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Citizen journalism, open government, status updates, community building, information sharing, crowdsourcing, and the election of a President.
Our children will inherit a world profoundly changed by the combination of technology and humanity that is social media. They’ll take for granted that their voices can be heard and that a social movement can be launched from their laptop. They’ll take for granted that they are connected and interconnected with hundreds of millions of people at any given moment. And they’ll take for granted that a black man is or was President of the United States.
What’s most profound is that these represent parts of a greater whole. They represent a shift in power from centralized institutions and organizations to the People they represent. It is the evolution of democracy by way of technology, and we are all better for it.
For most of us, social media has changed our lives in some meaningful way. Collectively it is changing the world for good. Given the pace of innovation and adoption, change has become a constant. Every so often we find the need to stop and reflect on its most recent and noteworthy developments, hence the following list.
Please note this is not a top-10 list, nor are these listed in any particular order. It’s also incomplete. So we ask that you add to this conversation in the comments. If you’d like to Retweet this post or take the conversation to Twitter or FriendFeed, please use the hashtag #10Ways.
1. Take Social Actions: The nonprofit organization Social Actions aggregates “opportunities to make a difference from over 50 online platforms” through its unique API. It recently held the Change the Web Challenge contest in order to inspire the most innovative applications for that API. The Social Actions Interactive Map won the $5,000 first prize. The result is a virtual tour of the world through the lens of social action. “People are volunteering, donating, signing petitions, making loans and doing other social actions as we speak — all over the world. To capture the context of the where, this project uses sophisticated techniques to extract location information from full text paragraphs.” You can also join the Social Actions Community, which is powered by Ning…which now boasts more than one million individual social networks.
2. Twitter with a Purpose: This list could be exclusive to Twitter. The micro-blogging sensation was featured on our first two lists (a three-tweet), and it’s certain to be a fixture. From Tweetsgiving, the virtual Thanksgiving feast, to the Twestival, which organized 202 off-line events around the world to benefit charity: water, it’s become the de facto tool for organizing and taking action. Tweet Congress won the SXSW activism award, and celebrity Tweeps Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Rose Tweeted their two million followers about ending malaria. Max Gladwell recently initiated the #EcoMonday follow meme as a way to connect and organize the Green Twittersphere.
3. Visit White House 2.0: Inside of its first 100 days, the Obama administration has managed to set the historic benchmark for government transparency and accountability. The President’s virtual town hall meeting used WhiteHouse.gov to crowdsource questions from his 300 million constituents, complete with voting to determine the ones he’d have to answer. All told, 97,937 people submitted 103,978 questions and cast 1,782,650 votes. The White House continues to raise the bar with its official Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter channels. In so doing President Obama is not just setting the standard for state and local government in the U.S. He’s establishing the world standard. The Obama administration is spreading democracy not by force but through example. Because you don’t have to be an American citizen to be a friend or follower of White House 2.0.
4. Claim your Zumbox: What happens when all mail can be sent and delivered online to any street address in a paperless form? That’s the big question for Zumbox, which has created an online mail system with a digital mailbox for every U.S. street address. And while the answer to that question remains to be seen, it promises to be as liberating as it is disruptive. A key quality for Zumbox is that it’s closed system much like that of Facebook, only instead of true identity it’s true address. This will enable people to better connect with their communities including their neighbors, local businesses, and the mayor’s office. The primary agent of change, though, might not be that this uses street addresses but that it enables direct and potentially viral feedback, which is a virtue that e-mail and the USPS do not offer. The first methods are to request exclusive paperless delivery and to block a sender, but others are certain to evolve such as real-time commenting and ways to share mail with friends, family, and colleagues. Welcome to Mail 2.0. (Disclosure: Zumbox is a client of Rob Reed, the founder of Max Gladwell.)
5. Host a Social Media Event: This is the year of the social media event. No meaningful gathering of people is complete without an interactive online audience, especially when it’s so easy and cost effective to pull off. Essential tools include a broadband connection, laptop, video camera, projector, and screen. Add people and a purpose, such as entrepreneurship. Promote it through social media channels, and you have a social media event. A recent example in the green world is the Evolution of Green, which was hosted by Creative Citizen, a green wiki community. It celebrated the launch of a new Web property, EcoMatters, while also establishing a new Twitter tag. By posing the question, “How can we go from green hype to green habit?” and including the #GreenQ hashtag, it sparked a conversation between attendees and the Twittersphere in real time. Thus was born a new mechanism for getting answers to green questions via Twitter.
6. Travel the World: More than anyone else, Tim O’Reilly knows the potential for social media to change the world. In his opening keynote at this year’s Web 2.0 Expo, he called for a new ethic in which we do more with less and create more value than we capture. This provided the context for SalaamGarage founder Amanda Koster, whose presentation followed O’Reilly’s. The idea is that social media has enabled each of us to have an audience. Whether through Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, or a personal blog, each of us can have influence and reach. What’s more, it can be used for good. SalaamGarage coordinates trips for citizen journalists (that means you) to places like India and Vietnam in conjunction with non-government organizations like Seattle-based Peace Trees. The destination is the story, as these humanitarian journalists report on the people they meet and discoveries they make. Their words, images, and video are posted to the social web to gain exposure and because these stories just need to be told.
