I started writing my book this year, and then thought it better to put together a proposal (below) and have the crowd help to write it. I have reached out to some specific folks to get their input but want everyone who comes to the site to have the opportunity to be heard. You can download the proposal at this link, “Rebel Technology” Draft, or you can read it online here.

Of course you can always feel free to email me.

Julius Akinyemi is the initiator of Unleashing the Wealth of Nations project and the Resident Entrepreneur at MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Akinyemi, a native of Nigeria, is exploring the commercialization of technology innovation to empower people in developing nations, so that they may invent new opportunities for themselves and their societies in a networked “always-on/always connected” information economy, with an entrepreneurial spirit.  Mr. Akinyemi invited me to sit on the board of Wealth of Nations which I was honored to do.

The objective of this initiative is to effect a sea-change, a quantum leap for ordinary citizens of developing economies to move from day-to-day survival mode to a personal wealth creation and growth via asset ownership, registry, and mobilization.

To unlock the wealth of nations, we aim to provide practical solutions tailored to the local environment that leverage the convergence of existing technologies. By registering people, their assets, and life events in an eRegistry, and through economic modeling, we will work to mobilize the currently dormant trillions of dollars in local assets in developing nations in order to generate local capital that fuels the economy via asset securitization.

With this economic model, we will create a global standardized index (Global Consumer Economic Index) that local financial institutions can use to improve lending practices by better assessment of an individual’s worth. This process will generate needed capital in developing nations to fuel the economy and minimize poverty. Additionally, the resulting technology platform from this process of asset securitization—The Open Information Exchange “MASHUP” Platform—will provide transparency and accountability for invested and loaned funds to the various nations by the World’s financial organizations. The Open Information Exchange MASHUP platform will become a lasting entrepreneurial development platform for open market exchange, analogous to a real-time global commerce commodities trading floor locally and eventually a global platform.

Read about the core concepts behind Unleashing the “Wealth of Nations”

The Strengthening America’s Global Engagement (SAGE) is an initiative to develop a cogent business plan for enhancing American public diplomacy and strategic communication efforts.  I was invited to become a member of the SAGE group of founders, sitting on the Programs Committee and authoring the Technology Sections of the proposal. Matt Armstrong at MountainRunner has done a great job of summarizing SAGE’s mission below:

“The envisioned organization would compliment government organizations, such as the State Department’s Office of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. The new organization would have an air-gap between the government and programs that would allow greater flexibility and agility. This gap is likely to be more attractive to potential partners and programs that, for a variety of reasons, do not want to or cannot be associated with the US Government. Background information on the SAGE initiative being run out of the Woodrow Wilson Center, with support from the SmithRichardson Foundation and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, can be found here.

A draft mission statement and “broad outline of organizational framework” from the Governance Committee is below.

The new institution’s mission is to foster engagement between the U.S. society and the rest of the world with a view to promoting shared values and common interests, increasing mutual understanding and respect, and enhancing America’s standing in the world. The organization will advance these objectives preponderantly through grant making, but will also have organic capacity to itself stimulate peer to peer contacts and to build communities of interest through its ability to convene, to network, and to synthesize the best research available on relevant issues.

This organization will be a congressionally endorsed independent non profit (501-C-3) organization. It will look to congressional appropriation for some of its core funding, while program and project funding will come both from private sources and various government agencies. The governing board of the organization will be made up largely of eminent private individuals with several seats set aside for bipartisan Congressional participation.”

Dominic Campbell is an incredible force to be reckoned with and is helping to push the idea of City Incubators in major cities on multiple continents.  We have attracted the attention of major sponsors, citizens, advocacy groups and the like to help reform governments worldwide to take advantage of technology to bring citizens closer to their government.

As this project starts to take off, keep your eye on the work Dom is doing to bring the world a bit closer together with his efforts at Digital Mission and get involved.  Whether you are a corporate marketing executive, young and aggressive startup or a citizen looking to make a difference the Incubator project and Digital Mission offer you ways to engage in global civics.

Dom and I first crossed paths at the Harvard Kennedy School GovCamp Summit.

Government 2.0 at Harvard with Matt Miszewski

Tim talks about Government as a Platform