Social Actions launches contest for volunteer web apps
"Change is only a click away" seems to be Social Actions' goal in launching their Change the Web Challenge. Social Action has created a database of 60,000 volunteer actions that you can take on the web. The challenge is to create an easy-to-use web application that allows net surfers to use the Social Action database in creative ways. The grand prize: $5,000, with 2nd and 3rd place winners receiving $3,000 and $2,000.
Social Action already has a few applications that might get creative juices flowing: one application uses keywords in Wordpress to generate an automated list of related volunteer actions. A Firefox extension allows the user to highlight phrases and find related ways to serve. The point is to create an innovative way for people to get involved.
This innovation marks a huge shift from the view of service as a 3-hour, Saturday commitment in the hot sun. Instead of being a chore, service becomes an extension of an individual's interests, achievable in a few extra minutes. Instead of being an interruption, service becomes a part of life. Or a way of life.
And think about the untapped resource that web surfers represent. Just this week I got an invitation to a Facebook group for Zombie Awareness Day - so I know there isn't a shortage of people who want to get involved. Kudos to Social Action for finding ways of connecting web surfers to meaningful causes.
Join in on the conversation:
- Follow the challenge on twitter @changetheweb
- Organize a Change the Web event
- Join one of their Change the Web Conversation Series, online chats to explore using specific technology platforms for good, like Facebook, Twitter and the iPhone
- Dig into the Developer Resources and join the Social Actions' Developers Google Group
- Vote for and share ideas for the challenge through their idea hub
Submissions for the Change the Web Challenge are open until Friday, April 3, 2009.
For more information, including judging criteria, click here.
The General Assembly gave final approval to a measure that would place a moratorium on new payday lenders and create a database of payday loans. A moratorium, for those who don’t follow a lot of political jargon, is a temporary suspension of a particular practice. The bill creates a database in Kentucky of all people with a payday loan out, including names and amounts, and until the database is operational, no new payday loan lending companies can open and begin operation. The bill also puts a $500 limit on payday loans. While this isn’t great for any prospective lenders looking to open up shop, this ^<a href=”personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/03/09/kentucky-passes-payday-loan-policies/”^>;moratorium does go a long way to ensuring responsible and safe lending in Kentucky.
posted by DandreE on 3/17/2009 1:09 am