Glocal Structural Options: IdeaList
There are endless structural models for creating our network, and I would strongly encourage us to go towards a "Glocal" model. This means that we would be a global organization that is controlled and supports local organizing and local power. Why is a strural model even important, well we could just ignore it, but if we are trying to create an integrated network where we are all working together across the world, instead of all being fragmented and on different pages, it is very helpful to be following the same organizing structures to create auto-integrated communication systems for effective and efficient communication and decision making.
With the IdeaList Disqus structure already set up, we have a intertwined local network started. There is no problem with this type of network, but like all structures there are pro's and con's. The primary con is that it creates initial fragmentation between individuals who otherwise could directly start communicating online. The primary changes in establishing a Glocal structures would be to include regional, state, national, continental and Global communication team levels. Currently we have almost 2,000 people signed up. Most likely of those 2,000 people less than 5% may be active on any particular day. That is going to be less than 100 people. But in our current structure those people have no way to communicate. Therefore we have 100's of local groups that "formed" across the world with nothing happening, and no way for them to become engaged in, well anything. The primary outcome of these so call "online hubs" has been to do nothing but schedule in-person meetings. In one way of looking at it, this whole connector hub structure has been used as a very complicated way of scheduling local meetings. Kind of like meet up. Is that really our intention? Or do we want to work together across the world in addition to our local groups?
The primary purpose of setting up these non-localized levels of communications is to better interconnect ideas across geographic areas. For example if a local group, or even individual, has a great idea, then that idea can quickly and strategically be communicated throughout the glocal network by brining up into the national and continental levels and back down into localized teams. It can be much harder to transfer ideas directly from a single local group to all other local groups without some type of filter system, as it can end up being an overwhelming amount of information. Also in areas that a local team only has 1, 2, even 5 people, it may be strategic to directly organize on the regional or even state/national level until more people get involved in your localized area.
Even once a group has agreed to utilize a glocal structural strategy, there is still a huge obstacle in creating agreement on how the structure should be organized based on geo-location. My recommendation is the following but there are infinite other options:
Continental
National/National Regions
State Regions / States
Local Regions (Metropolitan Areas)
Cities/Counties
Local Teams with direct communications to the Global Level
An other easy way of organizing is by population densities: The most local level teams can be organized around populations of X thousands. This could be populatentios as small as 10,000(inter-neighborhoods) people, and then work up logrythmiclly: 100,000 (inter-areas). . . 1,000,000 (inter-city) . . . 10,000,000 (inter-state) . . . 100,000,000 (inter-national) . . . 1,000,000,000 (inter-continental) . . .10,000,000,000(global)
Lastly there is also the option to create an integrated multi-holographic structure which intertwines both geo-location with cultural, and other strategic organizing systems. This structure can create multiple levels of cultural and language specific integrated communication forums to help build interdependent decision making systems that give equality to all participants based on their own cultural linguistic communication systems, not just those that speak in english and are liberal progressives/ anarchists and other related cultures. I would recommend that we didn't do this for now, but it is important to understand its utility and possible integration in the future.