activefreemedia

January 19, 2009

48 hours + 172 Names + 1,192 votes = Next Steps

Thank you to all of those who participated in the 48 hour Namethis.com session to name a new crowdfunding social marketing venture.

With 172 names suggested and 1,192 votes cast over the 48 hour session, it was an amazing experience that put vastly more energy towards launching this venture than I could have ever put in alone.

When I first received word about the three winners, I was a little shocked (Loud Sauce and seedjar seemed completely random). But after writing some draft proposals using the name LoudSauce, and hearing back from some of you in my larger community, I am starting to seriously consider it.

Not only is it a great first story to begin a venture rooted in trust in the participation of the crowd (and a name submitted by one of my current Nokia clients), but it may be a name that designers may find interesting potential in exploring a brand identity (more on that in later emails). Let me know if you feel strongly that it works or doesn't work.

Lastly, please join me online for feedback and discussion, as I will continue posting refined versions of the vision and plan for the venture: for starters at the Global Social Benefit Incubator and the Changemakers.net Power of Us Competition.

I hope you will continue to spread the word and share your thoughts via email or the comments below. Enjoy this amazing week for the world honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the new leadership in the United States.

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January 12, 2009

Where does our garbage go? - Letter to London City Council

For a potential project I am exploring, I searched online to try to find out where the garbage that I throw out in city garbage/rubbish bins goes.  The best information I could find was article in the Guardian called "Following the rubbish trail," but it was from 2004.  I wrote an email to the author Leo Hickman, but so far, no response (I'm sure he busy on new articles).

So I asked my housemate, a proper Londoner where she would look, and she pointed me to the city councils.  After a quick google search, I found the newly organized London Waste & Recycling Board, and sent the following letter to the contact person listed.  I'll let you know how it goes.

--
Hi,



Thanks for the work you do for the city of London.  I used to live in
New York City, and London is definitely a much cleaner city.  As
someone interested in environmental issues, I have become interested in
finding out more about the impact (positive and negative) that I make
with my daily life and choices.



One specific piece of information I haven't been able to find online is
where the rubbish is taken that I put into the public bins around the
city.  Do you know where I would be able to find out?  While I'm
intersted to know where it all goes, the buroughs I am more interested
in are my home burough of Hackney, as well as Islington, Camden and
City of London. 


Any information or contact information for the right person to contact would be very much appreciated. 



Cheers,

Colin

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January 11, 2009

Help name activefreemedia 2.0 in 48 hours

Hello and Happy 2009!

After a year of hard work that wasn't totally aligned with my personal and social mission, I am beginning an exploration to consider whether to launch a new venture in 2009.  I invite you will join me in the journey and spread the word.

The first step is to come up with a market ready name for the venture in the next 48 hours (the best 3 names win up to $44). 

Suggest a name or follow progress (4 names already) at:
http://tinyurl.com/axjnkw

Crowdfunding Marketing Service for Social & Eco Innovation


An online crowdfunding marketing service for social enterprises and green businesses.

Using their own money or credits through viewing partner ads, crowds vote with their dollars to fund strategic ads that promote products, companies, and causes that they believe in. Users collaborate to push video and banner campaigns through dynamic Ad serving networks to the front pages of major media outlets online (and eventually offline). Media is only bought if the money is raised, and users see the difference they've made through analytics, with an incentive to invest in more campaigns to help build a sustainable culture and economy.

Important themes: open innovation, crowdfunding, radical transparency, measuring social and eco progress.

Useful metaphors: (1) Youtube + Kiva + Google Adwords. (2) like CarrotMob for Advertising. (3) A MoveOn.org Ad platform for everyone.

Suggest a name or follow progress at:
http://tinyurl.com/axjnkw

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January 10, 2009

The History of the Internet

While I had heard of DARPA inventing the internet somewhat, this is a pretty good animation of how the actual evolution happened from computer to internal network to international standard that we now take for granted.

