by Dr. David Fialkoff, Editor / Publisher

Lawrence of Arabia was a tragic figure who spent the last decades of his life under an assumed name to avoid the press. Tragic, because, loyal to England, he betrayed, repeatedly, the national aspirations of the Arabs he romanticized and loved.

His being the star of a traveling show that sold out theaters for several tours across Europe and the United States, historians have wondered how much was true in Lawrence's accounts and how much was showmanship. It seems his assertion that Arab culture was built around the vast emptiness of the desert was romantic wishfulness. But his contemporaries attest to his veracity regarding historical details.

On this subject, one modern day scholar observes: when you are trying to change the world (as Lawrence was), you tend to think that you are succeeding.

I too am trying to change the world. And I too believe that success is within reach.

After conquering Damascus
*

1) If local people (and not that many local people) come together and join with me in presenting San Miguel online (creating Lokkal in its actualized form, a digital platform for all things local, a local internet hub,

2) and the public learns (through advertising) that Lokkal is the place to go to see San Miguel, and Lokkal gets 5-10% of the local advertising revenues that are currently going to global platforms (Google, Facebook, Instagram...) and currently are being extracted from our local economy,

3) and we, the local community, keep that 5-10% circulating in the local economy (through microfinance and charitable giving), strengthening the local economy and making a lot of people happy (because as with hunger, when you need money it's hard to think about anything else),

4) then, here in San Miguel and, when Lokkal replicates, in towns and cities around the world, that happiness and economic prosperity (redistribution of wealth) will bring a new dispensation, a new consciousness, the singularity.

5) A stronger community is the solution to almost all of the problems facing society today.

I am in the position that Thomas Edison (a contemporary of Lawrence) was when he spoke about creating a light bulb with people who were illuminating with kerosene and whale oil.

I know it sounds grandiose, messianic and mad, but I am encouraged by the phenomenon in the science of physics wherein the more elegant an equation is the more likely it is to be true; for example, E=MC2. (Complicated equations can almost be dismissed just because they are complicated.)

Lokkal, local internet, is very simple, quite elegant. We are not introducing a radically new technology that will take time to accept. Nor are we reinventing the wheel. Rather we are repurposing the car, applying the most successful businesses models of the modern era (Facebook and Google; social network and search engine) to the local market: "Thank you, Big Tech, but we will present our own city to the planet."

Local curation is the key. Even if AI-empowered robots start walking around town, they will not get the same reception as someone with a familiar face does. Collective Human Intelligence is the future of presenting San Miguel.

Recently, I went on a subscription website, GrantStation.com, to explore the possibility of getting grants for local media. There were some exciting possibilities that I am following up. However, the strong impression I came away with is that Lokkal ought to be in that list of foundations making grants. We can already be there, offering not money, but technical services to other people who want to start local internet in their town or city. But Lokkal's ability to donate money is not far away. The money will come:

The Arab Revolt
*

a) $2,400us = one annual contract for an ad that costs $200us/month
b) $12,000 = five of those sold in one week
c) (Done every week for a year that would be 260 annual contracts, not impossible in SMA. Atención was printing $7,000 worth of ads each week before the pandemic.)

d) $60,000/week ($12,000 x 5) = Lokkal replicated in Querétaro
e) $120,000/week, because $200/month is not enough for an ad in Querétaro (It isn't for San Miguel either.)

f) $6,000,000/week = Lokkal replicated in 50 cities throughout México
g) $60,000,000us/week = Lokkal replicated in 500 cities around the world

h) Even if I am off by a factor of 10 (and I am not off by a factor of 10), that is still $6,000,000/week

Lokkal is the "Yellow Pages" robustly reborn for the new millennia. Just like Edison's light bulb illuminated every house; just like the "Yellow Pages" informed every home about their local community; so Lokkal will be on everyone's smartphone and computer.

Like Lawrence, working to change the world, I may be imagining my success. But Lawrence's equation was much more complicated than mine. Politics in the Middle East are super complicated. They even invented a word for it, "byzantine."

"Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, 'Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us and fetch it for us... so that we can do it?'" - Deuteronomy 29:13

This is something that you (a few of you) and I can do. I already have the technology, the backend. We need to flesh things out a bit, populate the platform with information; not completely, but enough so that our online ecosystem (it's a lot more than a website) gives a better experience.

"Everything follows the head"

With a working prototype here in San Miguel we will stay on target, true to our ideals, when we replicate in other towns and cities. If you want to change the world, San Miguel is a good place to start.

I've been told that right now I could get $10s of millions of dollars in venture capital. But I don't want to do this "for profit." I don't want to have to engage and addict users to satisfy investors. The world doesn't need another commercial website.

And Lokkal doesn't really need $10 of millions of dollars right now. (Of course, money makes things easier.) And later, with ad sales, it will be self-sustaining, even with global expansion.

What Lokkal needs is "proof of concept." We need to flesh out the platform here in San Miguel. The solution must be grassroot, not top-down. Building community and strengthening the local economy is something that we, the locals, and only we, can do. We can be the change. It's good work: rewarding and fun.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

**************

Dr. David Fialkoff presents Lokkal, our local social network, the community online and off, Atención robustly reborn for the digital age. If you can, please do contribute content, or your hard-earned cash, to support Lokkal, SMA's Voice. Use the orange, Paypal donate button below. Thank you.

Discover Lokkal:
Watch the two-minute video below.
Then, just below that, scroll down SMA's Community Wall.
Mission

Visit SMA's Social Network

Contact / Contactar