The goal during the workshop will be to go live with the service and to develop plans for its future sustainability. BetterTogether.org is already live, although its current services are limited. The site in its current incarnation was developed by SI student Kate Lockwood, mostly during the summer of 2000. Visitors can download a copy of the Saguaro report, or follow a link to information about a national benchmark survey of social capital. The main feature on the site is a collection of stories about ways that people are getting together, bucking the trends reported in Bob Putnam s book, Bowling Alone .
People can contribute new stories and they have trickled in steadily over the past year.
There is also a discussion feature enabled that allows anyone to add a comment about an existing story, but no one has been using it. About 500 people have signed up for an email list for announcements. Many of them would probably be interested in interacting with others, or in other services, if such interactions and services were structured appropriately. A collection of best practices, perhaps with a highlighted feature each week or month, and a chance to interact with a representative of the featured organization or idea, or perhaps with an entertaining advice column. A data source of factoids that might be useful to people writing grant proposals to local foundations or proposing local government actions.