Tag Archive for 'economy'

October Abundance League SF, Screening & Discussion of Re:Invention

Published on August 25, 2009 in Meetings+Events Calendar and San Francisco Events by Neal Gorenflo. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

The media constantly reports how the economy is hurting people, which can be disempowering. To offer a counterpoint and make space for healing, we need to tell new stories that shift the conversation to new possibilities. What if we saw the crisis as the crucible where deep alchemy happens? How would we evolve as a society if we faced the economic meltdown with courage to see the wisdom that is waiting on the other side?

Our guest facilitator for this month is dedicated to exploring these questions. Catherine Goerz is a filmmaker whose creative mission is to catalyze social change by documenting stories of people who have experienced crisis and transformation in this economy. Catherine’s journey into film making began when she lost her job 2008. Inspired by the idea that her layoff was an opportunity for positive transformation, she decided to document how other people were responding to the loss of homes, investments and work. After traveling cross-country for 4 weeks in a RV, attending the inauguration, and shooting interviews, she created a documentary short called “RE: Invention.”

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Friend-to-Friend Commerce (F2F)

Published on September 24, 2008 in Abundance by Neal Gorenflo. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

I was talking with Taj of the Denver Abundance League on Saturday about how we can make the league more meaningful on a day-to-day basis. Imagine what it would be like to experience the mutually-supportive environment we create at monthly meetings, but on a daily basis.

This lead me to the concept of Friend-to-Friend commerce. Instead of putting your stuff on Craigslist or eBay and selling to a stranger, why not sell to a friend? I mean think about it, most people never even let their friends know they’re selling something on a C2C site. That’s weird. Why not let your friends know first? Why not give them first dibs. Or even better, just give the item to a friend, someone that you love, trust, and want to help. And what if all your friends did the same thing? And what if listings went beyond stuff and included all kinds of support? F2F commerce might be a way to experience extraordinary generosity every day.

This idea may represent a gigantic cultural lacuna. There’s only one result that comes back from a google search on the exact term “friend-to-friend commerce” or the same without dashes. And that result is in reference to marijuana sales networks in the law enforcement domain. In a way, that shows the power of the corporate controlled marketplace – we do not see our friends as sources of material sustenance. We search vertically to get our needs met, not horizontally. That’s radically undemocratic. Conversely, Friend-to-Friend Commerce is radically democratic.

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