Social Networking for Social Concerns
Last Thursday I went to the NYC launch of GOOD magazine and spent an hour or so feeling totally overwhelmed by the thousands of cool people it attracted - and somewhat intrigued but the awesome artwork at the Emergency Arts venue. It was fun, but it seemed too crowded to actually meet anyone.
But on my way out, someone suggested sharing a taxi - and that someone turned out to be Alex Saltzman, a slightly-older-than-average undergrad at Princeton University, which happens to be my alma mater. He and his friends were behind the Worm Poop post I made a few weeks ago, and are currently engaged in creating a social networking website for socially-, environmentally- and ethically- oriented members of "Generation Y" (defined as those currently aged 18-25).
The site is called Rethos, and it's still under development. The name is derived from "ethos" but is supposed to connote something of a re-emergence or a re-definition of social values, presumably by this new and more activist-oriented generation that grew up in the post-9/11 climate of terrorism and war.
I thought the idea was great, though I have to admit that I'm becoming frustrated by the separate bubbles of communities being created in this area. Harvard has it's own closely-networked group of leading lights that show up at the same conferences and executive education programs. Net Impact is a similar thing for the under-35s of the business world. Starting Bloc is like an undergrad version of Net Impact. And GOOD magazine is appealing to hip and activist-oriented twentysomethings - perhaps just slightly older than the Rethos / Starting Bloc crowd, but not business-y the way Net Impact is.
There's a real need for these group to not only network among themselves, but also across ages and disciplines. The Harvard crowd constantly laments the fact that the same people have been talking about the same things for several years now, with few (or no) rising leaders in sight. And the business-types of Net Impact recognize that they need to reach upper management and to also connect with other sectors - for example in bringing NGO issues to light. And yet, these different groups don't seem to have the time or the means to meet each other.
A social networking site that could somehow connect all these groups, and encourage concrete action among them, would be an amazing resource.
But on my way out, someone suggested sharing a taxi - and that someone turned out to be Alex Saltzman, a slightly-older-than-average undergrad at Princeton University, which happens to be my alma mater. He and his friends were behind the Worm Poop post I made a few weeks ago, and are currently engaged in creating a social networking website for socially-, environmentally- and ethically- oriented members of "Generation Y" (defined as those currently aged 18-25).
The site is called Rethos, and it's still under development. The name is derived from "ethos" but is supposed to connote something of a re-emergence or a re-definition of social values, presumably by this new and more activist-oriented generation that grew up in the post-9/11 climate of terrorism and war.
I thought the idea was great, though I have to admit that I'm becoming frustrated by the separate bubbles of communities being created in this area. Harvard has it's own closely-networked group of leading lights that show up at the same conferences and executive education programs. Net Impact is a similar thing for the under-35s of the business world. Starting Bloc is like an undergrad version of Net Impact. And GOOD magazine is appealing to hip and activist-oriented twentysomethings - perhaps just slightly older than the Rethos / Starting Bloc crowd, but not business-y the way Net Impact is.
There's a real need for these group to not only network among themselves, but also across ages and disciplines. The Harvard crowd constantly laments the fact that the same people have been talking about the same things for several years now, with few (or no) rising leaders in sight. And the business-types of Net Impact recognize that they need to reach upper management and to also connect with other sectors - for example in bringing NGO issues to light. And yet, these different groups don't seem to have the time or the means to meet each other.
A social networking site that could somehow connect all these groups, and encourage concrete action among them, would be an amazing resource.
posted by Melissa Paschall at 9/24/2006 11:25:00 AM
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