International Law

One for the do-gooders

Mashable's Paul Glazowski has a good post that looks at some web-based non-profits and how we should all be doing more in our online activities and spending to promote some very worthy causes:

The social Web is monstrous. It?s almost too much so. The largest of networks continue to expand at rates which astonish both casual and well-familiarized observers of the industry. The talk of millions ? and even billions ? of dollars is altogether ordinary now. Facebook?s valuation? Supposedly somewhere within the range of $15bn. And MySpace? Since its acquisition by News Corp, its price tag has grown exponentially ? and it?s only bound to head higher yet in ?08.

These developments can of course be viewed as good or bad. Good that the Web and its various services and applications are becoming ingrained in the lives of people to whom the term ?tech geek? may not apply; bad in the way that, say, much of the financial chatter that surrounds the booming sector is arguably terribly inflated. (Among other negatives. The reformulation of privacy as we humans have known it for many decades is one more major misfortune.)

But rather than focus equally upon the pros and cons in this article, I?d like to shine some light most exclusively on the benefits to come of this constantly evolving global experiment we have at hand. In particular, the social assistance movements that ordinary folk have been enabled to contribute to.

...

I?m hoping here to persuade you to spend a bit of time promoting Web-based non-profits yourself. Maybe even invest a little hard-earned coin in one or two of ?em (or more, if that?s your inclination) while you?re out on your respective social networks evangelizing. It?s a new year, after all. How about following through on that help-those-in-need resolution?

Of course, if you alone were to heed this request, hardly a thing would differentiate tomorrow from today. But consider how many individuals regularly follow the Mashable feed. Quite a lot of eyes, yes? Imagine the possibilities.

Read the post here and visit more sites like One.org, Accion, Kiva, MicroPlace, Prosper, and the Make-a-Wish foundation.

Full post as published by Freedom to Differ on January 12, 2008 (boomark / email).