Future Plans
It's easier to come up with these ideas than implement them. Currently these plans are on hold as we're focussing on getting people to use the existing features and
building content.
You can also see a list of features and make requests of your own at our
sourceforge.net features list.
- Campaigns -- working pro-actively with campaigns to engage organizations and their members to be posting case studies, victories, losses, leaflets, resources, events, blogs, audio, images, about campaigns and to build community around them.
- Improved Speakers/Trainers Database: reworked so that it is easier to use. We'll create standardized
trainer/speaking topics that people can sign-up to do, while continuing to let people create their own
topics. You should be able to find a trainer who lives nearby -- and trainings shouldn't be limited to groups
that can afford several thousand dollars.
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Collaboratively written materials. Once we have a database of 100 anti-war leaflets, the next step is for people to collaborative over the internet and write the best anti-war leaflet possible to maximize our movement's effectiveness in public education work. The same is true for skills materials (ex. imagine an organizing guide that was a constant work-in-progress with feedback from the best and most diverse set of grassroots organizers). You can dynamically publish collaboratively written materials in PDF -- it's pretty easy (I created an example that works, it's just that I don't have time to get people to use it). Click and download a PDF including the latest changes. Then print it out and give to friends.
- Alternative Media Article Sharing and Newswire: There are a couple thousand progressive student alternative media publications, and a smaller number of state, regional, and national publications. I'd like to create a web-based system so that these publications can share articles and images. Unlike indymedia.org, I'd strive towards a higher quality to quantity ratio.
- Image and Clip-Art library: we'd love to have a collection of images and clip-art
that would make illustrating leaflets and posters so much easier. It could include
galleries of thumbnails so that you could preview a small version of the image before
downloading it.
- Grassroots Action Alerts System : A system that would be based upon solidarity. You fill out an action alert for some other group, and in exchange they will fill one out for you. Designed to encourage locally-generated (by grassroots groups, not by national offices) action alerts that have smaller targets (like university presidents instead of members of Congress) as they are more likely to work. Based on a point system where you could choose which action alerts you get.
- Skills Database - for people to share their skills, such as fundraising,
desktop publishing, website design, anti-oppression, campaign strategy,
etc. This is for people who don't necessarily want to be speakers/trainers, but are
still willing to help if asked. There is some overlap with speakers/trainers - so we
might not implement it if we cannot figure out a good way to do it.
- Language Ports: we need people to translate this software into their language. If you know english and another
language, then you can do this. It doesn't require any technical expertise.
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Integration with Drupal/CivicSpace (CivicSpace is a version of Drupal, a content management system targeting liberal non-profits): create a version that integrates with existing Drupal modules so that the 5000+ sites running Drupal will be able to easily install this software. You could choose to have a stand-alone version or one that runs on Drupal (or even other content management systems if we had the resources). I created a hacked version of my software that ran on CivicSpace, but doing it properly would take more time.
- Organizer's Interface -- A special interface for people to help them use this software to organize for an issue,
campaign, event, or build a local network. For instance, it might help you track what groups in your area are actively using this
software, and which ones you want to encourage to use it.
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Joining a Network / Trusting an Organizer - let people give greater access of their contact information to an organizer or network. People are
'trusting' that network/organizer with their personal info. The organizer gets facilitated access to their contact info.
For instance, they can do a mass email, or get a spreadsheet export of their contacts. Or if the person's contact
information is
normally 'private', by trusting an organizer they could give them access to that info. These people will automatically show up in the organizer's interface (so they can do outreach to them).
- Richer Media Content -- Images, audio, and perhaps video. Allow people and groups to customize their webpage
with their own html, and possibly even CSS (see how MySpace does it).
- Use AJAX -- your browser is a platform. Say good-bye to submitting a form and then waiting for a page to reload. Google Maps is AJAX -- unfortunately doing this system-wide is hard as the technology is very new.
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Dating -- I tend to think it's a bad idea, but some people disagree and it should be kept on the radar.
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Jobs - A listing of activist-related jobs
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Internships - A list of activist internships. Possibly including special school (or non-school) semester programs,
activist-related degrees, etc.
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Meet-Ups - let people send out invites for an event (targetting local events - whereas i've previously been focussing on state and national ones). People can respond with yes, maybe, no. Allow for reoccuring events. Automatic reminder sent out several days before the event. On the event page show the status of who is coming. Some kind of system for handling event follow-up (join an email list, write a comment on the event, post a picture, etc).
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A Real Group Page - give the group the ability to express more than just their address and a couple
paragraphs describing what they do. Let them upload images, audio (?), schedule/location of their meeting, a list of
website links (for allies and campaigns that they are working on), maybe a list of 'friend groups', and perhaps a
section for group members to write comments/testimonials about it.