User:Ericbritton

Sorry I am so slow on this, but my day job is slowing me down on my contributions here. But NTW, I am a finisher. ericbritton 09:58, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia projects of active interest[edit]

Concepts I am monitoring and otherwise working with closely[edit]

Self-intro[edit]

File:Eb-head3.jpg

Britton at rest

My name is Eric Britton. I was born in Boston on 27 June 1938 and live and work in Paris since 1969. I was 'trained' as a (my words) 'gentlemen scientist’ at Amherst College, and a PhD cand. with an undefended dissertation in high flown development economics rhetoric and insider hijacks in the Mezzogiorno (Southern Italy) courtesy of the Dept of Graduate Faculties of Columbia University. Other than two years with the US army and six months with WHO and USAID in Vietnam, I have always been substantially and aggressively self-employed (See below).

Some key words and phrases that have driven all my work: Sustainable development and social justice. Impact of technology on ordinary people in their day to day lives. Knowledge and consensus building through interactive networking. Active citizenry. [[Invisible college]. Diversity. Cognitive dissonance. Empowerment as a strategy. Rewarding initiative. Culture. Language. Personal responsibility. Learning by doing. Leading by example. Impatience. Patience. Anticipation. Conceptual thinking. Blank piece of paper. Staying power. Children as future leaders. Women in leadership positions. Confidence in young people. Other reward systems. Unreasonable people

You can find the key to my work and interests under [The Commons: Open Society Sustainability Initiative]. If you thrash around on the lower left menu on the [website] a bit you can also find some background on me, including a couple of recent articles in e-mags. And you may find one or two things under my name (not the swimmer, nor the photographer, nor the wrestler nor the plumber. . . and that will probably be at least in part me) in Google. I live and work out of Paris (more) and LA (less). Here is how you can run me down.

The Commons: Open Society Sustainability Initiative
[http://www.ecoplan.org EcoPlan Association Internationale - Loi de 1901 (NGO)}
Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara
75006 Paris, France
Contact via: Tel: +331 4326 1323 Skype: ericbritton E: secretariat@ecoplan.org

The Commons: Seeking out and supporting new sustainability concepts for entrepreneurs, activists, community groups, and government; a thorn in the side of hesitant administrators and politicians; and through our joint efforts, energy and personal choices, placing them and ourselves firmly on the path to a more sustainable and more just society.

EcoPlan International Innovation consultancy/advisory
[New Ways to Work in an Information Society]
9440 Readcrest Drive Beverly Hills, CA 90210
T. +1 310 601-8468 E: eric.britton@ecoplan.org Skype: xWork-on-line

Why I am going into all this detail here[edit]

I put all this here because I intend to try to push the envelop a bit here at the Wikipedia with several entries that involve taking on some unfamiliar concepts which take the form of real world Self-Organizing Collaborative Networks – and this may lead to a few disagreements and conflicts along the way. My goal for the handful of entries that I would now like to make is that we shall together be able to shape them into something closer to the high Britannica 1911 standard, which as you know was a storehouse not only of the usual and most important crisp encyclopedic definitions, but also intended by the editors and main collaborators as a research tool opening up both broad concepts and new specifics of their fast changing world for anyone who had the energy to look. My hope is that by coming clean here at the beginning, we will be able to deal with these in good order and good spirits.

I might add that in all cases I do have a rather severe acid test as far as any entries that I might make -- since each of these entries covers ground specifically dealt with by recognized cooperative international expert programs (identified in each case) with hundreds of highly informed, hands-on practitioners and scholars from around the world participating. And in each case they will be urged to come in and thereby make sure that what you see in each entry is accurate and complete. My hope is that in this way we will be able to achieve a better-than-Britannica standard, my idea of the only way to do it.

Note: I am taking the initiative here to bring in some of the commentaries and exchanges from the various sites to which I am trying to make contributions, with the thought that it might be useful to have all this background material in the same place. I am moreover, putting the most current and the most controversial stuff up top. So that it won’t get overlooked in the thicket.

Question: Since I really do have quite some body or work and accomplishment, does it make any sense for me to start an entry under my own name in the Wikipedia, inviting colleagues and others to join in? Rather like a principal at the annual school picnic who agrees to put his heard through a hole in a canvas so that the students can aim pies at him. (Or is this bad style?)

Profiles of exceptional people[edit]

Also working on entries for following distinguished international thinkers and notable creative personalities (often working in the near dark and without much help from the establishment) whom I have had the honor to rub up against and learn from over the years:

Some other Wikipedia goals, intentions[edit]

Find a way to create Wikipedia entries identifying leading figures in the international environment movement, not for the theoreticians and academicians, but for those advancing the agenda through their hands-on work and involvement in the trenches. (A good example is the Jane Jacobs entry thus far.)

Encourage entries for organizations, including programs, foundations, groups and individuals ready to support local projects and efforts. (Example in progress: Stockholm Partnerships for Sustainable Cities)

Find a way to encourage carshare operators world wide to make proper, neutral but informative entries (Examples: Zipcar, Flexcar)