Dec 22nd, 2008 |
Last weekend I attended a gathering of creative folks from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines. I was seeking out new inspirations, to trigger new thoughts and ideas as we wrap up 2008 and move into a fresh new year.
I was introduced to a book written by David Elliot Cohen, New York Times bestselling author/editor of large-format illustrated books. His most recent project is What Matters a photo-journalism book centered on the essential issues of today’s world. There are 18 chapters, each depicting a world problem - global warming, genocide, over-consumption, disease, famine, water-shortages…
The pictures in What Matters are personal and specific, but still convey universal concepts… Some stories … will make you cry; others will make you angry; and that is the intent. What Matters is meant to inspire action.
In the first chapter Meltdown essay-writer and activist Bill McKibben shares this story:
In early 2007, six college kids and I decided to see if we could launch a large-scale protest movement in the Unites States. We set up a Web site, stepitup07.org, and started sending out e-mails asking people if they would organize protests twelve weeks hence. We had no budget and no organization, but we soon found a deep stratum of people across America haunted by global warming and eager to do something about it.
People were asked to send photos of their rallies and efforts, and the number of responses were extremely high. All regular people trying to make a difference about an issue they cared about.
For a while now Tim O’Reilly has been advocating that Web 2.0 is not just about another social network. We need to question how the tools and technologies of Web 2.0 can help make this world a better place. So for our November Web 2.0 Summit thought-leadership conference Tim, along with co-chair John Battelle, focused on the theme Web Meets World, and selected speakers who could portray examples of real-world, social change leadership such as the honorable Al Gore and Lance Armstrong.
“A puppy has to have a purpose. Web 2.0 has to have a purpose. WE have to have a purpose.”
Summit’s Launch Pad startup program selected six presentations from companies that provide services in the fields of alternative energies, social entreprenuerialism, and renewable technologies. We also made selections based on a secondary focus on technologies where the Web literally meets the world: mobility, mapping and geolocation.
During Web 2.0 Expo Europe’s Startup Ignite show one of the highlight presenters was Amazee, a platform for sharing goals for collaboration among like-minded individuals.
Whether you’d like to assemble a multinational football team or set up a massive number of broadband connections in remote towns in Africa…
All this to say that we can all be catalysts for social change, for global development. With small and big efforts we can make a meaningful impact on the world around us. The secret is participation.
So what matters to you? And how can you use the power of Web 2.0 to do something about it?
As we take time to celebrate with loved ones far and near, I leave you with this video from a member of our non-profit pavilion - ChangingthePresent.org
Happy Holidays! Let’s make 2009 a year of change!
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