Help Me Find Fellow UTOPIA Supporters

It seems that part of the biggest problem with advocating for UTOPIA is that supporters don't really know each other. Most of the people I've met who are enthusiastic about UTOPIA have been contacts through this site and at various government meetings, though I'm sure that just scratches the surface. Just today, I stumbled across Woods Cross UTOPIA, a site supporting UTOPIA in Woods Cross. (They also have a handy, dandy list of which council members are in favor of joining.) I managed to find the Pro-UTOPIA mailing list by total accident when a message got cross-posted to Pete Ashdown's UT Politech list. While I appreciate happy accidents, we really need a better way of finding each other.

It's also hard to keep on top of meetings that concern UTOPIA. I usually find out that a city has been considering membership long after they've held public hearings and starting taking down the votes. The legislative subcommittee responsible for UTOPIA-related legislation changes every year (both name and membership). Mainstream news sources often miss reporting on these matters until days after they've happened if at all. This is despite tracking several dozen RSS feeds and getting e-mail alerts from Google on a regular basis.

What I need is your help. If you know UTOPIA supporters, if you know about upcoming meetings concerning UTOPIA, if you know about a movement in your city to get UTOPIA, I want to know! Drop me an e-mail and I'm happy to help out in any way I can. I'll create and conduct presentations, I'll do a brain dump on the knowledge I have, I'll attend upcoming meetings and hearings. Qwest and Comcast each put on their own united front; it's time we do the same.

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8 Responses to Help Me Find Fellow UTOPIA Supporters

  1. u235sentinel says:

    I’m on the pro utopia mail list however I haven’t see anything for weeks on it. Is it still alive?

    I think it’s VERY important we band together and seek more people who are interested in this. It’s been something I’ve been pushing harder and harder on my blog.

    We need grassroots groups and more to make it happen. Especially since the Politicians are ignoring us.

  2. Jesse says:

    I’ve seen a few messages on it, but you’re right that it’s not terribly active. I think it’s a matter of folks not knowing that it exists more than anything else.

  3. Andrew Faust says:

    I just joined the list. I didn’t know about it until this post. I would also like to find groups. I’ll be moving to West Jordan in November and want to get involved in any way I can to get Utopia brought to the city.

    I have already sent a lengthy letter to the city council, but would love to get more actively involved. If there are any formal groups set up to lobby for Utopia I’d love to join. If not I’d love to get involved in starting one.

    FYI, I know two employees in the marketing division at MStar so could probably go to them for assistance.

  4. Jesse says:

    A lobby would be a great thing to have. It makes more of an impression to say “I represent such-and-such group” than to state that you’re a private citizen.

    By the way, West Jordan residents (both current and potential) should pay special attention to this post from Rob Bennett, a member of the city council.

  5. Jesse Weber says:

    I hadn’t heard of the pro-utopia mailing list either and I’ll join right away.

    If its not too bold of me to throw out, perhaps someone could convince the utopianet.org webmasters to put together a PHP message board? I know it’s a weird thing to have on an ISP website, but I would think it’s a reasonable thing to have on a publicly owned function. Because really anyone interested in UTOPIA, either for or against, is going to go through that website. Thus it would be a good place to engage in useful discussion as well as keep track of who is supporting UTOPIA.

  6. Jesse says:

    At the very least, it wouldn’t kill them to update it more than once a quarter. 😛

  7. Andrew Faust says:

    I could set up a message board if utopinet.org doesn’t. I’m paying for hosting anyway, all I’d need to do is buy a suitable utopia related domain.

    I’ll look in to it this weekend.

  8. Pingback: Announcing the New Free UTOPIA! Forums » Free UTOPIA!

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