I really like this idea from Seth Godin. After all, I got my start in community work with a monthly, neighborhood newsletter. Maybe that’s why I like it. Or maybe because I believe it can change the life of the individuals involved, their neighbors and the neighborhood.

Mine was called The Brooks Drive News and I, along with some friends, reported on the 4o houses that made up my neighborhood– Brooks Drive and its coves in Martin, Tennessee. Full of youth sports scores, stories of shoe stealing dogs, and the like, it also contained guest poetry from the neighborhood poet, Mr. Watson; and a geological history of the neighborhood from a local professor. Exciting stuff.

That was my preparation for neighborhood development. At 10, I had no idea what I was doing. At 30, I still don’t. But this sounds like a good idea. Maybe I should try it again.