Good Stuff

Microloans for the Marginalized!

[English summary:  The Danish Government has funded a project, where microloans are given to marginalized Danish citizens with entrepreneurial dreams. Great way to take them seriously and to develop social services. We hope for a next step: an actual social lending site for Danish/European marginalized entrepreneurs - peer-to-peer, not just government-to-clients!]

De er vant til at blive skubbet rundt i systemet, at skulle svare på intime spørgsmål fra alverdens sagsbehandlere, at blive talt om og til i stedet for med, at være samfundets fejl. De hedder socialt udsatte, matchgruppe 5, hjemløse, marginaliserede, førtidspensionister. 

Nu bliver de anerkendt som individer med drømme, der kan virkeliggøres. I hvert tilfælde i et nyt projekt hos Socialt Udviklingscenter SUS, hvor 15 "socialt udsatte" får adgang til mikrolån til deres egen iværksætterdrøm. Det er et pilotprojekt støttet af Socialministeriet.

Fedt.

Det får mig til at tænke to ting (og en helt masse flere, men det bliver nok lidt rodet ;)):

1. Jeg håber virkelig, at SUS vil være gode til at kommunikere projekterfaringerne til en bred vifte af stakeholders. SUS har tidligere lavet nogle ret geniale projekter indenfor brugerdreven social  innovation, som de bare ikke har fortalt så mange om. Innovation uden spredning er så ærgerligt.

2. Det ville være umådelig interessant at se samme mikrolånsidé ført ud i en social lending community, hvor private mennesker kunne låne til danske (evt. skandinaviske eller europæiske) socialt udsatte, sådan som danske MyC4 og amerikanske Kiva gør det muligt at låne til fattige i den 3. verden. Eller som engelske Zopa eller amerikanske Prosper gør det i et mere peer-to-peer forbrugerorienteret univers.

Så hermed en newbizz idé: En social lending community for socialt udsatte og andre med iværksætterdrømme, som ikke kan gå i banken eller til investorer for at få deres drømme finansieret. Snup den før din kollega! ;)

A passing thought on Co-creation

It recently occurred to me that embarking on a collaborative marketing campaign is a brave thing to do for any business especially when you consider the potential for subversion. I for one (cynical old ad-man talking) can't resist the temptation to take the mickey when given the opportunity.

I guess, at the very least, this example of collaberative/viral marketing gets people to the site and raises general awareness but I'm not entirely convinced. It's still interuptive marketing if you're on the receiving end of it, slightly irritating in that respect. What do you think?

Open source crisps

Dorito's have recently launched a great example of co-creativity and how to engage crisp munchers. The idea is simple and brilliant. They've developed a new flavour for their potato chips but this time, instead of defining the taste and serving them up for consumers in neatly labelled bags, they've de-constructed the whole marketing process opting instead to call them X13D and leave it up to the crisp munchers to decide what they should be called. This idea captures the imagination immediately. I love it and so does everybody else by the looks of it.

Thanks to Modern Marketing for pointing out this gem.

Meet amazing people

Found this really interesting network.

"The world is full of people who want to make a difference. People who are interested in helping others and the wider environment. i-genius helps people promote what they are doing, their work, their ideas, their passion – and through our community, enables them to connect with others.

In our community we seek to stimulate fresh thinking and bright ideas, and inspire a new generation to become 'social entrepreneurs'. Social entrepreneurs are individuals who create or develop businesses (whether commercial or not for profit) where the primary focus is on social change.

i-genius also seeks to stimulate partnerships between our members and to support them by developing partnerships with established organisations (corporations, NGOs, government, media).

If have an idea or passion that you hope will be of benefit to others and the world we live in, we welcome you to join i-genius."

Well I might just do that. Brilliant

Via greenormal

Friends of the Earth film competition

Here's something. Friends of the Earth are running a competition to make a one minute green film. Sounds interesting. I might give this one a go.

Inspiration: One way to pursue win/win in personal or organizational needs.

Last year I met the author of “Nonviolent communication” (Girafsprog), Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, in Copenhagen. When you experience the guy live and interactive, he is extremely inspiring.

Have a look at one of his interviews if you’re interested. Warning: 28 minutes, and this is only part I!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvFeY5GXtQo

Co-creation rules!

If you know me you might have heard me trying to explain (and making hard work of it) changes in the way people interact with brands. I think Johnnie Moore and James Cherkoff's thoughts on co-creation are very interesting indeed and maybe a little more structured than I am. Definatley worth a read if you are looking for clues on where this industry is heading. I like the way they have tried to create some simple rules in an area that seems, on the surface at least, very chaotic. They give at least one good example with every rule, which I find very useful.

Download 29.03.CoCreation.pdf