Steve,

Thanks for setting this group up. I think in your opening statement you did well at paraphrasing the goals of the tutor/mentor connection. I'd add a third priority, which is connecting business, philanthropy and other resources (people who can help) with the network and the information in the network, and the various tutor/mentor programs in Chicago and other cities who need these resources on a continuous basis.

However, I don't think this is the goal of the Ned group of the Network Weavers working with Tutor/Mentor Connection.

I think the Ned group's goal is to create a SNA driven platform that helps me achieve these objectives, while helping all of us understand the following

1. who are all the people and skills that we need to connect with Tutor/Mentor Connection
2. who is already connected in an active, passive, or potential way
3. how can we use the SNA tool to constantly enhance the network, making connections that engage people who can help the T/MC be more successful in its mission?

By this I mean some people are helping me right now, like you are; some people helped me 10 years ago, but may not be actively helping me now. They may still be listening, telling others about me, or even making donations. Then, there are many other people who the T/MC sends information to on a regular basis because we know they are assets who would benefit us, and that we could benefit them, if we could just get connected.

I know who almost all of these people are, and what they have done, or are doing, but no one else in my own organization knows all of this. Few people out of my organization know it either. If something happens to me, the knowledge of this network and its connections is lost.

I already maintain a contact list of about 14,000 people on a filemaker pro database, and have more than 4,000 in my email newsletter file. I can sort the database by city, zip code, and a few other fields, but I can't map the data visually. I can't sort the email file at all, so I have lists of people in seperate buckets which I use to send specific messages. It's very innefficent, but based on the advetising model I used at Montgomery Ward to communicate to 20 million people in 40 states each week.

If I could map this data visually, and in a searchable program, then someone could use the platform to see who in law, or healthcare, is working with me, or is on my mail list. They could sort by city to see if some of these people are in their own community. For instance, I have many tutor/mentor programs from many different cities than Chicago on my database, including Denver and Seattle. Thus, your work of drawing new people to this network is helping connect those people with programs in your own community.

At http://www.tutormentorconference .org/RegistrationList/ is an example of how such a list could create an on-line contact feature (which people would need to opt in to use).

In the T/MC links library I post links to many sites that illustrate my goals of knowlege management, networking, collaboration, innovation, etc. http://www.tutormentorconnection .org/TMLearningNetwork/LinksLibr ary/tabid/560/rrcid/13/rrscid/24 /rrpid/1/rrepp/20/Default.aspx

For instance the IKNOW network articulates some of our goals very well-- http://www.spcomm.uiuc.edu/tecla b/iknow/ . I've just never been able to get someone from IKNOW to want to apply their knowledge to the T/MC. I've never found a donor who'd give me the money to buy their help.

If we map the T/MC network, and its knowledge, the network, and the knowledge, can be used by anyone in the world to help kids in their own community, and can be enhanced by anyone who adds new knowledge, or helps other people find and use the knowledge that is on the site.

I don't think there are very many organizations like mine in the world, using knowledge and networking and the internet in a real life proble-solving application the way I do. Thus, by using your time and talent to develop this SNA application for T/MC, you're learning by doing. You're helping me achieve my goals.

More importantly, you're creating a tool and expanding a network that can help each of you and many others in their own communities.