WeStrive.Org, An Introduction

Written by The WeStrive Leadership Council 
 
 Organizations, like humans, have specific developmental phases and steps they must go through. Just as a child must learn to crawl and then walk, say a word or two and eventually a sentence, so, too, must an organization eventually be able to stand on its own and carry its weight in the world. And so NetworkM has taken its next vital developmental step; for starters, NetworkM is changing its name to WeStrive.org. 
 
Over the past four years, NetworkM has blossomed from a simple idea into a global network and community. It now strives to meet the growing needs of its community and to fulfill its organizational promises; as an organization, we have taken a bold and new step leading us into the future recognizing and working with the communal and organizational structure of the system that we live and work in.
 
The future and success of our movement is predicated on its ability to create sustainable modalities of operation and to effectively communicate and implement its mission. To meet these requirements, we have made some bold changes that will be rolling out over the next couple of months.
The name NetworkM has always been a name that has resonated with those who understand its inherent implication; the symbol of the M is one that has drawn many of our members to join the network. The M represents the archangel Micha’el, and was initially chosen to recognize the task of our time and to actively engage our will in transforming the world.
But after much deliberation within our leadership team, we have decided, for several reasons, that instead of using the symbol as our name, we can actually state what the M has symbolized in our name – that we strive in our efforts to engage as active members of society; we strive to engage with others and to pool our common goals and our collective strength; we strive to serve those in need and those who themselves, in turn, serve.
The change is not only about a new name and a new look, but it is also about growing up and actually fulfilling the promises we’ve made over the years – and to reacquaint ourselves with our mission in our communities.
We invite you to participate in our next step and to utilize our services for individuals and organizations. Our tools will enable members to better connect and work together, to meet potential collaborators, to build new connections and to strengthen the bonds that already exist in our ever-striving community.
Here is a preview of what WeStrive will offer within the context of Social Threefolding:
Social Networking = Political/Rights Sphere
WeStrive is not only a community, but a platform which has been designed to support initiatives in the political/rights sphere. The early members of the community were drawn together by a shared desire to improve social issues. This early impulse grew into a network of socially and spiritually striving individuals frequently disconnected in their proximity, but who could find more distant strength and support using social networking software.
A three-prong strategy evolved as we grew. One focused on recognizing the value and reaping the benefits of online tools for networking and connecting. Through this we came to the conclusion that current software was inadequate for our needs. The other focused on reaching out to the world and publishing content about the people and initiatives we learned about. The final focus was on achieving local action; bringing the virtual community together in the same room to see what emerged.
WeStrive invested the time and effort into creating a new social networking platform with the express purpose of enabling people to better connect and support their initiatives. Traditional organizational structures can limit the ability of groups to dynamically form and work together. WeStrive's platform helps individuals publicize initiatives, harness enthusiasm and direct it toward action.
As the community grows the possibility of finding other locally striving individuals increases. Our ability to connect and support one another becomes easier and more rewarding. We continue to strive toward a diverse and unified community, spanning the world, rooted in local connection.
The Arts = Cultural Sphere
The arts have provided a broad array of mediums for personal use, expression and social commentary. In modern art, the meaning of art itself has been explored in numerous ways; in could be said that, to some extent, we have lost an ability to immerse ourselves in our artwork as in times past, when it were as if something were working through us. A question of our time might be: what is the role of art today?
Artists such as Joseph Beuys held in high regard the idea of a 'social artwork' - which related much less to objects made by people and more with the social interactions between people. Artistic processes and thinking developed by humanity can be used to delve into the realm of human social relationship. What if you were to think of the space between yourself and another, or even the greater community, as a living sculpture of warmth? How would you sculpt it? How do we work with the social realm in an artistic way in order to improve or simply become conscious of that which surrounds us?
WeStrive has continued to encourage discourse and learning by providing provocative and thoughtful stories and articles on a regular basis, and now through music, fiction, poetry and art of all forms. Through these we hope to spark a wider interest in, and action toward true equality of rights in the social sphere.
Finance = Economic Sphere
WeStrive.org is a non-profit organization that will provide multiple platforms for economic cooperation between its members.  Promoting new economic forms
is integral to the development of our community, both locally and throughout the entire global network.
To encourage this development, WeStrive will offer several inroads to economic connection.  Though the cost of participating in WeStrive.org is free, individuals and organizations will have the option of purchasing specialized services, such as web hosting.  Additionally, WeStrive.org will establish partners and sponsors to fund its operating costs, as well as seek donations through membership fund
raisers and events.
For all members, WeStrive.org will include a member-driven ”E-bay”-style marketplace.  This will initially be available mainly for the direct exchange of goods and services.  However, there are plans to enable a feature whereby members may offer participation in their various initiatives via KIVA-style lending communities, as well as participation in co-ownership of social enterprises formed on Associative Economics principles (such as ”B” corporations). Westrive.org will also facilitate charitable giving within its member community and other forms of economic cooperation between members via electronic means.
Eventually, WeStrive.org hopes to generate its own ”community currency” called ”Karma Cash” or ”K¢”.  This currency, which will automatically depreciate over time, will be generated primarily by members' contributions to the community through, for example, writing articles, responding in forums, or hosting Meet-Ups.  It is hoped that business members of the WeStrive.org community will accept K¢ as payment locally as well as offer sponsorships deals, depending on how much K¢ a member has accumulated.