How the wise words of Gandhi could turn Social Networking into something useful
by Julian Gratton
Believe it or not, Mahatma Gandhi is a bit of a hero of mine. I forget how many times I’ve said to people “Be the change you want to see in the world”… which I always confess is stolen from the great man himself.
One of the lovely things about Social Networking is how it has galvanised people into creating interest groups with the aim of creating change in the world. A quick search on Facebook under Darfur reveals one kind fellow promising to give $1 to every 1,0000 people who join his Facebook group.
Although such campaigns have the best intentions, you never really get to see whether they have worked or not, mainly because these groups have such lofty ambitions. There are, however, Social Networking sites out there that have a better plan… a plan that involves changing the world one small piece at a time.
Forget Social Networking, welcome to the world of Social Giving.
The problem with interest groups on sites like Facebook is that they very rarely drive people into action. And those that promise to give $1 for every 1000 people that become a fan always seem like a con… and if they aren’t they can never actually show an end result or something that they have achieved.
Here are just a few sites out there that are aiming to change that by embracing the public’s love of Social Networking and turning it into action with a social conscience. From ActiveCause.com who target Philanthropists and Companies to IfWeRanTheWorld.com who target individuals and Brands to DoSomething.org who are targeting American teens and drawing a lot of interest from some very big Brands.
- ActiveCause.com
In their own words, ‘ActiveCause brings together nonprofits, corporations and individuals to form vibrant, self-activating communities – The Social Giving Network ™’. In other words, they allow people to create a ‘cause’ online and provide you with the tools to get other people involved to achieve an agreed goal… and if you don’t have a cause, don’t worry, there are over 1.7 million non-profit causes waiting for your help.
ActiveCause targets three distinct groups:
1.New Philanthropists
Here Philanthropists can take action and maximise their influence. ActiveCause provides all the tools needed to help leverage their personal social networks to broadcast support for selected causes, organisations, and events.
2. Non-profit organizations
For nonprofits ActiveCause offers easy-to-use services that can drive significant cost savings to organisations of any size. They include online fundraising and Web-centered events management, domain registration, hosting, and donations processing.
3. Companies
For socially conscious companies, ActiveCause offers a comprehensive Web platform and secure features that make it easy to develop, manage, and connect corporate social responsibility networks with employees and corporate causes. By joining forces with ActiveCause, corporate-giving networks can grow more quickly thanks to macro- and micro-donations that can be matched in-kind by employers.
- IfWeRantheWorld.com
IfWeRantheWorld.com founders, courtesy of Wired Magazine
The brainchild of Cindy Gallup and Wendell Davis, IfWeRantheWorld.com is being developed in answer to the large amount of groups being set up on Social Network sites that have lofty ambitions and achieve nothing. Rather than raising awareness, the site is set up to convert intent into action, to get things done.
Here’s how it will work. On landing on the homepage you are greeted with a Google like search box that asks you one simple question… ‘If you ran the world I would’. Your answer then joins a database of answers and what the creators call ‘action platforms’.
An example of an ‘action platform’ would be something like “plant a garden to feed the local homeless.” One person might secure the site, another might convince a local nursery to donate seeds, someone else might know a graphic designer with the time and inclination to create promotional leaflets, another participant could print those, while volunteers plant, harvest and distribute crops — and so on. These tasks appear in zoomable timelines with photos, videos and blog-style updates, putting each step into context so individuals can see the effect they’ve had.
And if you contribute your time and effort to an action platform, you’ll receive kudos from other people on your profile that will list everything you’ve been involved in.
For Brands this site opens up a whole host of opportunities to connect with socially minded individuals. For example a Brand could find out what 20-25 year old males are socially involved in and lend their financial support to these action platforms, thus allowing these companies to enhance their social responsibility reputation.
- DoSomething.org
Mainly targeted at American Teens, DoSomething.org believes that individuals have the power to make a difference. It is their aim to inspire, support and celebrate a generation of doers: people who see the need to do something, believe in their ability to get it done, and then take action. DoSomething.org provide the tools and resources for young people to convert ideas and energy into positive action. Essentially allowing them to become part of a generation of doers… and not someone who just clicks ‘join group’.
They even have their own little manifesto:
1. Believe in teenagers. Teenagers can lead today. We don’t require adults.
2. Trust teenagers. We provide reliable, easy to access information and activation strategies, but teens decide for themselves what to do.
3. Celebrate teenagers. We think all measurable contributions from teens are valuable.
4. Respect teenagers. We understand that teenagers have diverse abilities and constraints.
5. Value teenagers. Our programs and products are free. We’re not after teens’ money; we want their passion, time and creativity.
And boy has it worked. So much so that Brands have been queuing up to become partners with DoSomeing.org. Pepsi, Best Buy, Doritos, Mountain Dew, VH1 and Staples (to name but a few) have discovered that they can support community projects through a central portal and, of course, ensure the perception of their Brand to the American Teen is a positive one… after all they are the ones who gave cold hard cash to enabling the young to help change something in their community.
So what’s the future for Social Giving?
As more and more Brands realise that they can have positive interactions with socially conscious individuals via Social Giving sites, it’s a no brainer that any money being pumped into Social Networking will soon be transferred to Social Giving.
And with the positive stories being generated by a whole host of Social Giving sites, it can only be a good thing for them to grow and increase in number. And thanks to sites like these, more and more people will begin to see that they can truly be the change they want in the world.
If you’d like to know more about social networking… why not give Red C a call on 0161 872 1361 or click here
Tags: ActiveCause.com, Advertising Agency, Award Winning Digital Marketing, Award Winning Direct Marketing, Charity, Creative Thinking, Direct Marketing Agency, DoSomething.org, Facebook, Gandhi, IfWeRantheWorld.com, Interactive Agency, Internet Advertising, Multimedia Advertising, Multimedia Design, Social Giving, Social Marketing, Social Networks
