Planning For Good: IdeaBlob

Here's another example of the idea of planning for good:

Ideablob, recently launched by Advanta Bank Corp., is a social networking platform that gives entrepreneurs and small business owners the space to share ideas and potentially win $10,000 to help their business grow.

" IdeaBlob is where entrepreneurs and small business owners can share and grow their business ideas – and have a chance to win $10,000 towards fulfilling them.

Great ideas are generated every day by people all across the country, and now these ideas have a place to live and grow. Eligible individuals with a good business idea can post it to IdeaBlob.com, and based on votes from the IdeaBlob online community – which includes other innovators as well as friends, family, colleagues, associates, teachers and mentors – one idea every month will win $10,000.

As individuals take part in IdeaBlob’s growth, their business has the potential to grow right along with it."

Advanta issues Mastercard credit cards for small business owners and has been in business for the last 50 years. After doing some brief digging, I found they were started by a schoolteacher who helped fellow teachers get loans. I'm curious as to what the rest of the story is behind the founder and how Advanta evolved to become what it is today.

As we're seeing over and over, there is power in community, and truth in authenticity. Ideablob has been added to my list of 'great new ideas' and goodness that aims to provide real things for people who need it.

See StyleStation for more information.

Write a Sentence to Help Save Lives

One mysterious Ann (no email, no profile) has set up the beginnings of a story in the hopes of publishing it and donating the profits to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Write a Sentence to Help Save Lives was thought up by Ann, who starts the story off with one sentence and invites anyone to add their own sentence in the comment page. I immediately jumped to the most recent comment and thought about adding something from there, but decided to read from the beginning. For the most part, contributors seem very intelligent and creative. Also very passionate. (a few don't take the task too seriously).

I was surprised to find myself so engaged in the story, as we learned the characters' names, location, backstory of their dreamed up connection, and so on. The creator of the blog/story leaves no information on herself, so we don't know where she is. Many contributors are in the Middle East. I'm in MN and found the link to Ann's blog off of Facebook. Hussein Dajani, brand planner at J.Walter Thompson, posted it in the IPA Strategy Group group, of which I belong. How did he hear of this community-created story?

To date, there are about 100 posts, some of them containing contributor information (name, city, etc). Some seem to be repeat contributors. I wonder what percentage got involved because they believe in the cause, and what percentage wanted to join to simply be a part of this global storytelling project? I admire Ann's idea and the cause, but I was drawn to contributing because I wanted to help create the story. I'll have to come back closer to December to see how it's evolved.

Miami U Cheezies a capella "Facebook"

Hilarious.

I get it. Is that bad?

Blog Action Day - More Good Stuff

I'm signing up to blog about the environment as part of Blog Action Day. (See Faris post "We Need Each Other" to the right in the pink box or All Day Buffet.) The date is set for 10/15. So far, 6,109 blogs have signed up, which is not counting mine. This initiative asks "What would happen if every blog published posts discussing the same issue, on the same day?" What will happen? Sign up and be a part of this mass communication of idea sharing.

MINI Clubman

MINI's teaser site, counting down to the launch of buzz-building 15-second film clips promoting the Clubman. See Contagious post or MINI's The Other View clock.

Also running is their The Other Lunch campaign. Choose from a variety of events (FREE LUNCH included) where you can bone up on some valuable life skills. Why don't I live in London? Actually, I'm really curious to know how MINI will integrate their brand story directly into the events. Or, will there be no mention of MINI or the Clubman?

I like the quirk factor in the various events (how to get back in a will, how to pass a lie detector test). And I like that you get free food. Aside from this, the campaign is interesting in that it combines fun learning with community interaction. It's really working to bring like-minded people (MINI fans, potential fans) together, get them to interact, and ultimately bond within the group and to the brand.

If anyone signs up to one of these lunches, post your comments on the experience here.

One Laptop Per Child...

I can't believe summer is (for the most part) over. October is here already, and soon enough, Turkey Day (aka Thanksgiving). And we all know what this means. Holiday shopping season begins. The fun, the madness, the joy of holiday (can I say Christmas?). For the past few years, I just haven't been able to come up with any sweet gift ideas when I am asked "What's on your list?" I admit, I enjoy getting gifts, but I've come to realize that I have so much junk around here, and I don't truly need anything.

I was looking at the One Laptop Per Child/XO Laptop site and my eye fell upon: "Give 1 Get 1 starting November 12". I immediately thought how perfect this would be for a Christmas gift - either for your child/niece/nephew, etc. but more importantly, how meaningful it would be for that child millions of miles away. What if instead of exchanging gifts in your family this year, you pledged to purchase a few of the laptops? It would almost be like feeding the hungry a turkey dinner on Thanksgiving, but probably better. (not that this isn't a generous or necessary cause)

Designed by fuseproject, the laptop represents ambitious and inspiring ideas that I hope people come to believe in and support. Education and the opportunities it affords should be a part of every child's life.

Listen to Nicholas Negroponte talk about his One Laptop Per Child project below.

Photosynth

Not too new, but worth posting -

Photosynth creates "multidimensional spaces with zoom and navigation features" which truly amaze. Blaise Aguera y Arcas demonstrates its capabilities in this demo.