I have not posted to this blog for a while, but today I came across something that HAD to be shared!
Recently, I received a e-newsletter from one of our clients, and it listed all sorts of ways one could get involved, one of which was "dowloading a Causeworld application." Being the curious bee that I am, I had to go check this out, and I found something totally amazing!
So, what is CauseWorld? The basic concept is a twist on the GPS-based social media apps like FourSquare that are the new Twitter of the social media fanatics. For those who are not super clear on FourSquare, it's a GPS based app--you go somewhere, "check in" and all your friends get to see that you're there. You leave, you "check out" and all your friends see you leaving. To those who are thinking: "why would anyone want to use this?", just remember, this is also what lots of people thought in the early days of Twitter.
So, what's CauseWorld? So, you go to your local grocery store, "check in", buy some groceries. Just for "check in", one of the three major sponsors of the app (Kraft Foods, Citi, and P&G) give you "Karma" points. Once you accrue enough Karma points, you can "donate" them to a participating nonprofit of your choice, and these points are equivalent to doing good things for an organization. For example, donating 95 Karma points to American Forests plants a tree, etc.
Why is this so neat? This allows you to "do good" while 1) not actually donating money (this can be very appealing in a tough economic environment) 2) getting "rewarded" for doing things you would normally do in your day anyway 3)giving you "choice" in how your Karma is spent (you get to choose the nonprofit and also when you use the Karma points), and, as with all social media 4) you get to see how others are spending their Karma points, 5) and if you are Kraft, Citi, or P&G, well, you get super good corporate social citizen Karma and PR points!
I've already downloaded this free app on my phone (5 free Karma points just for doing that), and can't wait to start using it. (Note how I am virally promoting this app and no one is even paying me to do this!)
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4 comments:
Good post Miriam. CauseWorld is definitely a cool application, particularly given it piggy backs off of things you do during your normal day-to-day routine. I'm currently developing something that has a similar approach in terms of allowing users to earn points that they can convert into actions. We'll hopefully have a prototype up and running in the next two weeks, so I'll shoot you a message when it's ready. Would love to get your thoughts. In the meantime, enjoy CauseWorld and thanks for the insightful post.
Bryan
I would love to see this Bryan! Can't wait.
So do you have to buy their products to get Karma points?
Nope, you just check into the location you are at and get Karma points you can then donate. So now $$ from you required at any step in the process.
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