My SNA session with Valdis Krebs and June Holley at a conference in Boston last week went very well. There was definitely a good bit of interest in the topic, especially in the work that June and Valdis have done with ACEnet. They have dozens of stories of how the creation of a network of small businesses in rural southeastern Ohio has created jobs, enhanced the small businesses, and engendered a real sense of community.

June kicked it off by getting to the ground truth of where she’s at with philanthropy: “It’s about ending poverty.” I was reminded that I forgot to blog about John Edward’s talk at Harvard last month. Edwards (Democratic party candidate for Vice-President in last fall’s election) is launching the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

More to the networking point, June (a natural network weaver, if ever you have met one) said that a key benefit to networks is diversity: “Networks can help you rub up against people who can take your blinders off.”

Philanthropic organizations are coming to the KM game with fresh eyes and leapfrogging early generations of knowledge management. Our talk was at the 2nd KM conference for the Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) group. Roberto Cremonini, Chief Knowledge and Learning Officer for the Barr Foundation, arranged our talk. He and the Director of the Barr foundation, Marion Kane, are no slouches when it comes to leveraging network building. They have incorporated the importance of networks into their tagline, “Using knowledge, networks, and funding to Build a Better Boston for all.” Their resources pages include links to articles on networks, including (modestly positioned near the bottom of the page), a link to a terrific study that they funded, “Network Power for Philanthropy and Nonprofits” by Peter Plastrik and Madeleine Taylor.