This is Dylan Taylor live-blogging from the Fourth Round of Project Intro Presentations at the 2007 NetSquared Conference.

In between the third and fourth rounds, Michael Yutrzenka, Executive Director of the Cisco Foundation, Cisco Systems spoke.

• - playing field is being leveled.
• - world works the best under challenged but also when we are working together in community
• -takes all to set in motion change
• -we are here to work together here and around the world to help ideas grow and prosper
• - On a small MN farm where he grew up he recalled the excitement and conversation over the "party line", a telephone line shared with neighbors. Everyone took part and listened in on everyone's conversations.
• - That combined with what was going on in town allowed participants from farming community to share best practices and make more money
• - Social networking is the new party line
• - More and more experiences are being defined and driven by consumer, the human network.
• - LBJ in '67 said these are our enemies- poverty disease and ignorance. While the enemies haven't changed, the projects are forward thinking ideas on how to address and change those enemies
• -when challenged and collaborate to overcome challenges we are at out best

FamilyFarmed.org

- related a USNEWS and World Report cover story on how to eat safely

• - Cover image showed a kid looking funy/ scared at the food in front of him. That is symbolic of what's going on with food supply--an industrial based food system that is faceless and has lost accountability. whether it's bacteria, hormones, food travel imprint, etc. It's a problem and has caused a loss of trust with something we are intimately acquainted with on a daily basis.
• - Solution is buildling local, organic food systems.
• -Positives= Sequesters carbon , supports family farmers and small communties, reduces pollution.

- FF.org is network of regional producers in the Midwest(farmers and artisans) generated in response to a field study which found that both farmers and food buyers were looking for access.
- Two components- One is the site to profile farmers- stories, pics and second is an expo- that drew over 3800 consumers.

- network that is creating system where farmers are rock stars- respected, loved, admired
- need to move from 1.0 to 2.0
- looking for tech and philanthropic partners

Big Brothers Big sisters
- focus on numbers

- 100 year anniversary

- Over 1000 locations
put caring adult into life of child who needs a caring adult in their life
- 100,000 children helped per year (1999)
- but there are 10m at risk kids a day

- Question= How do we expand 10 fold? go from 100,000 to 1m

- Answer= big changes needed, turnaround organization and an important part is IT system
that links the many branches. A single system - Agency Info Management (AIM)

-AIM goals

1 telecomm, thin client web app used

2 simple and intuitive

3 had to enforce reliable rules and require every step

4had to enable staff and management to monitor

5 finally had to leverage evolving use of Internet

6 had to come up with compelling system that all agencies wanted to be a part of

- Progress Implemented few years back and now serving 230,000 kids

- Next steps:

first 100 agencies were big one, moving on to small ones

improve analysis reporting

go beyond simple e-forms

volunteer portal

1 one to one, all agencies as one, one person going home to be a Big Brother or Big Sister, change world one child at a time

MAPLight.org
- Shining light on money and politics=MAP(Money And Politics)
- Follow the cash - politicians need money to run for office get money from interest groups
- map light site brings together votes and money and offers accountability
- audience = journalists, bloggers, citizen leaders, issue oriented ngos and npos
- Examples

1.5 years ago CA leg spent 18 m to put fresh fruit in school lunches. food industry makes money from canned food and had working changed to delicious so that canned fruit can be served. Food industry has given over 400m to politicians in last decade

Drug companies gave 3 times more money to legislators who voted to ban perscription imports from Canada than those who did not.

bottled water companies gave 7 times more moeny to legislators who voted to dereg bottle water industry versus legislators who voted for regulating

- Money via paid subscriptions and keyword based ad
- adding widgets so others can include
- combine campaign contributions to show racial disparities
personal legislative tracking service to keep track of your issues

- will cost 450000 already raised 2500000

- need financial and tech support. check out video tour on site

- map light key info to hold legis accountable

time for something fresh