O


We tend to see community as a whole
As a conglomerate
As a gathering
As something
bigger than
ourselves.
As a gathering
As something
bigger than ourselves.
This is true, of course.
The power of a community, united and unleashed,
is awesome to behold.
But if we’re not careful,
We might start to think of ourselves
as just a “part,”
Insignificant
Unempowered
Not responsible or accountable.
Equally important,
If we’re not careful,
We can slip into thinking
that the “community” will
do all the work.
My point today is not just that
we can’t let that happen.
It‘s that…
Who would want to
let that happen,
especially when there are so many
possibilities to be revealed
and played with
and brought to life,
when the power of community is brought to bear?
So, how do we do that?
And what are the concrete payoffs?
What’s really in it for you?
Clay Shirky teaches at New York University 
in their Interactive
Telecommunications Program…
that should tell you something about Mr. Shirky right there.
He wrote a book on the 
power of the non-affiliated,
which is filled with anecdotes of how
people come together in informal ways,
using informal channels,
and make extraordinary things happen
like one group that grew from 30 people
meeting in a church basement
to a membership of 25,000 people around the world…
in just 6
months…
using nothing but Internet-based communications. 
I’ve talked about Clay Shirky before
And how, as a group grows larger,
The number of distinct connections
between people grows exponentially.
It can be tough to appreciate how powerful that kind of dispersed affiliation can be from the perspective of each of us sitting alone at our computer.
But consider, if you will, Twitter.
There are 175 million registered Twitter users.
NAEA is on Twitter
we use it mostly for announcements.
But many people think of Twitter as public texting service,
Prone to the mundane.
little more than a user-generated electronic tabloid.
Until 13 June 2009.
That was the day after the disputed Iranian elections,
when protesters filled the streets,
wearing their green,
in defiance of a totalitarian regime.
How did they know where to meet,
And when?
Twitter.
How did they even know to protest,
when all mainstream communication channels were shut down or tightly monitored,
and to do so in a police state
would surely visit harm on them?
Ahmadinejad and his regime thought so little of Twitter that they neglected to pull its plug.
They didn’t realize that thousands of Iranians were tweeting…
their indignation…
their dismay…
their well-being to relatives abroad.
The Iranian regime didn’t know that individual Iranians in the West 
were creating impromptu news services, 
amassing and consolidating the tweets 
so that the world knew of the protests…
and the tragedy of Neda’s death 
was able to spur worldwide horror and support.
What could we
accomplish if
we wielded
Twitter with
more
effectiveness?
Most of us believe there is a best approach,
validated by research, 
for every challenge—
Or at least our employers do.
But the most productive
communities don’t work that way.
The most productive groups take a
“beta-release” mindset—
just get something out there, and fast,
then let the community smooth
out the rough edges,
continually building on that initial platform.
Take Wikipedia, for example.
There is a Wikipedia article on NAEA.
Its total length, including references and links,
is less than 450 words long.
By way of comparison,
The Wikipedia article on the
No Child Left Behind Act
is more than 7,200 words long.
Don’t we have as much of a
story to tell as NCLB?
Clay Shirky describes how the Wikipedia
story on “asphalt” was created.
It started as a single 8-word sentence:
“Asphalt is a material used for road coverings.”
The Wikipedia article on asphalt is now
Over time, 129 different people contributed
additions and edits to the article,
although 100 of the contributors
provided only a single edit each.
only a few 
syllables shy 
of 4,000
words long.
What can we learn from Wikipedia?
That
no one
person
or group of people
or professional elite
can accomplish what a dispersed group
of interested bystanders can
when constantly
looking for
and improving
the ways to make something
profound and positive happen.
It requires only one person
to get something out there
for the community to respond to.
But more important,
it requires other members 
of the community to join in.
In fact, there’s even an 
informal “2nd-mover” theory:
The power of a movement
isn’t in the first person who starts it, 
but in the first person to join it, 
thus making it “okay”
for others to join.
It can be a bit lonely at the beginning,
but then magic can happen!
At NAEA, we are deeply
committed to the development
and activation of community.
It is one of the primary pillars
of the NAEA Next! Strategic Plan,
which has three action items:
1. Deepen member-to-member connections
and sharing within the NAEA community.
2. Connect members working in diverse roles
and settings to NAEA divisions that best address
their needs and express their interests. 
3. Continue to build collaborative relationships
with other organizations to further NAEA’s mission
and goals.
We already provide an assortment of
community-building tools:
The newly updated website including
e-Portfolios, Classroom Galleries,
Instructional Resources Gallery, and the
Monthly Mentor Blog, as well as our
twitter, Linkedin, and facebook accounts…
But we can only do so
much as an organization
The bottom line:
the power of community is only
as strong as the power of the individuals
in it. 
I have talked long and often
about the power of community…
as recently as my last “Cleansing the Palette.”
I look forward to exploring opportunities for
us each to demonstrate that power.
I’d like to plant the seed by offering 
an opportunity to engage with your
professional community today.
Download this image at www.arteducators.org/communitytree.
Use it as inspiration to create a visual response to this edition of "Cleansing the palette." 
Upload your visual creation to the NAEA Community Wiki:
http://naeacommunity.wikispaces.com
Watch this space for more ideas!