My friend Brad has launched a site, called Action for Everyone, dedicated to sharing small ways you can help causes incrementally. From the “About Us” page:

Whether it’s writing letters, clicking on banners, signing petitions or whatever, it all makes a difference. We believe in the power of individuals making a difference and furthermore, we believe that it doesn’t have to take a lot of effort.

There are also some features like Ripple and green hosting. As Ghandi said, “Almost everything you do will seem insignificant, but it is important that you do it.” So go do it!

I’m not one for paranoid conspiracy theories, and I hate to cast cynicism upon injury, especially with respect to an event as sad as the recent fire in Griffith Park — a park much-enjoyed by me for nearly five years.

But I couldn’t help being struck by the similarity between the footprints of the fire damage and the highly controversial master plan for developing the park. I’ve been musing on it for a couple of days, and a friend convinced me to at least put the thought out there for public rumination.

Here’s the master plan map - click thru to a larger size and look for the dotted lines. (Complete plan here.)

Here’s the LA Times info-graphic of fire damage.

Now, it’s undoubtedly true that undeveloped areas are more likely to catch fire, given that developed areas are generally irrigated or paved. It’s equally likely that developed areas would be more strenuously defended by firefighters. And I do believe that coincidences happen.

But politics are already happening around this, including at least one group claiming quicker development would have prevented this fire. Maybe they are right.

In situations like this, I can’t help pondering questions like:

• Are there, say, hundreds of millions of dollars of private-sector money at stake?
• Does this event advance the agenda of those with the money at stake?
• Does it hurt the agenda of those opposing?

The first two are clearly yes. As for the last, I’ll let you decide for yourself. Here is how the agenda of the Parks Committe of the Los Feliz Improvement Association (with whom I’ve sided in petitions, etc.) is described on their website:

The PARKS COMMITTEE, chaired by Chuck Soter and Chris Laib, is fighting to preserve Griffith Park and protect it from those who view it as a vast vacant land that somehow needs to be “improved.” Griffith Park, a de facto preserve within the limits of Los Angeles, is one of the few places where people can readily experience nature. It is the habitat to a variety of mammals, reptiles, and birds rarely seen in other parts of the city.

Huh.

Again, I’m not taking the cynical position. And it’s not like there’s a history of corruption, conspiracy, or collusion in this city or anything.

UPDATE: Loads of good ripostes in the comments to a link-post over at blogging.la, including a link to this map of the proposed park features.

One thing I’ve learned over the years is to recognize a great opportunity when it comes along – and to that end, I’m pleased to share some good news.

Starting this week, I’m in a new Yahoo! role, as part of the business team supporting platform and incubation teams like MyBlogLog, Yahoo! Developer Network, Pipes, Brickhouse, and Advanced Products. These are some of the most innovative thought leadership teams at Yahoo!, and I’m excited to be joining them.

I’ll be doing a combination of market strategy, business plan development, and partnership development - a pretty cool gig I’ve had the chance to shape collaboratively with my new team and peers over the past weeks, and one that I’m very happy to finally share.

Over the last year and a half, as part of the Yahoo! Publisher Network, I’ve had the good fortune to work with (and in some cases, welcome to the fold) many of the folks on these teams, as we’ve sought to develop Yahoo! capabilities for publishers and innovate through acquisition. So I’m jumping from one innovative team to another - a very natural next step for me, as I’ll now participate more directly in the success of numerous Yahoo! platforms, in addition to getting involved in a formal incubation environment.

As I write this, I’m in San Francisco – you’ll be seeing a lot of posts from the road! And to my YPN friends, I’m moved to quote the father of American popular existentialism, Charles Schulz:

I hate good-byes. I know what I need. I need more hellos.

So farewell (but not goodbye) to my old friends, and hello to my new ones - though I don’t think any of you have yet been able to score well on this quiz from my uncle!

What can I say about this? I have a master’s degree in Victorian literature and spent a good portion of my career in the book publishing business, surrounded by book fetishists and aficionados of all imprimaturs. I maintain a healthy appreciation for these things myself.

But never could I have imagined a more gleeful “I told you so” for all the world-is-ending / death-of-the-written-word types than this: June Issue Of Business 2.0 Deleted Before Going To Print.

Sorry guys!