David Brooks: "Obama lives apart. He put one foot in the institutions he rose through on his journey but never fully engaged."

I've come to realize that the uphill battle Meetup faces isn't just getting people away from the screen to go offline & face strangers -- nor even having them embrace community or realize the power of self-organized groups. Perhaps the biggest challenge is getting people to see the value in institution, in organization, in structure... a "Meetup Everywhere about Most Everything" means there's a grounded community organization in-place when you need it. When your social network can't do what you need. The social graph is great for a lot of things (eg. relationships & help & events), but there's a need for Organizations. Just-in-time organization is flimsy. It's not there when you need it. Relationships aren't in-place. Infrastructure isn't there. Commitments are weak. Engagement begets durability -- structure & relationships that weathers storms.

Obama does represent our non-joiner mentality today. More to write...