The Change.org "End Homelessness" Solution!

UPDATE:
Well, Change.org apparently has ended ALL the various "blogs" now, ONLY offering online "petitions". Just so, ALL of my previous postings no longer show on that site. Awhile back, they emailed blog authors advising that a new contract was being emailed out, to supercede and replace all the existing ones.

I never received one of the new ones, and so was removed from their authors/bloggers list. Wonder why? '-)

About a year ago, there was an interesting "story" that developed involved Change.org and a homeless author. Perhaps it's time to take a closer look, now that it's played out even more. Where will it be published and available? Stay tuned....

[Original Entry here:]

End the "End Homelessness" blog! Voila!

That's just what they did, apparently, and folded all the "homeless" categorized items under the umbrella Issue: "Poverty in America". Hmmm ... why just "America"? While at it, that could all get collapsed under an "Economic Justice" category, - globally, eh?

As usual, these kinds of matters basically come down to various priorities and practicalities. Things like "positioning", "demographics" and the like. And now that the site/venture has honed its cachet to be "action" specific (i.e. mainly linked, online things to simply click a mouse-button, rather than more real world involvement like show-up-somewhere or go-do-something-directly-in-person) the slant compels, and filters, "blog" entry picks on a basis that there be a reasonably relevant such "action" available, to merit inclusion and publishing. Many significant, even important, truer blog entries aren't that, of course. Oh, well...

It was actually some time after I'd "joined" there and had even begun to have material published that I discovered that Change.org isn't even a nonprofit venture. Understandably, it was the ".org" in the name and URL that fooled ... uh, that is, threw me, of course. For a long time the internet custom and etiquette was to reserve/use "org" for nonprofits. For-profit businesses typically use the familiar "dot com" [.com].

As it turns out, there is no actual rule or law or anything that outright prevents for-profit businesses from using "org" ... so maybe this is news to you. Sure was to me, and I've been very involved online for literally decades. Well, more accurately, I realized that there was no real "authority" that can or was checking on that kind of thing and "enforcing" - rather, there's been a voluntary ethic about such usage. For a business to deliberately breach such a longstanding practice could even seem ... what ... even a bit knowingly deceptive?

But such might be some of the emerging vagaries of the newer type of business that Change.org is, known as "socialpreneuring" ... meant to appeal to people's responses to various "social media" while harnessing various, say, "assets" of their personal activity, efforts and certainly their personal contacts and family/friends. Possibly meant to "do good" as well. And to mine and purpose these for business and, naturally, profits - if not a nonprofit org ... er, outfit. Whatever.

Perhaps the Change.org business came to find that Ending Homelessness wasn't turning out to be a profitable thing? After all, how could it be? That's probably an examination best left for another time, and possibly another place.

Still, is actually Ending Homelessness even a realistic mission? Or is demoting, de-emphasizing, subordinating and/or dropping any such campaign while manifestly cutting way back on resources, people, efforts so deployed more the order of the day? After all, just take a look around. The latter appears to be something of a trend, most places. Business ... as usual?

Getting over ANOTHER bout of "flu"...

All The News That's Fit To.... ?

When I think I think of "Blogs" I think of the original term: "weblogs". Logs, as in a personal logging of one's own experience. Anymore, this has come to mean just short postings, often topical and with a sprinkling or slant of "comentary". And less and less "personal" in a bona fide experiential way, but more a contrived "style" of writing.

Just so, I found Change.org to be far more of a commercialized blog "venture" than anything else. And now, more so. The "editorial mission" is to position online as the website that devotes its "blogs" to linked "actions" only (automated petitions, email campaigns, etc.). But what with professionalized writers groomed for this purpose, it continues to lose "voice" as a real blog, in terms of being a venue of relevent, ongoing personal experience, in my opinion.

This is why those of us yet willing to do so must find ways to keep chronicling the realities. I see some of the more successful at garnering online and other attentions tending to "professionalize" their status in various ways, to their own personal benefit if not anyone else's (although some vehemently argue that it's ALL to do "other" good, really). I don't know, but think it merits some real examination.

