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Measuring success, et al.

I started work at Seedco last month, and on my first day, Michael Weinstein from the Robin Hood Foundation came to speak to us about measuring success.

Investments in any venture, be it public or private, will be made with a strong emphasis on obtaining tangible results. This makes sense, because before throwing money into something, an investor wants to know (1) if there is going to be a return after a period of x-time, and (2) what the number "x" is (that is, how long will it take these returns to procure).

Who the returns are benefiting will depend on what kind of investment it is. For-profit organizations or projects are likely to distribute returns in a different way compared to non-profit, or even hybrid organizations.

Still, returns - or projected returns - are looked upon favorably for investments.

In short, Michael Weinstein's talk gave me insight into what drives every project that ends up working well: A solid plan for measuring its success. If you cannot measure your results in some way, there is no telling whether your project or venture has made an impact on the market it serves.

Well, then. That sounds great.

Not quite. I am still very uncomfortable with how I will measure the benefit to youth from providing a space in which they can interact: Radio. It seems simple, because I can measure advertising revenues and gauge listnership that way. But it's not, because this does not provide me with a number that shows how a group of youth's lives "got better" from being able to communicate with one another.

Does that mean this project is not worthy of investment? Ask me in a couple of months. I might post something sooner.

Anyhow, so there's Seedco, my new-found full-time gig. There are also the DJ gigs, which I am desperately on the look-out for in New York City. There's CampuSMS, which is having its own share of trials and tribulations (and successes). And there's my website, which is in constant flux.

There's always more than just that, but a human can have trade secrets too.

Carpe diem,
PirateFunk

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