CCI PRESIDENT'S REPORT, JANUARY 1997

CCI PRESIDENT'S REPORT, JANUARY 1997.

We have had a good year. Our first newsletter, circulation 350, was well received, and the new website at is a fine looking exposition of our endeavor. We have kicked off the LA.Shares '99 project with its own web page and the extremely cool L.A. Shares business cards for each CCI director. All the while our InterMix software for the web has been coming along nicely. The first demo version should be working on our website sometime in February.

LA .Shares '99 is the name of our campaign to organize a collective voice for Los Angeles by 1999. We are in early stages, just beginning to strategize. We do have a couple of ideas how we might use our Recommender technology (see our website for details), and there is an important question to be decided concerning a collective voice for the women of Los Angeles.

How shall we best organize this campaign? Our goal does not seem out of reach. We will need 500 to 1000 persons from all parts of Los Angeles County to participate. That's quite a few people, but not that many! We'll need to upgrade our web site, but the expense seems supportable - a few thousands only. What is our best approach? If you have ideas, please share them with us.

Shall we organize a collective voice for the women of L.A? We will decide this important question at the CCI Board meeting in February. The proposal is to sponsor a women's voice at the same time we organize the overall collective voice for Los Angeles. The expectation is that the campaign for a women's voice will develop its own organization.

The women's collective voice will make a second experiment in collective communication alongside the voice for Los Angeles. Among the benefits:

The overall voice of Los Angeles will be more balanced between the sexes. Without a separate women's voice, the voice of Los Angeles is likely to be dominated by men, just as the internet is.
A women's voice will demonstrate how every important subdivision of the city can share in setting the overall city agenda.
We expect the women's "Share" will be an ally in our stress on non-violence.
People may find it easier to understand the notion of a collective voice when they see it particularized. The idea of a common voice is hard to grasp at first.
Public relations should be easier because the women's voice will give the media an angle to play up.
The women who become involved for the sake of the women's voice will also energize the overall project.

Your input is wanted. Please post a message on our bulletin board at http://intermix.org or email rogereaton@earthlink.net.

-ROGER EATON