Narrative binding projects ?

Within the realm of potential , there are various possible starting points.
I am interested in some starting points that can be shared :

I realize many organizations now have a “project based approach”,
and write proposals, sometimes along the objectives of the grants available.

Although ( in my opinion ) there may be some broader ( neo liberal ? ) policy and memes guiding the various grants available,
I come to realize that individual organizations, and “citizens”, may sometimes not know exactly how all these various potential projects can support each other within a shared choice of a narrative/world view to build on.

I realized that often money was spent on projects, but with no continuity/follow up,
and no real systemic sustainability in the project, other then through dependency on project funding,
or, eventually, dependent on profitability.

In a few cases, projects maintain some form of sustainability, even with little financing, through community volunteering.
For example, the “scouts” movements.

Some further questions :

– What is a shared narrative various organizations share ?
– What is the means and practices of communication used ?
– How do these “projects” mutually support each other towards a shared narrative ?
– How are they made sustainable, beyond short term dependency on funding ?

Critical Networks

did you come across materials laying out a synthesis of very specific characteristics and requirements
around what I am tempted to call “critical networks” ?

Perhaps there is some other name for this ?

I think of “critical network” as distinctive from, yet potentially including , the concept of “critical mass”.

In the way I envision it,
“Critical Network” where the required “critical” properties for an operational or emergent networked system may not merely be a mass of users,
but specific properties ( such as measurable forms of reciprocity, physical location, resources, knowledge and skills, or other variables ) related to the constituents and context for specific intentional “process economies” to be enabled.

Including the mode of access to resources required for specific kinds of emergence.

I want to understand ( and have access to examples of ) various characteristics required to facilitate and multiply “local process economies” for viable and convivial living systems

http://p2pfoundation.net/Process_Economy

as to document step by step strategy proposals,

not merely in a “enclosed” / monetized approach,

but rather within a larger wealth acknowledgment system
http://p2pfoundation.net/Wealth_Acknowledgment_Systems

towards communal sharing in intentional economic networks.

I put an emphasis on understanding “starting points” for ( at first small scale )
“critical networks”.

I can find inspiration in homebrew revolutions ( and examples such as e-farm , open manufacturing, … ),
but also recommendations related to the set up of “transition towns”
( http://www.transitionnetwork.org/resources/transition-primer )

I can also find inspiration in ( reading excerpts online )
of books such as

http://www.integralcity.com/

and the p2p urbanism and p2pf blog , wiki and lists.

/////

What I wish, is to define requirements more accurately,
offering post-industrial alternatives to sometimes publicly supported “gentrification urban development models” ( which I observe here in Brussels too ),
that seem to be aligned or inspired by Richard Florida’s Creative Class approach of development
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_class

I am also particularly interested in converging such understanding into building up “games” ,
and use such games as a form of synthesis practice to empower “critical networks”
for a intentional information and communication framework,
with incentives and related metrics, empowering collective intelligence and collaborative action.

I am aware such question may open up a large conceptual map, including the ones already layed out by you and p2pf peers.

I am interested in condensing it, into specifics, specific step by step examples.
e-farm may offer an example.

I want to know where and how to focus/aggregate attention as first steps,
and bring it into “real social” ( http://p2pfoundation.net/Real_Social )
“real games”.

For the moment, I consider “Housing Cooperatives” and “Group Purchasing Organizations” as starting points in post-industrial frameworks, as some first aggregator layers, on which to build other relational dynamics around food and housing.

Food production, food logistics, but also food as aggregator, such as http://sharewiki.org/en/Semantic_Kitchen ,
and then alternative currencies and wealth acknowledgment systems supporting more and more complex transaction potentials.

I also like the approach of learning spaces as aggregators for bringing together “Critical Network” requirements and development practices, such as the “University” project promoted by Dougald :
http://dougald.posterous.com/day-27-help-me-start-a-university

Perhaps some of you read ( I did not ) the “integral city” book.

Is there a comprehensive list of requirements set out ?

Also , what are the capital requirements for such kind of “ventures”,
as to converge or purchase infrastructure requirements to enable the functioning of a critical network for a p2p resilient and convivial civilization of collaborative individualists?

In addition to development practices,
I wish to outline all of these requirement into modules,
that help define the costs on a context based approach for
“business plans”, packaged and sold as “use value insurance” …

intentional routing via spending pledges

somehow feel this ( below ) can be combined with netention…

http://blog.automenta.com/2011/01/netention-semantic-narrative-authoring.html

http://www.automenta.com/netention

It does not necessarily require specific semantic graphs or Artificial Intelligence at first, as long as “agents” do the queries themselves as to have a list of routing paths to whom they want to “pledge” the spending of the IOU’s that get routed or spent via their own credit or transaction accounts.

The Ripple protocol http://ripple-project.org/
or perhaps also certain Mesh routing protocols such as “batman” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B.A.T.M.A.N. seem to be a conceptual framework on which to imagine such potential routing.

