Wikidelphia Meeting 2025 August (Grok Report)

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These notes come from a Wikidelphia meeting held on 2025 August 7. These are just notes and should not be taken as verbatim quotations.

Present were Wikidelphia Instigator Stan Pokras (S), Staff Editor Paul Sank (P), and volunteer Ted Hewson (T).

9:00pm

T: I sent P links to youth-engaged groups to add to Wikidelphia.

P: Did you check to see if we already have them?

T: Yes. They're all very active, well recognized ... I'm connecting with their leaders.

P: Equal Info Text Line seems to do similar work to ours.

T: [looks for the message P sent]

I signed up for it. Got an initial text and a sense of what they're doing. I haven't evaluated any of it yet. ... Some links are helpful. It is Philly-specific.

I may reach out to them and have a conversation. Meanwhile, I'll be sharing some of their info with others.

P: [gets on X and tells Equal Info about that]

T: I have had trouble logging in to X.

P: What about starting a new account?

Reminder: I want to share stuff on X from you two.

T: [tries to log into X ...]

S: I'm looking for my bookmark for X.

P: [T shares screen; P helps T get on X; gives T a tour]

S: Please unshare your screen.

T: I sent P the info of four organizations.

P: Happy to post 'em.

S: I'll mark the EITL page with my SRP template as a bookmark. You'll leave it there, right?

P: Yes.

You (S) said you want to do more Wikidelphia work.

S: I need more sleep, better walking ability, and fewer distractions. I'm introducing SONAI to Wikidelphia. SONAI and Wikidelphia have a relationship starting.

Both are owned by Community Magic. The state wants me to make a report each year.

T: I just did that for Peace Like a River.

P: A Form 990?

T: I dunno what they're looking for. It asked for basic info like address, ... not financials or ... it was basic, address, name, officers.

P: So, S, maybe it's simple for Community Magic?

S: If you ever need to remove a SRP template, let me know.

P: I've never had to do that.

P: S, you asked about the Where and the Not_Local categories.

S: Your interests are as important to me as anyone's.

S: I believe in Wikidelphia as [covering more than the city].

T: I'm reaching out to the Resolve Philly site.

S: EITL now has my SRP stamp on it.

SRP has two rules that I use, little programs 'Dynamic SRP Page Old-to-New' and '... New-to-Old'. The oldest page is 'template:srp'.

I'm wishing for an editor like you for Other Networks—to get funding for paying somebody, and it may bleed over to helping pay you, P.

Michael W., manager of ... Kindness ... Foundation. I think "helpfulness" is a better word.

There's a huge community that relates to who else is doing something.

P: "Helpfulness" is better, because it doesn't have political baggage attached.

S: My saying, "Helpfulness Brings People into Focus"—I'm trying to spread the word.

I've just written a couple of versions of mission statements for Other Networks.

I'm not leading this group very well. Apologies. It's my invention as well as Wikidelphia.

S: I just received a book, Urban Networking by Michael Rice, and he says I'm mentioned in it.

Michael Rice is very sincere and focused. His focus on urban networking is very clear, and he doesn't vary much from his basic theme.

I want to review it for Amazon. It's excellent for ... and coaching ...

I have too many books.

P: Don't all three of us? (LOL)

S: Also, the book, Change, by Damon Centola, subtitled "How To Make Big Things Happen". I believe he'll tell me that.

He mentions the Strength of Weak Ties principle and other things I've been saying for years ... Big changes have happened through networking. He studies the Arab Spring.

P: I thought that was a disaster.

S: It was and wasn't. He explores what did and didn't happen.

One interesting thing: a couple dozen one-minute videos that explore things he's done research on.

P: YouTube links?

S: Search for his name. [The following week, P tries and fails to find the videos.]

There are websites in the world that should be interesting to him, and he's not mentioned.

Did I send you "how to search a website for a particular word or phrase"?

P: I'd like that for SGOL.

S: I'd like to understand the world that SGOL explores.

My new opinion: The function of the brain is to interpret the heart and body into words that the brain can use to express to itself and others. You can't discuss things that haven't been named.

Any particular topic has a huge number of keywords, which is why one of my principles is there can't be too many Categories. (Unless a Category hasn't been created appropriately.) Almost everybody sees everything with different viewpoints.

There are more terms for anything than ... I don't believe in such a thing as the right category.

T: The beauty of flexibility of Wikidelphia and Other Networks.

S: The Humanity Rising page on Other Networks has over 60 categories.

T: I knew "Michael Rice" sounded familiar. He registered for all three summits and didn't show up. I reached out to him about networking.

He's one of two that registered for all three but didn't come.

S: Now that we've mentioned him between us, contact is more likely.

The book is written at a high-school level, which is good for his audience. Concepts are repeated from different angles. He's an amazing writer and lecturer. I met him about 15 years ago.

When I first heard him speak, I thought, "Whoa, this guy has something to offer!"

I haven't been working on Wikidelphia much, so he hasn't come up much recently.

The book is primarily for African-American residents of Philadelphia—but not explicitly so.

P: Ya gotta have some kinda target audience.

T: [mentions Kindle]

P: The Kindle "electronic paper" is much easier on the eyes!

T: ...

S: I tend to think of topics in terms of book titles.

I'm trying to get to read Adam Grant's Give and Take. He wrote something complementary on the cover of Centola's book.

Tipping Point by Adam Gradwell.

I'd like to connect with him, a knowledgable genius about networks.

P met me at a networking event.

P: [recounts the story of how S and P first met]

S: Thank you for being my friend.

P: Likewise!

S: In spite of differing opinions!

P: [gives an example of a wildly different opinion, exaggerating a bit for effect]

T: An example also of how people interpret things differently.

T: This has been a good discussion.

S: Offline, P and I will deal with "place" and how Wikidelphia handles it.

T: [suggests date for next meeting]

[End]

Wikidelphia Meeting 2025 August (Grok Report)

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