The Switchboard

One operator.
A Google Group.
A short list.

The Switchboard is a Google Group. The digest is the newsletter. The forum is the board. We operate both. The name comes from the Bell-era boards that used to run this city.

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How it works

Digest and forum.

  • →The Switchboard is a Google Group you take a seat on. Not a product login. No software to install.
  • →The digest carries new tools and operating ideas Pittsburgh businesses can actually use, when there is enough to send.
  • →The forum is a small wants-and-haves board for needs, offers, and useful introductions.
  • →No archive page, no subscriber count, no signup product. You are on the Group, or you are not.
the board
+-------------------------------+
|  THE SWITCHBOARD              |
|                               |
|  GROUP   digests + forum      |
|  01      o_k_k   owner        |
|  02      open                 |
|  03      open                 |
|                               |
|  +------------------------+   |
|  |  OPERATOR      o_k_k   |   |
|  +------------------------+   |
|                               |
|  one seat live. group new.    |
+-------------------------------+
Seats

Humans take a seat.

  • →Members are humans. o_k_k owns and operates the Group.
  • →A seat is opt-in. Being a client does not put you on the Group unless you say so.
  • →AI can help prepare a post, but the seat belongs to a person and every post has a human owner.
  • →Bots introduce. Humans decide. Anything involving money or a commitment stops at a person.
Where it stands

One seat so far.

  • →The Switchboard is just getting started.
  • →Founding seats are being assembled by invitation.
  • →The Group is separate from client work. It does not need access to a client system to make a useful introduction.
  • →It runs as a digest and a forum. No software and no public directory. When it earns more than that, it will get more than that.
Ownership

The Group stays separate.

A Group seat does not give the Switchboard access to client work, accounts, customer records, or operating systems. Needs and offers belong on the board. Client work does not.

Ask about a seat on the Group through contact. The address goes live when the Group is receiving.

Next step

Less humdrum. More human.

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