History of the Internet from PICOL on Vimeo.

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December 22, 2008

activefree 2008 & 2009: Review & Predictions

Inspired by Jamais over at Open the Future's comment that as a blogger he is obligated to post a year in review, I realized that I probably should do one as well. So here goes....

Personally:

Looking back through my iPhoto collection over the last year, I was struck by two things.

1. First, the sheer quantity of places I had traveled in the last year: from the snow in upstate NY, a ski trip to the Alps near Geneva, a Brit/Turkish wedding in Istanbul, a week in Berlin (my new favorite European city), a summer in London, an adventure to Tanzania including a seemingly near death moment on top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, a musical wedding and look forward in San Francisco, not to mention numerous trips to Helsinki and NY.

2. I was struck by how disconnected I felt to the places and people in my life, especially some of the people I care most deeply about. Not only have I not shared many of the photos via Flickr or Facebook (why isn't there a better Flickr app for Facebook?), but also, in a year of typing on laptops and sharing via mobile phone,my shoulders felt the aches of a hunched back, my eyes and brain experienced the pains of screen fatigue, and my relationships felt as scattered as the 300+ 'friends' on facebook.

I seriously am starting to question the value of our evolution towards quickness of information, and wonder if I have actually appropriately digested this year. (Now after a week in a lake house with ongoing conversation, as well as slideshow of images, about the year with my close family, and without access to mobile or internet access, I have definitely digested a bit more).

Professionally:

The year of 2008 was my first full year behind the for-profit firewall, and I think it has taken it's toll. As those of you who know me beyond my time at R/GA, I am a full time sharer who believes in and practices the value of open thought and collaborative process. While my current employer also theoretically believes in the same, the reality of signing Non-Disclosure Agreements with global brands nervous about trade secrets and yet to be announced products creates an awkward situation that I don't think I've managed very well personally.

I want to be able to share the collaborative story both inside and outside the firewalls of my office and the offices of my clients, to connect people, resources, and inspiration to leverage our collective attention and culture to change the world for the better. I want to be more specific about what I intend to do, without leaving my job and my clients. I go into the holidays unsure of how that will play out in 2009.

Worldly:

Being based out of London in 2008, I generally felt a little disconnected to the events in the United States. However, while I mostly 'watched' the events of the presidential and congressional election, I was proud to have close friends with shared political history who worked on the ground to bring about the election of Barack Obama as the President of the United States.

Beyond that campaign, 2008 witnessed additional breakthroughs in awareness and interest in sustainable living, with nearly every major publication online and off dedicating at least one 'green' issue to the cause. Despite the growth in awareness and interest, and a general shy away from gas guzzlers due to the increase in oil prices, life continued pretty much as it has for the last century, with the quantity of plastic waste flowing nicely every time I bought pretty much anything. In the UK, some noted improvements were moves away from plastic bags and Pret-A-Manger's innovative inspiration for waste disposal in store.

Looking forward to 2009 and 2010

I predict that 2009 and 2010 will be the years that the leading cultures in the United States, Europe, and possibly in India, China, and Brasil, will struggle to realize the tangible shift in behavior required to make the necessary transformation of manufacturing and waste cycles. Despite the large scale events like Katrina, the fact is that most of us haven't yet felt the impact of our personal choices. Therefore, I personally will be contributing to the evolution by using digital media and data visualization to put powerful mirrors up to our choices (including my own) in order to cause the breakthroughs in behavior.

I also predict that from the ashes of the Economic breakdown, we will see the rise of one or two major new brands by the end of 2009 or mid 2010, in the like of the early days of Microsoft or Google, that will leverage the economic and ecological cost effectiveness of the Cradle to Cradle manufacturing model. Hopefully, that company's innovations will be able to be applied to revitalized transport industry and energy sector that will seriously challenge and inspire the likes of General Motors, Toyota, British Petroleum and Shell.

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