Maybe it's time to get this blog going better, and with wider exposure, too?

Down Again, but Hopefully Not Out

Well, it finally happened -- my computer died. This one is a somewhat beatup MacBookPro I managed to acquire after my previous one was stolen inside my pack that was taken from me while sleeping on the street. And so the replacement has failed, leaving me both computerless and with valuable data and resources trapped in that digital void.

My good camera, a nice Panasonic Lumix, was also stolen recently. Must be the fifth or so digital camera I've lost during this saga. But, this time, I already had a backup on hand. And just last night acquired a battery charger for it, for $2.

MacBookPro's are relatively expensive computers. But that's what I have all the software for that I've relied upon, so it's my challenge (repeated now) to have to find a way to get yet another. Fortunately, I did do a backup of the hard-drive not too long ago. I could also probably remove the hard-drive from the dead laptop and find a way to extract what lesser amount of newer, unbackedup data that's on there.

It's already been a coupla' weeks now, mostly offline. I'm using a friend's laptop right now. And it changes the shape of my days/eves and time spent to not have the resource. It also seriously delays some important projects.

If you're reading this and have any way to help me in this venture, I'd sure appreciate it. You could send email and it will arrive at my phone. Thanks.

slumjack@gmail.com

FALLing Back In

Again, I return to blogging after quite a spell lapsed.

During the hiatus, much has happened, of course. And I've put a lot of thought into the writing and publishing I'd been doing -- some of the basic issues of purpose and affiliations and results, along with a number of attendant considerations and factors.

I just noticed this morning that I've been "demoted" on the Change.org website, from a pictured "featured writer" down to the "other writer" button category. I've not contributed there since last July or so, despite their enquiry/encouragement since.

Circumstances have continued to crowd my writing, but my own concerns about just what I'm writing, where and within which context, has affected my participations with both this blog and others.

I may be sharing some examination of this ahead. Here.

Meanwhile, local action has been heating up and that deserves more attentions here, too. Soon. I hope.

What's A Guy Like Me Doing Homeless?

I got asked this today. Again. I run across some version of that question, from time to time. Or a similar statement: "You don't look/seem homeless."

I originally began this blog with some intention of playing out the SlumJack Saga more completely -- including just what happened to result in this Tale in the first place. I've shot past that part, so far.

There is a website somewhere still in the works, meant to do that justice, along with some other features better suited to that form than a blog. It just hasn't yet been the highest priority.

Meanwhile, here's a very short form I posted way back when . . .

Getting In & Out of Dodge

I'd been parked in a preferred spot -- one that's unmetered and not subject to the two-hour limit, except for immediate residents that have stickers allowing them full, ongoing access. The default limit for others is 72 hours, which sometimes gets exceeded since who's keeping track that closely?

Well, someone might. A neighbor that would like to use the spot, instead, for instance. Or the local "parking patrol" folks wanting to make a quota. Or even the local cops that figure someone might be illegally living there. Especially when the Powers That Be in town are in one of their Sweep 'Em Out campaigns. And, lately, it could seem that this has been the case.

I got the word last night, from an acquaintance that keeps very late/early hours, that he'd seen a patrol cop at the rig, shining his flashlight in and knocking on it. At around 5am.

Earlier in the eve before, I was thinking about what it's like to turn in to try to go to sleep. In that hood, there's commonly drunken students out and about, even pretty late. And so there were. A gang of young bucks hooting and hollering in inebriated hooligan mode.

One has to somehow tune that out -- even though they're... right there. Right out there. And one ear needs to stay tuned to certain kinds of sounds. Anything telltale, like messing with the bike or rig. Same thing with sensing kinetic activity. But ya' can't stay too alert, since that foils sleep.

Just so, anyone else that might come by and "intrude."

Discovering that our diligent officers are keenly tending to "protect and serve" the public in the wee hours (and they so typically pick some of the worst) like that, I was glad to get an invite to go visit with a very good friend that asked me over. And several towns away.

Time for another break. On several scores. So I'm outa' Dodge, for the time being.