7. Build It on Drupal: You may not have noticed, but the open-source Drupal content management system (CMS) has quickly become the dominant player on the social web. While we still prefer WordPress as a strict blogging application, Drupal has emerged as the go-to platform for building scalable, community-driven Web sites. It powers Recovery.gov, a key part of President Obama’s commitment to transparency and accountability. PopRule uses it as a social news platform for politics. And Drupal will soon become the platform for Causecast, a site where “media, philanthropy, social networking, entertainment and education converge to serve a greater purpose.” This is especially significant because Causecast CEO Ryan Scott is transitioning the site off of Ruby on Rails because Drupal has proved more efficient, user friendly, and cost effective. (Disclosure: Max Gladwell founder Rob Reed is co-founder of PopRule.)
8. Green Your iPhone: Looking for an organic diner within biking distance that has a three-star green rating? There’s a app for that. It’s called 3rd Whale, and you can download it for free. (Except that the star rating is actually a whale rating.) Complete with Facebook Connect, this iPhone app locates green products and businesses in 30 major North American cities. It uses the iPhone’s dial function to select a category (food), sub-category (restaurants), and distance (walking, biking, or driving). In Santa Monica, this might give you Swingers diner for its selection of veggie and vegan fare. You could then get directions from your current location using the iPhone’s built-in Google map, rate your experience on the three-whale scale, and write up a quick review. 3rd Whale recently released a new feature that integrates green-living tips, which can show how much energy or waste you’ll save by taking a given action.
9. Unite the World Through Video: Matt’s dancing around the world video inspired many to tears. Today, more than 20 million people have viewed his YouTube masterpiece, where he performs a kooky dance with the citizens of planet earth. The most recent example of this approach is Playing for Change, which connects the world through song. The project started in Santa Monica with a street performance of the classic Stand By Me and expanded to New Orleans, New Mexico, France, Brazil, Italy, Venezuela, South Africa, Spain, and The Netherlands. The project was superbly executed via social media, complete with a YouTube channel, MySpace, Facebook, and Blog. It’s received tremendous mainstream media exposure and also benefits a foundation of the same name.
10. Rate a Company: The conversation about corporate social responsibility (CSR) takes place across the social web on blogs, Twitter, and YouTube, but a central hub for this information and opinion is still to be determined. SocialYell seeks to address this by building an online community around the CSR conversation, where users can submit reviews of companies together with nonprofit organizations and even public figures like Michelle Obama. The major topics are the Environment, Health, Social Equity, Consumer Advocacy, and Charity. The reviews are voted and commented on by the community in a Reddit-like fashion with both up (Yell) and down (shhh) voting. The site is relatively new and still gaining traction, but there’s no question that a resource like this is needed to shine a bright light on CSR and and other related issues.
11. Publish a collective, simultaneous blog post on a universal topic: As Nigel Tufnel might say, this list goes to eleven. Let the #10Ways conversation begin…
Final note: This is Max Gladwell’s third list of “10 Ways to Change the World Through Social Media.” The first was posted a year ago today on Sustainablog.org, and the sequel followed five months later. If a single headline can capture the Max Gladwell raison d’etre, this is it.
39 responses so far ↓
1 Global Patriot // May 12, 2009 at 11:12 am
The power of social media increases on a daily basis as millions more sign on, new applications are built, and networks are developed which foster communication.
This list provides excellent examples of how people can use the tools of social media to change the world for the better – something that was not possible to do in such a manner just a few short years ago.
2 frank // May 12, 2009 at 11:24 am
It is amazing how SM has empowered people around the world. I like Seths ‘tribes’ concept and think its exactly why SM will keep changing the world – people can connect and form powerful tribes like never before!
The trick with the tools will become figuring out which ones will stand the test of time.
http://twitter.com/franswaa
3 John Brennan // May 12, 2009 at 11:45 am
this is a wonderful article attempting to pull the good people are doing from all ends together in a nice package. when i first listened to Playing for Change I teared (watching Matt also moved me, but with more laughs!)
i also wanted to thank you for linking to the Social Actions Map that I created! Because of the response I’m growing this idea with the hopes of delivering a more transparent and engaging application for NGOs to have at their disposal. There are so many amazing orgs doing great things, but for one reason or another many go unnoticed. This is my current contribution to the wonderful world we live in.
http://www.janisb.com/blog/2009/05/winner-of-change-the-web-challenge-now-what/
(also, didn’t know about #6… going to check it out now).
*ALL* if anyone is interested in connecting to help develop, work with NGOs, or muse… please contact me.
John Brennan
twitter:@worldlyjohn
Developer, Social Action Map
4 businessethos // May 12, 2009 at 12:44 pm
This is just what the world needs– more refreshing insight! …more ideas to make lasting eco change…
Social Media & Empowerment… together, for the greater good.
@businessethos
5 Social Ethos: 10 Ways To Change The World With Social Media « @businessethos // May 12, 2009 at 2:12 pm
[...] how ethos touches everything we do. Below is the 10 Ways To Change The World outline or read the complete article and take social empowerment to the next [...]
