June 2026 - Cvsg - list.chattanooga.digital

"Free Your Tech," CVSG Regular Meeting, and next Dialogue
by Greg Laudeman, Ed.D. June 29, 2026

June 29, 2026

Hey, everybody! Please consider coming out to “Free Your Tech” this Friday, hosted by Chattanooga.Digital, 3:00 - 6:00 PM, at Hutton & Smith, on MLK Blvd. Get more info and register to participate at https://luma.com/tiv9etao. If you know anyone who’s concerned about Big Tech’s control over our lives or is into tech stuff, please share! Our next regular meeting will be next Tuesday at noon, either in-person at the Small Business Resource Center, 332 E M L King Blvd, Chattanooga, TN 37403, or online at https://go.eduity.net/call/3hmzaw47. The two major topics will be the Facilitator Bank and the next Chattanooga Venturing Dialogue. If you are interested in the Facilitator Bank, please attend or email me. I need your input on the program! I have a major opportunity for a dialogue about a key issue that is of personal/professional interest to me and directly related to Chattanooga.Digital’s purpose. The goal is to hear directly from entrepreneurs and small business owners about what they need to thrive. Please help to: Identify entrepreneurs and small business people to participate… our objective is 100! Facilitate the dialogue… we need a dozen or so facilitators. Develop future dialogues! What are key topics? Whose voices need to be heard? Where might we convene? If you haven’t checked out our online platform yet, visit https://venturing.chattanooga.digital/ and let me know what you think. To get actively involved, click the “Sign Up <https://venturing.chattanooga.digital/signup>” button. — Greg Laudeman, Ed.D. Executive Officer and Principal Eduity, LLC www.eduity.net greg(a)eduity.net 706-271-5521

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What does the community want?
by Greg Laudeman, Ed.D. June 25, 2026

June 25, 2026

Marie Mott published a wonderful article <https://bladechattanooga.com/p/how-we-heal-chattanooga-s-divides> (of course, I’m a bit biased) about what we’re working on in the Study Group in The Blade. She has some great insights and the fragmentation in our community, and she boils it down to a fundamental question that no one is asking: “What do you want?” This is a powerful question because can be applied to some object like increasing incomes or supporting small business. And it leads right to the question, “what can you do?” Asking these questions in a structured, methodical manner is a powerful way to surface ideas and resources, identify gaps and overlaps, and establish shared vision. It is the core practice of community venturing. One thing she overstated though is that the method to answer such questions was lost. It’s not. We still have it. We’ve just forgotten about it and stopped using it. Coincidentally, I just published a blog post on this very topic, "Applying Lessons from Venture <https://www.eduity.net/blog/2026-06/applying-lessons-chattanooga-venture>.” As Marie points out, answering these question "takes connectedness and intention.” Yes! That’s where this group comes in! For community venturing need: Conveners to pick a general topic — People, Play, Place, Prosper, or Public — and invite 8 to 12 people to participate. Facilitators that have gone through at least the basic orientation for the method/process. Spaces to meet and go through the process. Basically this needs to be a semi-private meeting room with a space/table large for a dozen people and a video screen. Tools for capturing and ranking inputs (we’re basically going to use a spreadsheet but can develop or find more sophisticated ones) Where might we find spaces? Bars, churches, hotels, offices, restaurants, etc.? Who is willing to convene a confab or two? The goal is to keep them easy and informal. Who might like to facilitate confabs? More on the Facilitator Bank program soon! These will be topics for our next regular study group meeting at noon on July 7. You can participate online or in-person. RSVP via Luma or just add the attached ICS file to your calendar. You can also add the Chattanooga Venturing calendar to your calendar via this link <https://user.fm/calendar/v1-83081a307383246a321e7c50d7d58f5d/Chattanooga%20…>. PS: Are you concerned about our dependence on Big Tech and don’t want get giant corporations controlling your tech? Or are you just interested in digital technology and want better, cheaper, more flexible options? Come out for Free Your Tech! on Friday, July 3rd, 3:00 - 6:00 PM, Hutton & Smith, 431 E M L King. There will be demos of free open source software, help to install Linux on your devices, a tech swap, and more! Free and open to the public! You can RSVP to participate <https://luma.com/tiv9etao> or just show up. Flier attached. — Greg Laudeman, Ed.D. Executive Officer and Principal Eduity, LLC www.eduity.net greg(a)eduity.net 706-271-5521

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Regular meetings
by Greg Laudeman, Ed.D. June 4, 2026

June 4, 2026

My apologies to anyone who attempted to join the meeting on Tuesday online. I had the meeting configured wrong. I’ve fixed that. In the future, we will meet via https://go.eduity.net/call/3hmzaw47. The Study Group is moving to a different phase, refocusing on applying lessons learned over the last year. I’m not sure who is interested in participating at this point so I have deleted and recreated the event. I will continue to host these meetings on the first Tuesday of each month. If you wish to attend, add the attached file to your calendar. FYI, if you or anyone wants additional information about the Study Group or related activities, feel free to email venturing(a)chattanooga.digital <mailto:venturing@chattanooga.digital> (cc’ed). — Greg Laudeman, Ed.D. Executive Officer and Principal Eduity, LLC www.eduity.net greg(a)eduity.net 706-271-5521

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