Connected to every problem that faces the world, there are infinite possibilities for positive, sustainable change. Rather than a) sticking to business as usual or b) kvetching non-stop, why don't we grasp some of these possibilities? Do something, change something, make the world a better place.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
Short version
I want to combine the power of social media (read, Tumblr, obviously) with the vision and clout of social business to address real, current problems. Namely, I want to create a Tumblr-user funded social business to further the dissemination and implementation of cell phones as information access tools in the developing world. Longer version Social business For a pretty detailed description of social business, look here, or better yet, read Building Social Business by Muhammad Yunus - I am currently, which sparked this whole thought train. Essentially, social business combines the best parts of for-profits and charities in one model. It’s a no-loss, no-dividend model that focuses on addressing problems in society rather than maximizing profit. It runs like a standard business, but while investors get their initial investment back, they don’t get excess money from any profits made. Instead, that surplus money goes back into the business to allow it to expand the positive impact it has on society. Unlike a charity, a social business isn’t dependent on donations, and is able to be a sustainable, expanding resource, a claim which most charities are unable to make. Tumblr Tumblr is on its way to 7 million users, and despite recent hiccups in service, remains one of the fastest growing sites on the Net. Think about it. If 1% of current users were to invest an average of $5 in a social business, that’s $350,000 of capital funding - enough to do some serious good and create real change. The cool thing is, since it’s a business, not a charity, those initial investments will come back to Tumblr users, allowing them to continue cycling and recycling money into new projects and ideas. Think Kiva, but with a top-down rather than bottom-up approach. Cell phones My thought for an initial social business (all credit goes to lalalimonada for this idea, wicked-awesome information scientist that she is) - create a business that increases the access to cell phones in developing nations. Information access is critical and underdeveloped in a lot of the poorest areas of the world - and studies from the UN and others have shown that access to cell phones is crucial. Most of the world, simply put, doesn’t use and doesn’t NEED computers to access the crucial information available on the internet, without mentioning the communication benefits of mobiles. Now, none of this is fleshed out, obviously. A lot of thought and a lot of work is going to have to go into this to get it off the ground … but I think it has a HUGE amount of potential. If you’re interested in getting involved, or just want to discuss the idea or throw some ideas at me, drop me a message or email me at graham DOT h DOT carey AT gmail DOT com. If 4Chan can take down Mastercard, why can’t Tumblr start helping the world instead of waiting for the governments to get their acts together?
