Social Experiments
Share in Pangea Day this Saturday, May 10!
Submitted by willow on Wed, 2008-05-07 09:57.
This Saturday, May 10, 2008, the world will come together through film.
You and your friends are invited to a free public screening we've organized on the Plaza in Kansas City. Stop by for a few minutes or take in more of the show at Unity Temple, 707 West 4th Street between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m.
In a world where people are often divided by borders, differences and conflict, it's easy to lose sight of what we have in common. Pangea Day seeks to overcome that -- to help people see the world through someone else's eyes -- through the power of film.
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technoratiJust Wait 'Til We Fight Over Water
Submitted by willow on Mon, 2008-03-31 14:12.
Bottled Water Colbert Report Dean Kamen global water crisis Social Experiments water purification WaterPartners International
Move over oil addiction. America's got a whole new habit we're getting hip to -- the global water crisis.
"If you think the oil shortage has caused stress -- emotional, financial, political -- wait to you see people fighting over water," offered serial inventrepreneur Dean Kamen on the "Colbert Report" which dedicated an entire episode to the subject.
A brilliant move, Kamen demo'd his water purification system on the show. Capable of purifying any water source -- from poison to a 50 gallon drum of urine, Colbert mused -- the unit, which will cost $1,000 - $2,000 per unit can supply a village with 1,000 liters/day of clean water. Fifty percent of human disease are caused by waterborne pathogens.
And don't miss this hilarious segment on Aqua Colbert, Stephen's own bottled water brand blended from the finest waters of the world.
Unilever's Congitive Dissonance
Submitted by willow on Tue, 2008-02-12 16:34.
At today's DMA talk, I made the point that many-to-many online communication, made uber- efficient via social media, is urging every organization to take note of a new reality.
- Grassroots mobilization is trumping media spend of multinationals.
- Business of all sizes is being held to higher standards of accountability, often by a vocal and well-connected "few."
- Congruity between words and deeds (in operations, customer service, product satisfaction, etc.) isn't optional.
Case in point: Unilver's dissonant brand campaigns for Dove vs. Axe deodorant I only briefly touched on today.
For an entertaining, wonderfully-written version of the full story (so far!) -- complete with illustrative video clips -- visit Brene Brown, PhD's Ordinary Courage blog.
Tappening: Bottled Water Jujitsu
Submitted by willow on Tue, 2008-01-22 00:34.
How do you foster more mindful consumer behavior?
Take a cue from this sustainability campaign: Tappening, a brilliantly simple brand ambassador program in praise of tap water. Rather, not bottled water.
Their formula? Seems to be:
Blank reusable Nalgene (it looks like) bottles +
1 Logo +
1 Blog with e-commerce capability +
1 strategically placed story in AdAge about a potential PR stunt targeting Coke -- seven months out (!) so whether or not (and how) Coke responds will continue to make Tappening news =
A flurry of blogosphere buzz +
1,310,886 page views as of today.
A very, very nice start. We'll be watching how this one continues to unfold.
OBAMA: Because of Rodney King
Submitted by willow on Tue, 2008-01-08 17:37.
In 1992 I was living in New York City when the Rodney King verdict and aftermath of riots gave my employer reason to dismiss staff early. The unspoken message: find safe haven, preferably out of dodge.
New York could blow any minute. Unrest was claiming lives and $1 billion in damages from South Central to Las Vegas and Atlanta. Even Seattle.
Huck's Hidden Agenda
Submitted by willow on Tue, 2008-01-01 12:42.
I yearn for even one candidate to change the campaign game. As much as I would like to believe Huckabee is sincere, I can't.
Showing the attack ad he pulled to press proves that Huck only feigns the high road. The tip-off? Huckabee argues that he had to "prove " to press that they actually were going to run an ad. Then he elaborated, that press could confirm his campaign already bought media. Whoops. Mistake.
That simple, fact-checking mission would supplant screening the ad itself. Instead, we're left with another orchestrated publicity blitz with hidden agenda. No surprise to Huck's campaign managers that citizens -- and journalists -- are flocking to YouTube to see -- spread and discuss -- the ad-we're-not-going-to-see.
MTV: 80% of Youth Want to Take Action
Submitted by willow on Sat, 2007-09-22 23:00.
From the brilliant people who originally created an ad-supported cable channel whose programming consisted of music advertising (in the form of entertainment (read: videos)), MTV last week launched Think.MTV.com, a community site (in beta) for young people to find information about getting involved in good causes. Tricked out with tools to find, mobilize other people with similar interests, and recognize those who take action, the site is in beta. A 2006 study by MTV found that 80 percent of young people want to help their community and take action to support causes, but only 19 percent describe themselves as “very involved.”
The SHIFT Movie: By the Collective, For the Collective
Submitted by willow on Thu, 2007-09-20 23:00.
Millions of people across our planet are connecting with each other to create a shift toward a more unified world. The SHIFT clip below is a hopeful piece that features Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Deepak Chopra, Afghan Human/Women's Rights Activist Fatima Gailini, Indian Youth Activist Anand Shah, Marianne Williamson and others.
You can help complete the film here.
Pangea Day: Can Film Change the World?
Submitted by willow on Tue, 2007-09-18 23:00.
That's the idea behind Pangea Day which will bring together millions of people from all over the world through the power of film to create a better understanding of one another. Pangea Day is the "wish" of documentary filmmaker and 2006 TED Prize winner Jehane Noujaim (Control Room (2004), Startup.com (2001)) who we had the good fortune of seeing speak at the Sundance Film Festival.
Listen to Jehane at TED unveil her wish: global acceptance of diversity, mediated through the power of film. The first step? Getting people to understand each other.
The $1 Billion Election Reform Dare for Dems: Cancel Your Paid Media
Submitted by willow on Mon, 2007-08-20 16:34.
I was thrilled to get through as a caller on NPR's "Talk of the Nation" today with Matt Bai, writer for the New York Times Magazine and author of The Argument: Billionaires, Bloggers, and the Battle to Remake Democratic Politics.