Yet in both protocols, I ask myself if the current “best route” definitions suit what I would like to see :

What I want to achieve, is the maximization of the usage of IOU’s before they get dissolved, or before they exit the system, hence this may require a change in protocol settings as for “best route” options ?

I see netention as a tool for visualizing ( in a “zoom out” way ) choices agents may act upon, regarding their “pledge” determining the routing of the IOU’s pledged to them.

Hence it can have a strong emergent political impact, by choosing the intentional interdependencies enabled.

Combined with reputation systems, and with metadata, I imagine some optimized protocol could calculate “intentional routing” based on individual agents preferences.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Dante-Gabryell Monson
Date: Mon, Apr 18, 2011 at 12:49 PM
Subject: Using Ripple Protocol for Routing IOU Payments via Pledges of Spending ?
To: rippleusers@googlegroups.com
Cc: opencc@googlegroups.com

As I understand it, Ripple offers clearing by distributed routing via trusted peer to peer credit lines.
With the potential to use various IOU denominations. ( mutual credit IOU’s, fiat central bank IOU’s, fiat state IOU’s, freigeld, … )

I asked myself, if there an interest ( attention ) in combining this with “pledges”.

Hence potential routing not only via p2p credit lines,
but also via “pledges of spending”, so that I can choose to spend my IOU’s to people or businesses that already pledged to instantly spend these IOU’s into another transaction ( each transaction potentially enabling a service, product, charity, … )

So in a sense, this may not been a radical revolution compared to the ripple protocol, but rather serves as a “transactional” routing ( as opposed to a credit line routing ),
and be combined with each other to maximize routing opportunities.

Possibly more complex to implement, requiring additional information regarding the “contracts”, relating pledges of spending with the transactions ? As for now, I see the credit line between trusted peers as the current contracts via ripplepay.

Has this been tried ?
Thanks

——————-

For example, lets say the state of California, which currently creates billions of dollar worth state IOU’s ( which can be used to pay state taxes ),
wants to maximize the potential of each IOU it creates, by maximizing their circulation in the economy before they get destroyed ( via repayment by taxes ),

I imagine it can choose to “spend” its IOU’s via “chains of pledged spending” which correspond to its intentional / political preferences,
or simply that maximize the circulation of its IOU’s.

I imagine this can be done also within freigeld communities or mutual credit communities ( including the WIR bank ) by offering members to have access to a certain clientele who wants to maximize the speed and amount of transactions possible, even with a limited amount of initially created IOU’s.

empowering intentional economic networks

by enabling an intentional choice for the circulation of IOU’s,

and routing along peers/participants/projects who already defined spending within intentional economic peers,

as to reduce hoarding, and increase circulation of currency which supports interdependent intentions.

——–

further notes :

– Information about needs that are not addressed by the current peers forming the economic network can lead to new partnerships or new ventures for addressing such needs, via spending pledging from peers in the intentional network

– Legal frameworks for simplifying issues regarding tax payment,
enabling “re-investment” of capital ( as to reduce taxes ) within the cooperative/company/intentional economic network.

– Internal accounts system which does not require payment of interest

– Potential build up of guarantee funds in mainstream central bank currencies, as to enable purchase of not yet accessible resources from outside the intentional economic networks

– Potential spending of mainstream central bank currencies coming from selling ( only surplus ) resources outside of the intentional economic network into purchasing needed infrastructure or resources to support the intentional economic network

——————————–

in other words, regarding “Re: empowering intentional economic networks ?”,

a “pledge the spending of your income forward”
“loyalty program”

having similarities with social insurance paid by taxes – see :

and some similarities also with
“air miles” and other “loyalty” programs ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loyalty_programs

hence, no demurrage, as all iou’s are simply “routing” for peer trans-actions,
with the possibility of gifts, and “gift credits” – which can build up reputation too.

// it can include visualization of the interdependencies of pledges,
and also a visualization of the interdependencies of needs,
facilitating the choice for matching.

Pledges of spending income also enables every participant to choose where to pledge its income to, both in altruistic and enlightened altruistic modes ( through visualizing mutual support systems )

———-

legal framework ?

I also imagine it could be a hybrid legal framework,
with local not for profits, individuals, small businesses, or even governmental entities who participate in the “pledge the spending of your income forward” as cooperative members,
and a limited liability corporation owned and managed by cooperative members.

examples of companies :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LoyaltyOne

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Miles

//

tags : hoarding , artificial scarcity , intentional , economic networks , routing , trade balance , legal frameworks , emergence , loyalty , pledge , interdependencies , transaction contracts , visualization

Wall Street (1987) – Asset Stripping

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_(1987_film)

also see :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asset_stripping

“Asset stripping involves selling the assets of a business individually at a profit. The term is generally used in a pejorative sense as such activity is not considered productive to the economy. “

+

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Control_fraud

“Control fraud occurs when a trusted person in a high responsible position in a company, corporation or state uses their powers to subvert the company and to engage in extensive fraud for personal gain.”