6 Doing Business in the DTES Sustainably « Greening the Inner-city // May 12, 2009 at 4:52 pm
[...] to leverage social media to have a positive impact on the DTES, so Max Gladwell’s post on 10 Ways to Change the World through Social Media made interesting [...]
7 Social Ethos: 10 Ways To Change The World With Social Media « @businessethos // May 12, 2009 at 6:23 pm
[...] we do. Below is an outline of the 10 Ways To Change The World. Why not take some time to read the complete article … and take social empowerment to the next [...]
8 mark // May 12, 2009 at 9:02 pm
That post went one louder. Nice.
9 10 Ways to Change the World Through Social Media by @MaxGladwell // May 13, 2009 at 3:43 pm
[...] May 12th, 2009 Guest Post by Max Gladwell [...]
10 Stephan // May 14, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Thanks for assembling these #10Ways lists. They are a great way to get reminded of web apps and discover new ones.
@John same here: Playing for change is such an amazing initiative!!!
Another simple action for everyone is to answer questions and just be helpful when engaging with others on social media. Easy to do and can have a major impact.
11 Andy Hobsbawm // May 17, 2009 at 6:17 am
I’m a big admirer of the Max Gladwell social media / green living thing and this is another rather insightful and interesting post. I’m just concerned that number 6 in your list needs a BIG qualifier.
Air travel is the fastest growing contributor to ghg emissions – we worked out it’s an average of 2.2 tonnes per return trip http://bit.ly/D1gqF
(or if you prefer, a short film about how many planes cross out skies every minute globally: http://bit.ly/NBK2Q)
The point is we need to travel responsibly and that means avoiding plane travel whenever we can.
We’re not going to invent sustainable air travel in time to avoid 450ppm that’s for sure so we have_to_reduce now, it’s as simple as that.
12 On the 10 Ways Simultaneous Guest Post | Max Gladwell // May 20, 2009 at 11:54 am
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13 Winders on the Web // Jun 1, 2009 at 12:06 pm
[...] Max Gladwell posted his third “10Ways to Change the World Through Social Media” I was only able to send a Tweet about it, since my blog wasn’t up yet. As I rev up my [...]
14 1 Way to Change the World Through Social Media « The Verteblog // Jul 7, 2009 at 4:05 pm
[...] in Uncategorized | by Jess Downing Recently, the Max Gladwell blog had a popular post titled “10 Ways to Change the World Through Social Media.” Mobile app developer 3rdWhale was listed as a solution. 1% for the Planet recently partnered with [...]
15 Guest Posting Part Deux: Max Gladwell and Mashable's Summer of Good | SocialButterfly // Jul 14, 2009 at 9:13 am
[...] (or application) of guest posting took place earlier this year when Max Gladwell published 10 Ways to Change the World through Social Media, and it was simultaneously published on over 80+ blogs. Today is part two. *Know of other examples [...]
16 andy@energywatcher // Aug 31, 2009 at 9:24 am
Great post for a variety of reasons. What i take away from SM is a huge opportunity for mass mobilization and instant ideas exchange. The only slight blot for me is that alot of the more vibrant ‘green/environmental’ communities are quite US-Centric, we don’t really have the same degree of strength yet here in the UK – perhaps i should do it myself! Cheers
17 mike // Sep 1, 2009 at 1:23 am
I’m just transitioning from WordPress to Drupal – isn’t quite as scary as I first thought. Does anyone know a good green host which isn’t going to break the bank – I thought moving to an environmental server when I’m moving platforms would probably be worth the additional time it would take.
18 Max Gladwell Founder Joins Zumbox, the Paperless Postal System | Max Gladwell // Sep 21, 2009 at 8:06 pm
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19 How does social media fit into sustainable marketing? — Sustainable Marketing Blog // Oct 2, 2009 at 2:15 pm
[...] social media and sustainability. Max Gladwell outlined his thinking on the premise that both change the world for the better. Richard Matthews and Park Howell devote consistent attention to it. I [...]
20 Christian Guitar Lessons // Jan 25, 2010 at 10:52 pm
The thing I like about social media is that is solves a problem that it creates. The problem that is creates is that there is a huge pile of content. SM, however immediately accredits some content and validates it. Word of mouth elevates social causes, worthy companies, and funny videos. People now get to vote on everything. It’s a new kind of democracy.
21 DoFollow Mike // Feb 1, 2010 at 4:57 pm
Social media certainly has the power to spread information far and wide in minutes. The Obama campaign showed how powerful it can be when used effectively.
Unfortunately, most people don’t understand how to use SM properly, which has resulted with a lot of useless “noise” on too many social media sources.
22 GreenBusinesses.com – 10 Ways Geolocation is Changing the World // Jul 27, 2010 at 1:21 am
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33 SMEDIAM – The Social Media Channel for Growing Your Business Online » 10 Ways Geolocation is Changing the World // Jul 29, 2010 at 1:59 pm
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39 Guest Post: 10 Ways Geolocation is Changing the World | SocialHerder // Aug 9, 2010 at 4:22 am
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