Fruchterman Jim Bookshare 2002

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        Benetech Dave Offen Arkenstone 15 April 2002
      
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        480 California Avenue, Suite 201  (Quindi is Suite 304)
      
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        Palo Alto, CA  94306-1609
      
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        <b>650  475-5440  </b>
      
      
        ext 110
      
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        www.benetech.org
      
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        dave@benetech.org
      
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        The Benetech Initiative
      
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        Benetech:   Technology Serving Humanity
      
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        Bookshare.org  sharing books .. Napster style so that disabled people can read books that 
        have been scanned on-line.
      
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        Grew out of Arkenstone ? reading tools for people with disabilities. 35,000 people use 
        Arkenstone's tools to help them read books.  99% of Arks budget came from sales.
      
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        Benetech grew out of Arkenstone.  Ark was then sold and this provided the capital for 
        Benetech.   They want to create a dozen new Arkenstone-sized projects.
      
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        Jim Fruchterman was the founder and CEO of Arkenstone.
      
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        I met Dave Offen (very tall;  their Dir of Engineering ? look under B for Benetech)
      
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        Soft-spoken, v. intelligent, excellent rapport.  Look at his CV on-line  ?db and telecom 
        for non-profits like PeaceNet/EcoNet.  Married to a social scientist.
      
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        Look at the Board of Directors ? extremely impressive.
      
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        They have abt 15 staff members.
      
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        Q:  What is your interest in volunteers?
      
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        	They have had abt 6-8 individuals show up recently.  He mentioned Ted Coe a 25 yo MIT 
        grad.  who was working with a staff member on a project.
      
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        It really depends on having a staff member that wants to work with you.
      
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        They (obviously) need accountability, need to show up for meetings, etc.  (Some people 
        work thru e-mail, on-line etc.).
      
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        Q:  How about starting a new project?
      
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        	It would be helpful to have a business plan.  Their model is that they would like any new 
        operation to eventually be self-supporting (like Arkenstone).  Need to pay the rent, need 
        to pay for the support staff, etc.
      
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        I present two of my projects to him:
      
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        I.  How Things Work Project
      
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        Ford Motor Company (he suggests getting money from the Ford Foundation) maintains a part 
        of their web site that shows how an internal combustion engine works.  I suggest having 
        various levels of simplification, so that it may be used by students in elem. school, 
        middle school, high school, college, etc.   If it is really good, it becomes a magnet that 
        attracts people to the site ? Ford can fly banner ads or direct people to its commercial 
        sites.   Have thousands of sites like this can schools can use to educate students.
      
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        	Dave likes this project.  Obviously Ford needs to be induced to devote people to produce 
        and maintain the site ? where do those FTE's come from (either Ford or the Ford 
        Foundation).
      
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        II.  The Democracy Project
      
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        	Video teleconference with several dozen people, all discussing a particular issue.
      
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        Distill out the key themes of an issue.  On-line problem solving, creative solutions, 
        getting a sense of the community,  solving trade offs between money and intangible 
        benefits to society (jobs and commercial development vs loss of habitat for wild animals, 
        eg).
      
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        	Dave's answer:  1) he thought I was talking abt direct democracy (do away with Congress)  
        NO.  obviously too unwieldy.
      
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        Other concerns:  1)  Internet has polarized people ? they tend to gravitate to communities 
        that support their own point of view.   2)  Internet reinforces emotional reaction rather 
        than a reasoned approach. 
      
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