Thursday, December 08, 2005

The Cloud Model, Not The Pyramid Model


The Nepal Democracy Google group has seen a lot of productive action since December 2. Even before that I have been espousing something called a cloud model of group dynamics to coordinate the diaspora efforts for democracy in Nepal, the cloud model as opposed to the traditional pyramid model.

My Nepal 1000 page offers some more specifics. I also launched a much more private small group called Project Nepal Democracy. The latter is for clandestine work.

What is the cloud model?
  1. It is internet based. In this particular case, the Nepal Democracy group is where most of the talking gets done.
  2. There is no central authority. There is no one central leader.
  3. The book keeping is transparent and online.
  4. The discussions are transparent and online.
  5. Participation is to be based on intitiative. Visibility will be performance based.
  6. Six specific projects have been identified. They are listed at the Nepal 1000 page among other places.
  7. Individuals and organizations need to take initiative to participate in one or more of the projects.
  8. Some aspects of some projects are going to be clandestine, otherwise the rest of the work is going to be pretty much transparent.
  9. As for credits, history is getting archived as it is being made.
  10. Fundraising has many models. That also has a cloud model. Nepal 1000 offered an intial framework, still in place. But many other ideas have been suggested, and all of them look good. One would be for Project Managers for each project to raise money directly for their projects. Another would be for organizations like the Alliance, or the NAC, or the LDN to make it possible for people to donate on their respective websites. Another would be like got done for the DC and the NYC rallies. You set up one website expressly for the purpose of fundraising. As long as the book keeping is transparent and online, all methods are good. And some of the best ways of raising money are over the phone and in person, not online.
I wonder if a more accurate term would not be a galaxy model. Each person who participates in the six projects is a star. The glow of each star is directly proportional to its activity level. And each person decides his or her own activity level.

Another advantage of this group dynamics model is that the amount of time any one person has to give can change from day to day, week to week, but the work does not suffer even if the person does not inform the group when his or her time commitment might momentarily go down. Project teams are self regulating. And there are no hard and fast boundaries between projects. Some of the more active members move from project to project on a revolving basis. They can not do the work of the specialists, but then can fill in the gaps, and take care of the general work and, very importantly, keep the conversation going.

Welcome to the cutting edge cloud model of group dynamics.

Podcasts

  • December 6, 2005 (15 minutes) The movement for democracy itself has to be democratic. The disapora has to extend both moral and logistical support. Specific projects have been designed, five in all. The book keeping has to be kept transparent and online in near real time. My personal focus is on political work. This movement in Nepal is fast shaping my career. This regime should not see February. Have you contributed your $100 yet?

  • December 7, 2005 (15 minutes) There are more than 50,000 Nepalis in the US. More than 90% support democracy, about 20% might want to actively contribute. We should offer a more sophisticated organization than the Monarchists and the Maoists. Our underground FM radio station would be a litmus test for that. Less than 0.1% will be very actively involved. We have to identify and organize them. From my part there is going to be zero tolerance on the issue of Madhesi equality within the movement. As to why the seven parties are not more united, more clear, more functional, the dynamics within the Nepali diaspora help me understand. We want to prepare for the worst so it does not happen. But if it happens, we are prepared.

  • In The News

    HM King administers oath of office to new members of the cabinet NepalNews
    RJP denies representation in royal cabinet; Lama gets NC-D boot
    Cabinet reshuffle fruitless: Leaders
    King reshuffles cabinet; brings more loyalists on board
    CJ expresses dissatisfaction over NBA
    Koirala admits having direct talks with Maoist leaders
    The Myths of a Constituent Assembly
    Indian envoy meets UML gen secy
    Monarchy main obstacle for peace: Leaders
    Fragmented political class and the Nepali army
    Amid growing opposition, Nepal's King reshuffle cabinet
    Malayala Manorama, India
    Cross Border Reports: "Nepal's king prepares for exile!" Samudaya.org
    Nepal king makes sweeping cabinet changesISN
    Nepal parties dismiss reshuffle BBC News
    Cabinet overhauled by Nepal King
    The Statesman, India
    Nepal minister spent Rs 20,000 on snacks Hindustan Times
    Nepal's chief election commissioner warns political parties
    Asian Tribune, Thailand
    Senior political leader admits holding talks with Maoists Asian Tribune
    Saran to head to Nepal for democracy talks
    Sify, India
    Saran to take up democracy, arms with Nepal Indian Express
    India keen on civil society in Nepal Business Standard
    China grants 257,000 US dollars to Nepal
    People's Daily Online, China
    Nepal purge: a warning to all conspirators Webindia123, India

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