Becky Olson remembers the moment her neighborhood organization, the Whittier Alliance, made its first concerted foray into the digital age. For years the group had been struggling to come up with ways to connect with area residents; surveys, newsletters, and community forums all had failed to reach more than the usual suspects. Then last summer, one of Olson's fellow volunteers happened to visit a public school in Wayzata, where he saw a touch-screen computer kiosk in the lobby. Wowed by the technology, he passed along the information to the Alliance board. In short order the group tracked down the company that had installed the machine: Community and Family Information Centers, Inc. (CFIC), a small, privately held Internet startup based... More >>>