Like the Moody Blues said, “We’re all looking for someone.” I’m looking for a team and funding. The funding is just another way to create a team.
Why can’t PeopleCount get funding?
I think PeopleCount hasn’t been funded because I don’t have decent connections. Even the people who say, “You should contact Person X” refuse to introduce me to him or her. If I can reach them, why can’t you be my partner and reach them for me? First, it’ll be a real contribution you can make, instead of giving me yet another task to do alone. Second, it’ll create in them a curiosity and openness about me that doesn’t happen when I contact someone.
When I contact someone, they want a very short description in writing. They assume it’s if “the real deal”, a breathlessly short description is possible. Professional investors are exactly the same. They want to see that it has already launched and been proven (and just needs money to grow), or they want to feel complete certainty in their guts.
But other organizations get funding
Many don’t. Most people like Bill and Melinda Gates have very rigid organizations that would never touch a disruptive idea. Almost all such organizations explicitly state, “No unsolicited
On the other hand, some of them have significant funding. NoLabels has a ton of money and no real progress. They could easily fund PeopleCount and make huge progress. I’ve talked to them and they decline, but refuse to discuss why. They’re living on hope. Plus paying real salaries, having real conferences with real people with “big” names. And they generate real press releases! Everything but progress…
NoLabels has a great way to fix Congress: Magically change them into problem-solvers committed to an agenda. The problem? There’s no magic. Many aren’t interested in being problem solvers and very few of them are willing to commit to an agenda. But they have famous people with connections, so they get funding.
Can politics be fixed?
Consider your own opinion: Can politics be fixed with anything short of a movement, or at least, a big expensive fight?
Most people I’ve asked have said, “Yes, but it won’t happen.” That is, they want hope, but they really believe it’s impossible. And they can’t see that their views of politics are organized in a way that ensures a possibility is invisible.
A few have latched onto a new idea or two, like Liquid Democracy or even something as banal as Instant Runoff Voting. They think “This could really work!” Yet, there’s no way of getting from here to there, short of a movement, or at least, a really big, expensive fight. The term-limits people now have a friend in the White House, and they still can’t get a bill passed. (And term limits aren’t a solution, anyway.)
Those aren’t solutions, much less new paradigms. Those are fantasies. Yes, some of these ideas might only exist in a different paradigm. But a “new paradigm” is “new” because it takes over the current paradigm. There’s a real and realistic path from where we are now to this future. PeopleCount has that.
So what’s the plan?
- In my limited free time, I’m working on the website. I’m also talking with people, reading and writing emails, reaching out to new people, making presentations and blogging. Plus I have a full-time job, occasional overtime, and the duties of a husband, father, and breadwinner. Without a team and funding, don’t hold your breath…
- I’m looking for sponsors. I’m looking for people with money who want to fix politics so bad that they’re willing to think newly. It’s fine if they want to trust me instead. I suppose it’s more likely that someone can be snowed than they can think newly. But it seems like a bad idea for me to add “learn to be a salesperson” to my schedule…
Should I stop blogging and focus a few more hours per week on the software? How about I just publish this and call it a night…
To find out more, start with the How it Works page and read the Nuts and Bolts article and the one following it, about why The Nuts and Bolts will Matter. And show your commitment to a new possibility: Donate.