Skip to main content

Monday Morning Inspiration


Do you live in Columbia? Do you have some ideas about how Columbia could be better? Do you wish that the Columbia Association had a way to listen to the desires and opinions of everyday residents?

I do.

That's why I'm intrigued by Inspire Columbia, a MindMixer online community created for CA, to create an ongoing conversation with residents about what they like and don't like, what they wish for, what keeps them here.

They don't ask for much information: email, zip code, birth year. I had a few issues with registration at first. It seems to be harder on the iPad. But MindMixer has great customer support if you reach out for help.  Inspire Columbia is just getting started, and there are already some interesting ideas and supportive comments posted.

The point is to share ideas, and engage the support of others as these ideas take shape through interactions on the site.  It is easy to use, and I can't wait to see it really take off as more people join in. I know from conversations during the campaign that people have a lot of ideas they'd like to share!

As you know, I'm not a fan of conspiracy theorists who suggest we must be protected from CA, or that we need fighters to go up against CA on our behalf to prevent untold horrors from occurring. Inspire Columbia shows that CA wants to know what residents really want, separated from the politically charged nature of angry meetings or negative newsletters.

What do you want?

It's as simple as that. Eliminate the middleman. The more people join in, the more it becomes like an ongoing, live-tweeted survey, if you will. (Do I mean crowd-sourced?) But, different from some surveys, it doesn't seek to shape your responses in any particular direction.  You get to pick the questions that matter, and you get to suggest the answers.

The input from Inspire Columbia could get some very cool things jump-started for our community.

You probably know that the word "inspire" has at its root the concept of breathing in, of life-giving breath. We can't be alive without it. When you share ideas, or learn about other people's ideas, you are providing Columbia with the breath of life.

Remember: those who don't inspire, expire.

hocoblogs@@@

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more