SOCIALLY USEFUL NETWORKS

YEAR 2011

SOCIALLY USEFUL NETWORKS

Have you ever dreamed of giving vent to your noblest feelings through a social network? …

Have you ever dreamed of giving vent to your noblest feelings through a social network? Despite being mainly considered as a way to keep in touch with other people, exchange links and pictures or kill time at the office, these virtually endless contact nets do actually hide a great ethical potential. Here are a couple of examples on how to discover and exploit it for a good cause.

Crowdrise
If you’re already a member, then you probably know that the number appearing on your profile has nothing to do with how many friends you have. It’s your score, increasing as your projects pile up. Endorsed by famous actor Edward Norton (remember Fight Club?), this crowdfunding platform exploits the social network concept to support environmental, animal and humanitarian causes. In other words, a community of philantropists and fundraisers, crowded with Hollywood stars.

Kiva
After working for a voluntary organization in Tanzania, Matthew Flannery and Jessica Jackley found a very practical way to alleviate poverty, by combining microfinance with the internet. Kiva is a global community of people where you can choose a project and fund it with a minimum loan of 25 dollars; once the enterpreneur starts earnig, the funds are given back to the lender.

Technology

14.03.2012
In your own voice
While we are waiting for Apple’s SIRI – the voice assistant of the moment – …
30.01.2012
High definition
Remember the famous photograph of the Earth as seen from outer space taken in 1972 …
24.01.2012
Making your custom IBook
An interactive iBook complete with images, sounds and videos. That’s what all Apple users with …
19.01.2012
Myspace strikes back
Sooner or later the announcement had to come: Myspace, the first successful social network ever, …
17.01.2012
Future past
Retronaut, by British “past explorer” Chris Wild, is a constant stimulus to reflection as well …
09.01.2012
A Techrospective
What do the tablet wars have to do with Groupon’s success, the death of Steve …
02.01.2012
Time is the new space
How do we measure distances in 2012? If you think about it, it’s in terms …
22.11.2011
Google’s secret talent
Did you think that Google Street View was a useful and yet aesthetically-neutered tool? Well, …
12.09.2011
Archaeology of the present
Strange as it seems, one day not so far away the latest high-tech gadget you …
07.09.2011
Can you live without them?
September is a time for changes and big challenges. Even in the world of technology, …
31.08.2011
Touch the Music
It’s called Biophilia and it is not a simple collection of songs; it also a …
30.08.2011
Abreast with the times
What’s contemporaneity, after all? Where is it revealed, how does it express itself? If you’ve …
07.07.2011
Five reasons for a switch
At a first glance, Google+ looks like a white clone of Facebook. Why then, even …
01.07.2011
You Are What You Like
It’s not an aggregator, it’s not a social network, it’s not an on-demand content service. …
06.06.2011
Apple strikes again
A few weeks ago we spoke about Google’s failed attempt at defying iTunes, and now …
12.05.2011
Failed revolutions
Offering all the music in the world to each user. Such was the original goal …
11.05.2011
The state of the art
An e-book should be more than the simple .pdf version of a paper book. That’s …
28.04.2011
A glimpse at the future
A cross breed between a smartphone and a DSLR camera. Could that be the future …
22.04.2011
Moleskine goes app
The guys at Databinge have turned the world’s most famous notebook into an iPhone and …
18.04.2011
Cold fusion coming?
A catalyzer producing a hundred times the employed energy, a reaction that even the most …

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