Web of Change

Questions and discussion with Jodie Tonita

Notes by Steve Andersen

There is not a culture of list building in Canada
* Canada looks to the US for ideas on this
* Canada doesn't have access to the voter file like US folks do

Popcorn Questions

What are the ways that we build lists?
** we lie and coerce to get people to give up their name when all we really want to do is ask them for money
** we get obsessed about it and are concerned about size of list

With two weeks left to go, and new requests for information and attendance coming through the proverbial door every day... Web of Change 2006 is basically sold out. This is going to be our biggest conference to date!

There's always a bit of give at the end, as this person can't make it and that person squeezes in – you know how it goes. However, there's a pretty non-negotiable space limit at Hollyhock – they only have so many beds (and tent spaces) on the land, and they are basically all spoken for. If you're still hoping to squeeze in there, please drop a line to [email protected] to get your name on the waiting list. Next year, please register early!

We've been hard at work this past few weeks lining up and confirming the keynote speakers for Web of Change next month. We're very excited about them and we think you will be too!

Our very own Madeline Stanionis will open the conference with an informal chat about her lessons learned from over a decade in the trenches. From door-to-door camaigner to kick-ass online money-raiser, now freewheeling on her book tour after retiring from DonorDigital, Madline never ceases to wow everyone at Web of Change. We're excited to highlight her more formally this year. Check our her bio here.

Our tentative (but fairly solid) agenda is now posted! Check it out. We'll be blogging more details about content in the coming weeks, but the important stuff is all there now, from keynotes to breakouts. We're really pleased with the session ideas that have emerged from all of our discussions with our community, and from the tireless work of the convening team.

Make sure you also check out the participants list, which is being constantly updated. (If your name isn't on there but should be, please let us know!) We've got some amazing people coming, so get inspired... and then get registered. We hope to see you in three weeks!

We've been hard at work coming up with great content for this September's conference, and we wanted to post some of what we're working on. Lots of you have been asking for an agenda, and while we won't have a finalized one for a bit longer, we do have a lot of fantastic evolving content.

What follows are brief outlines of some of the sessions we've been tossing around. They're really just a teaser, as the full agenda will include a whole lot more, but this will at least give you a sense of what to expect.

Please know that we very much welcome your feedback, either in the comments, or via an email to info AT webofchange DOT com. So drop us a line!

Web of Change isn't your average run-of-the-mill conference - and neither are our workshop sessions. Think circle under the trees – not stale hotel room. Think dynamic discussion – not dry lecture. Think passion, experience, and honesty – not expertise and canned responses. Think questions – not answers.

If you get what this means, than you might not only belong at Web of Change – you might also be perfect for participating in a panel or leading a conference session.

Perhaps you've learned something about how to make an online campaign work and can't stop talking about it. Or maybe you've got a story to tell about how your organization is connecting with people and making things happen. If so, than we'd like to hear about it – and we just may invite you to share it with the rest of the group.