Code. Design. Explore.

A big thank you!

It came as quite a shock. I suppose there was no better channel for finding out than twitter — the same service that gave me the opportunity in the first place. Twitter connected me with great social entrepreneurs such as @christineegger, @peterdeitz and @engagejoe who introduced me to the Change the Web Challenge in the first place. Read the rest of this entry »

What I built

A few weeks ago I embarked on a challenge to build a web application that uses data from a variety of volunteer services (like Kiva.org, VolunteerMatch, GlobalGiving, etc.).

People are volunteering, donating, signing petitions, making loans and doing other social actions as we speak — all over the world.  My goal was to display this information in such a way that would nudge people to take action immediately.  It is quite powerful to see someone taking action in your neighborhood right now!  Or perhaps your heart lies in Ghana?  You can see actions, like petitions, donations, and new small businesses asking for small loans in Ghana at this very second.

See the application yourself

Read the rest of this entry »

This project was born out of an incredible, passionate desire to do my part and add some positive energy to the world. Living in America, we have a President that many believe will bring the positive change we all want to see. While I hope this is true, it is not solely up to the government. The greatest outcome happens in any system when all the parts are working towards the same goal.  We can’t continue our behavior by ignoring the problems in this world, many of which we have created ourselves, and assume someone else will fix them.

As I exposed myself to more information, shock than discomfort settled in. I couldn’t understand how our values are so deeply rooted in consumerism and our desire to have the best this or the newest that. Sure that is what drives our economy, but what happened to being rooted in connection-ism?  I decided to try to affect change the best way I knew how. Being a software developer I have some skill in developing web applications. I decided to spend an intense 48 hours cranking out code. When the dust settled I got imdoingmypart.org. I can’t say I hit the mark, but its a start.

As I dug deeper into this space I came across several other people doing wonderful things. There is a major effort under way to create positive change in this world. It may be somewhat disconnected, but that may be okay as everyone goes about it in the way they know how. I hope in the coming months we can help each other to further grow. Anyone that believes there efforts are inline with the efforts here, please don’t hesitate to contact me! I would love to integrate what I’m doing here with yours!

I really would love to hear what you think of my latest project… please comment below!

48 hours of development
12 hours of design
20 hours gathering content
Hoping to create positive change… priceless.

check it out:
im doing my part .org