Reach Critical Mass with The Point
Posted on May 21st, 2008 in Fundraising, Social, Technology |
Chicago based company The Point is dedicated to organizing people to solve a problem. The Point is not unique in using the web to rally around activism or fundraising, but the company’s campaigns are differentiated by their reliance on the “tipping point” model. As popularized by author Malcolm Gladwell, the “tipping point” refers to the “levels at which momentum for change becomes unstoppable.” Apply this notion to The Point and members of campaigns are not required to take action until a critical mass of supporters is reached.
The numerous active campaigns featured on the site include a call for Wal-Mart to provide affordable health care for employees and a request that Kellogg Company stop using genetically modified sugar. Campaigns do not have to be attacks on global corporations, however, as demonstrated by my own attempt to move the tech blogosphere from Twitter to Pownce.
For more insight, watch this video interview between The Point’s CEO Andrew Mason and David Cohn of Spot.us (more to come on Spot.us soon).
Link to [The Point]
5 Responses
I love this idea. Local, community driven change is where it’s at. I think people are starting to understand that trying to change things whether big or small is tremendously effective when you increase your numbers. The synergy of two pails in comparison to 50 or 1000 or even 10000.
The one beef I have is that it feels Andrew Mason still has that “activist” mentality where you have to “attack” something in order for it to change. There can be aggression in peaceful communication. Just because you want things to change doesn’t mean you have to go out there be scary.
Don’t get me wrong the idea is amazing and I’m all for it. What I would like to see come out of this isn’t an angry cyber-mob but a drawing together of the people for a common goal in respect for one another.
Hey Trevor -
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your opinions on Web Activism. From personal experience, Andrew and the rest of the staff are fairly docile guys. I am interested in better understanding your conception of “attack.” I think you have to distribute, promote, educate, etc to build a movement and The Point is another platform for accomplishing this virtually. Is this what you mean by “attack”?
I agree with what you said about distributing, promoting and educating the general public via the web. It’s the most effective way to reach people on a global, national or even county scale when you get down to it. What I mean by “attack” (maybe attack isn’t even the right term but it was what I was feeling at the time so I’ll go with it for this purspose) is when he is talking about “pressuring” an organization or company into changing their ways it sounds to me like some what of this Eye for an Eye almost or lets fight fire with fire.
I, by no means, feel that people need to be passive and wait for change, but I don’t agree with bullying the bully; if that makes sense.
Another thing that I noticed is when he says,”constructing a beast made out of humans that is able to take on a larger beast”. That’s just creepy to me.
I also want to reiterate that I totally agree with the idea behind The Point. My comments were pretty much directed at what Andrew was saying in the video. Given that my only exposure to Andrew as a person is through this video I am not making any judgments about his character. Merely pointing out what I agree and disagree with.
I appreciate the chance to be heard. I actually talked about The Point and Web For Change in my blog last night as well. I am excited to see what is going to come out of these types of sites and their openness to the collective voice of change.
Thanks for the clarification and the mention in your own blog, Trevor. Yes, as a student of the English language I understand the power of diction choice. Returning to the video, I understand words like “beast” and “pressure” connote a violent mission, or as you stated an “attack.”
Bloggers and start-up founders alike need to pay closer attention to word choice when describing non-traditional concepts. Another discussion…
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