Sunday, April 08, 2007

Zen and the art of Nonprofit Technology: How do we do make change if we keep doing things the same way?

Zen and the art of Nonprofit Technology: How do we do make change if we keep doing things the same way? In other words, don't make a copies for a workshop, or for a colleague who isn't inside your organization, and definitely don't make a copy for your mother to read.

But it's a journal about technology and social change! This goes back to my constant refrain - the means are the ends. How can we talk about technology in social change, while, at the same time, publishing in a format that limits the availability of this knowledge to people privileged enough to pay for it? How can we talk about promoting change when we're not pushing this content into the commons?

The Public Library of Science is a wonderful example of a reputable, respected peer-reviewed journal where articles are freely available to the public. They say:
Published research results and ideas are the foundation for future progress in science and medicine. Open Access publishing therefore leads to wider dissemination of information and increased efficiency in science ...

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