of the day (the only time I have to organize my thoughts), I am finding I just don't have time to write a blog entry. Too much going on and too much need to spend my precious down-time with Jess and family and friends.<br /><br />So I've taken to video blogging and here is my first post:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZYyTW5hx9nw&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZYyTW5hx9nw&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br />Also, you can find me on Twitter where I'm micro-blogging my day.Tom Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07446421330879259637noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13470399.post-26440344357524644972007-10-30T08:25:00.000-07:002007-10-30T08:37:15.195-07:00We can take them with us but what good do they do us?My friend and fellow traveler, Joel Solomon is well-known in the social entrepreneurial world.<br />Joel has been a supporter (in all sense of the word) of many social entrepreneurs, especially in Canada and extra-especially in BC. <br /><br />Joel has been in search of a kidney for quite a while and a dear friend of his, Shivon Robinsong (also a tremendous force) has agreed to donate one of her kidneys in what can only be described as the most generous act of friendship I've ever known.<br /><br />Joel recently wrote an email to friends and colleaguesabout the challenges of organ donation<br />To Colleagues and Friends<br /><br />The following is an excerpt from that letter:<br /><br />"The point of this letter is to emphasize both the general and specific importance of all of us making the effort to sign up so that our organs may be used after our death, by others for whom they can be the gift of life. And for the extra courageous and hearty, there are organ and bodily donations that can happen while we are alive. Many people wait on lists desperately hoping for this miracle, and any of us may find ourselves or a close loved one in need at some point in ourlives...<br /><br />...The sad fact is that a small fraction of the population has signed up to make such donations possible. At least by the laws in BC, without that few moments of paperwork, our body parts will simply go to the grave or crematorium.<br /><br />Please go to <a href='http://www.transplant.bc.ca'>the web site link</a> that follows and sign up ASAP. If you live in another jurisdiction, take a few minutes and find out how you can do the same.<br /><br />Consider forwarding this email to your friends, your facebook site, your network, post on your blog, or however you prefer. Let's create a wave of donors."<br /><br />As the title of this blog entry says, we can take our organs with us, but what good do they do for us in the ground?Tom Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07446421330879259637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13470399.post-9153294170076277542007-10-24T17:25:00.000-07:002007-10-24T17:29:49.845-07:00Changemakers in London, UK?I'm putting this out on the Blog. I'm going to be in London late in the afternoon on Sunday, November 4th through till early morning of November 6th on my way to Prague to speak at a conference.<br /><br />Please email me privately any cool, interesting people I should be meeting that you know of.<br /><br />If anyone is hanging out with Branson these days, I wouldn't mind going on a Hot Air balloon ride up and down the Thames with the guy.Tom Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07446421330879259637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13470399.post-78967178755239648232007-10-24T10:20:00.000-07:002007-10-24T10:33:41.341-07:00Stamps / Sodacan update - Video completeThis note is directed at everyone who sent stamps and soda-can tabs in support of my <a href='http://www.givemeaning.com/blog/2007/06/send-me-your-junk.html'>Blog appeal</a> that I posted back in the summer.<br /><br />My Gramma had just moved into a long-term care home and was understandably depressed. One of the aspects of freedom that she lost in moving to this new care-home was the ability to collect used stamps and soda-can tabs to send to the BC Guide Dogs Society <br /><br />I didn't think there was a financial benefit to the charity that could be derived from soda-can tabs and stamps but upon further investigation, found out that BC Guide Dogs Society receives more than $1000 a year from this simple act. That's a lot of dog food!<br /><br />So, given that my Gramma couldn't collect these stamps and soda-can tabs, I decided to take up a collection through this blog and made an appeal to the readers to "Send me their junk." Within days, stamps and soda-can tabs started arriving from post-marks around the World!<br /><br />Unfortunately, before I could complete the project, my Gramma passed away but a few days before she died, I showed her a picture of a collage of some of the soda-can tabs and stamps that had been collected. She was very moved.<br /><br />Shortly after her death in September, I finished the product and this Podcast is a must-watch for anyone who participated.<br /><br />Many thanks to all who honored my Grandmother with their participation in this project.