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Updation

I got that word from this article in WaPo's business section today. Decent article, but other than using that word, I have no further comment on the piece.

I will still get around to Permission Marketing yet. I have my notes all recorded, I just have to upload them. Anyway, I wanted to just mention an audio lecture I heard in my car while attempting to cross the Wilson Bridge this morning. It's a lecture entitled "America's Great Third Sector," given by Diana Aviv, to a group of people at the Chautauqua Institution.

Aviv spoke very articulately about the challenges and the successes of nonprofit voluntary agency's and her focus was surprisingly positive. So often when people talk about nonprofit issues they get into this handout mode where people whine and complain about what the government isn't doing for them, how ever since Reagan things have been turning south yada yada. None of that with Aviv, and I was highly impressed with her forthright, empowered philosophy.

One of the items discussed was whether people should form their own foundations or not (for example Bill Gates) and if so doing was harmful to the sector in general. Aviv's thought was 'let's wait and see,' which is very open minded compared to what a lot of prescriptivists would say. My thought though, is that of course they should start their own foundations. That's what Carnegie did when he invented the whole idea: people who have made that much money bring a lot to the table in terms of maximizing its good to humanity.

Her question-and-answer period (mind you, this wasn't a college course so the questions were actually decently intelligent) was great, and she had terrific answers even when asked leading questions by partisan hacks. So props to Ms. Aviv.

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