I’ve been in Denver for a few days at the Council on Foundations annual conference. I’ve been unable to post updates as I did at the Global Philanthropy Forum because the technology infrastructure available here is, frankly, terrible. There is no wireless anywhere in the conference venues, leaving me with only my phone to access the wider world. That has been limited by the fact that it’s virtually impossible to find an available power outlet, so even use of the phone has to be rationed. While this may sound like whining (and it is at least in part whining), I think it also reflects on the state of the Council on Foundations. There have been several sessions on technology and social innovation here at the conference, and yet no one seems to have taken into consideration network access for conference participants. The conference itself is immeasurably poorer because it has cut off the significant conversations that happen via social media at most conferences these days.

With that said, some brief thoughts, which I hope to follow up with more detailed posts over the next few weeks.