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lNx9t7AK_GA&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lNx9t7AK_GA&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>Tom Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07446421330879259637noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13470399.post-54320660167614120992007-10-23T11:30:00.001-07:002007-10-23T12:39:28.417-07:00Cineplex Odeon - Worth the ticket price at least this time.Jess and I saw the movie <i>Rendition</i on Saturday night. It is the best movie I've seen this year. It is a powerful piece of media and I'm surprised at how horribly it did at the box-office. I hope that strong word of mouth will get more people to see this movie.<br /><br />This is a note about Scotiabank Theater where we saw the movie. At the top of the escalator, we were greeted by a young man in a wheelchair employed to greet people as they entered the theater. I don't know what it was about this young man but Jess and I were really moved by the fact that he was employed as a greeter.<br /><br />I think we're all prone to griping about the cost of a movie ticket these days (not to mention paying $12 to sit and be advertised to for a good 5 minutes before even the trailers begin) but here is Cineplex Odeon employing people who have to overcome significant barriers to do their jobs.<br /><br />I decided to learn more about how this program came to be.<br /><br />I found out that a program called Gordon House Youth SEARCh (Seeking Employment and Resources for Change) provides training and resources for "at-risk" youth. Typically, I think of "at-risk" as being drug-addicted street youth, but in speaking to Julio Bello who is the Program Manager for this initiative, he informed me that "at-risk" covers a far wider spectrum.<br /><br />Julio told me that when he began speaking with Jason De Courcy, the Operations Department Director of BC for Cineplex Odeon that Jason was very enthusiastic about being able to participate in placing Julio's at-risk clients at Cineplex theaters.<br /><br />The program involves 8-weeks of on-site training which gives an opportunity for the young person to gain tangible, resume-building skills and make an impression on their employer. Julio told me that most of the people who enter the on-site training become employed by the sponsoring employer.<br /><br />In speaking with a Manager at the Scotiabank Theater (where we saw Rendition), I'm told that there are six employees currently employed at that one theater who have participated in this type of job-training program.<br /><br />I'm a big fan of this type of program and encouraged that Cineplex understands the community benefit (both to their employees and to its customers) of supporting this type of initiative. <br /><br />I asked Julio what the program needs in terms of support and computers are in great demand. He needs to find 12 computers of similar make, model, OS etc that his clients can use for developing resumes, conducting online job searches etc. At present time, there is such a hodge-podge of old equipment that it's completely unmanageable. Any local computer merchant or company upgrading their computers want to donate 12 computers?<br /><br />I'll give the donor tons of profile if they do.<br /><br />Next time you're seeing a movie at Cineplex and see one of these greeters, please be sure to tell them and their managers what a great job they're doing!Tom Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07446421330879259637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13470399.post-9005218037892330002007-10-20T18:41:00.000-07:002007-10-20T19:01:19.413-07:00Don't forget to peeI'm now back from Toronto. I have so many friends and interesting people I know in Toronto that any trip out there starts early in the morning and ends early in the morning the next day for every day I'm out there.<br /><br />One of my favorite meetings was with my friend Salimah, an activist and journalist. Thanks only to Facebook status updates, Salimah messaged me to let me know that she was headed to Toronto for a few days and our schedules would overlap.<br /><br />We got together at the Park Hyatt's rooftop bar on Thursday afternoon and started to catch-up. Our conversation traveled the world from Afghanistan, Iraq, India, New York and Vancouver. Salimah and I are cut from the same cloth. We're passionate extroverts who never miss an opportunity to evangelize our beliefs and passions. The conversation ran a million miles a minute and we both lost track of time. We realized we were both late for our next meetings and shared a cab back downtown.<br /><br />As we continued to gab and snake through rush-hour traffic, we both realized we had to pee. Of course, the verbal acknowledgment only put more pressure on our respective bladders... The snails pace of our cab became more worrisome. At that pace, there was no way either of us would, well, make it. So we ran out of the cab in frantic search of a public washroom - which despite the fact we were smack dab in the financial district - seemed a fruitless search.<br /><br />We left each other promising one another that next time, we would remember to pee. <br /><br />The moral of the story? When running around the world pursuing your passion, we run ourselves ragged. It's impossible to take care of the world's work when we forget our own basic needs. So don't forget to pee.<br /><br />Off to see Rendition.Tom Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07446421330879259637noreply@blogger.com0