the personal life of pamela minett

was at the airport the other night, about to leave to wellington. as always, i wandered into whitcoulls to source some good reading material for the trip. I was actually hoping to grab a copy of steven carden's new book 'new zealand unleashed'. They didn't have it. (what's going on steven?) Brian Sweeny found it though:

"My daily foray into Unity Books at 57 Willis Street has just yielded the sort of book about New Zealand that curls your toes up with anticipation. “New Zealand Unleashed: the country, its future and the people who will get it there” by Steven Carden (with Campbell Murray) is a geo-bio-histo-psycho thriller about the emergence of New Zealand in a pan-global sweep through nature and technology. Rooted in the biological science of complex adaptive systems, “Unleashed” is sectioned into “The end of certainty,” ”How to build a successful society,” “New Zealand’s DNA” and “Ideas for a more adaptable New Zealand.” A sped-up world and how we need to face change are key subtexts."

I might head that way now and pick it up. I suggest you all do the same.

It always makes me laugh though, when i see how many business books manage to get published. "Grow your business" "Be the next Starbucks" "how to spot a good idea" "small is the new big" etc etc. seriously.... ?

Anyhow, onto business. NZ released it's digital strategy draft on monday. I have actually read the entire thing. And I'm not sure what to say about it... I am interested to see what the 'public' says about it (if anything...)

Came across this article the other day. They have a great paragraph defining social enterprise..

Now a new style of “hybrid” technology organization is emerging that is trying to define a path between the nonprofit world and traditional for-profit ventures.

They’re often referred to as “social enterprises” because they pursue social missions instead of profits. But unlike most nonprofit groups, these organizations generate a sustainable source of revenue and do not rely on philanthropy. Earnings are retained and reinvested rather than being distributed to shareholders.

Pretty much sums up where yMedia was at at the end of last year: defining that path between non-profit and for-profit. It's a tricky path... with no legal recognition, it's difficult to be able to define a business as a 'social enterprise'. It's currently very much a buzz-word that various groups throw around willy-nilly (guilty...) It's a very sustainable model however, I mean it just makes so much sense: Take a traditional non-profit organisation... relying on grants, other companies, fundraising etc in order to exist. Their 'reach' goes only as far as other people and organisations are willing to dig into their wallets. If those people or companies decide to cut funding - the non-profit ceases to exist.

Now what if that non-profit could find a way to generate revenue themselves? Not to make wealthy owners/ceos - but simply to be able to stand on their own feet and determine their reach themselves. No-longer are they at risk of sudden extinction. No longer are they waiting on other people to determine whether they are a worthy cause to support. arghhh it just makes so much sense. check out ENP, a vancouver based company that i visited with in january... cool man.

And so that's all for now. I'm in wellington - meeting with lots of interesting and inspiring people. Oh - i'm also presenting at the engage your community conference next week in hamilton. I've been called on last minute because someone pulled out - so i've got all of 3 days to really prepare something interesting... that's what plane rides are for though right?!

p.s has telecom bought the iPhone? anyone?