This might work…proactive group action

11 comments change, flat world, socialnetworks

Jul 19

I’m not much of an environmentalist although I recycle a bit and am trying to be more aware but this video raises many interesting questions and ideas.

Carrotmob Makes It Rain from carrotmob on Vimeo.

Carrotmob takes Tuangou (group buying for discounts) to a more altruistic level.

Very Shirykesque wouldn’t you say? I recall Shirky stating (sorry I can’t find the page number) that although group organization is now ridiculously easy, that most organizations were reactive rather than proactive. This is the type of thing that illustrates the ability to be proactive. The democratization of economics is one idea that I hadn’t really considered. The monopolization of companies in reality or practice doesn’t need to exist.

I’m looking forward to seeing passionate, connected teachers leading students in group formation that changes our world.

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  • http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com Karl Fisch

    Interesting. The idea of having students learn and lead while also accomplishing change is one I’ve thought about a lot in my own school, and have suggested that we pursue. The problem, of course, is political. It’s really hard to get folks to agree on what constitutes an acceptable project. My school has done relatively safe fundraiser-type activities like “Make a Wish Foundation,” but even those have been optional and might have caused controversy if they’d been part of a class activity. If I were to propose a project in some ways similar to this (although obviously without the liquor store focus) I don’t think I would get very far – because the political lines drawn around environmental issues are too hot to cross. So, I don’t want to be the “Yeah, but” guy, but I struggle with how to make this work.

    On the other hand, I wonder if schools could organize in a similar way and make an offer that “can’t be refused” to various entities we deal with (software companies, hardware companies, textbook companies for those that still want to use those, etc.). Yes, I know we do some of this now, with group buying and statewide bid lists, but I think those are still skewed in favor of the companies and are usually limited to a relatively narrow geographical or systemic area. What if we said, just as a quick hypothetical example, that we would all buy mass quantities of laptops for $300 with a certain set of education friendly/appropriate specs (battery life being huge), open-source software configuration, and workable and affordable support? (eeePC is close, but still too expensive when you get to the screen size that I think works for education) It would take a small group to work hard initially to hammer out some specifics, but then we pitch it and say, “Who can build this?” Dell? Asus? (Note, I don’t mean to focus on just the tech part of this, that’s just an example that came to mind.) Probably not, again – too much politics, but it’s worth thinking about.

    Karl Fischs last blog post..Wipro University

  • http://ideasandthoughts.org Dean Shareski

    Karl,

    Suddenly you remind me of Chris Lehmann’s recent post about educational change that I should have included in the original post. I think we sometimes get caught up in scalability. While that’s important, the carrotmob example only targeted one area of SF. I think another concept to consider if the power law of distribution. We only need a few motivated people to lead and the ease of organization can make it happen.

    I think there are so many applications and starting points that smarter people than me will make happen.

  • Pingback: Carrotmob and the Power of the People « Musings from the Academy

  • Kate Tabor

    This is exactly the kind of thing that we need! Our community connections team (primarily American Lit and US History teachers) works with juniors to create meaningful connections to the issues of social justice in the community: LGTBQ issues, Women, Homelessness, Environmental justice, autism awareness, and US drug policy reform. Some groups have had more success than others finding ways to create real change and give students a concrete thing to do. Kids will only circulate so many petitions before they say, “Who cares?”

    Initiating a collective action like Carrotmob did is a very real way to create change. I can easily imagine collective action in three of our groups. We are meeting in two weeks, and I will share this link with our team before the meeting. This type of work can reenergize flagging programs and if we turn students’ collective imagination and energy toward choosing an urgent issue to focus on, we can generate excitement for the program as well. If you want to look at the work we are doing, I’m trying to get team members to capture their experiences here: http://www.pensieve.wikispaces.com

    Thanks for sharing this. The promise of student engagement gives me energy to begin the year.

  • http://edinsanity.com Jon Becker

    I know that Carrotmob is trying to get the businesses themselves to make environmental changes, but what if we did this a little differently…

    I see/hear tons of ads these days for savings on “Back to School” stuff. What if an enterprising group of students made a deal with a store that sells back-to-school “stuff” and said, “we’ll establish a day where everyone we can organize from our school shops at your store. In exchange, you’ll donate some percentage of your profits back to the school for [insert potentially beneficial educational resource].” If the store does 20% more business than it would normally do and donates 10% back to the school, it’s a win-win, right? In other words, we use the power of Web-based networking (and kids are more networked than adults, right?) to give you more business and you give back to our school. It’s not much more than a simple student-led fund-raising event, but it feels qualitatively different than a bake sale or something inane or trite like that.

    Jon Beckers last blog post..Organizing is Different now

  • http://ideasandthoughts.org Dean Shareski

    Jon,

    That’s exactly the possibility that exists. There are so many options and ideas that even if they can and have been done outside of digital networks, the impact as stated by Shirky can be vastly different.

  • http://beyond-school.org Clay Burell

    Wow, Dean, Thanks for featuring this. Much to play with here.

  • Pingback: On Carrotmobs and Election-Stealing: An Edu-Activism Fantasy | Beyond School

  • sophie

    Dean
    Interesting that you mentioned Chris Lehman’s name because throught the entire video all I could think of was one of his school projects called Change The World in Nine Weeks (I’m going to double check this). What a fantastic project this would be. A great way to show kids they do have the power to change things for the better. Thanks for sharing this. Another nugget for the new school year.
    Sophie

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