January, 2010

Launch Pad TV, New Orleans, LA

Chris Schultz and Benjamin Reece rocking Launch Pad TV at Launch Pad.

LPTV, New Orleans, Louisiana
LPTV, New Orleans, Louisiana

I already mentioned Sloane’s dream to go to Davos; how about another couple people doing cool, meaningful, valuable things?

Kyle Berner of Feelgoodz and Benjamin Reece of Deltree recently launched a Kickstarter project called A Fair World: A Documentary For Conscious Capitalism, using flip flops to tell a story about fair trade and move people to act.

In their words:

Together, we aim to create a documentary on Fair Trade that illustrates a new way of doing business and moves you to act.

Feelgoodz flip-flops are sourced from all natural rubber from the Yang Para (“Rubber Tree”) in Southern Thailand and manufactured outside of Bangkok. I used to live and teach English in Thailand, and moved by the power of giving, created Feelgoodz to use sales of my flip-flops as a vehicle to create positive social change around the world.

Our first project, in partnership with TransFair USA, Ashoka, and Whole Foods, centers around creating a Fair Trade Rubber System for the entire country of Thailand. We want to introduce the world to our farmers and manufacturers in order to educate all about Fair Trade. We hope to create this documentary as a vehicle for human connection that impels an action to support businesses that truly care.

If that moves you, donate and support the project by clicking here. It moved me.

Supporting “Lives Too Cool to Ignore” (and Vote!)

A quick update on supporting people living “lives too cool to ignore”, focusing on Sloane Berrent‘s dream to attend Davos. Here’s your chance to help in one short minute (Click here to vote).

When I first mentioned Sloane as one of the people living a “life too cool to ignore” this past summer, it was just a simple effort to pick out a couple people that helped make my daily online life a bit better and a lot more fun, pointing out people on the web that I followed, listened to and interacted with in small ways.

I wrote it because I’m sometimes struck by the ambient intimacy we create by following people online. It’s all-too-easy to form one-sided relationships with people that play a role in our lives without interacting, without engaging with them, without reaching out, without saying hello and telling them they matter. In a world where social capital is a major driver of our daily lives, how can someone value their time and efforts and understand the impact they have on our lives if we don’t reach out and tell them?

But I digress. Here’s your chance to tell Sloane.

Sloane Berrent MySpace Journal Davos Submission

Sloane | MySpace Video

In Sloane’s words:

A political science and economic major/minor, I’ve long been a “geek” about economics. Factor in my CAUSEMOPOLITAN spirit, work in developing countries in 2009 including my Kiva Fellowship in the Philippines and now my commitment to economic development and social entrepreneurship in New Orleans and you can guess that Davos is the ultimate place I’ve always wanted to attend. And to be honest, I’ve always seen myself attending, I really believe from the bottom of my heart this is my year and I’ve never been better poised to take on this opportunity. Familiar with the global landscape, the names of major players on the international economic scene and the ability to interview, capture content and share that online – well, this is WHAT I DO. It’s me through and through, and I hope your votes, my video and my passion come through to the judges.

How can you help?

  • Click HERE to go to the MySpace.com/MySpaceJournal, make sure you’re logged in with your MySpace account, click VOTE under my name and then SUBMIT. That’s it.
  • Share with your friends: http://bit.ly/votesloane
  • Tweet it? Example: Check it out! @sloane is a finalist for the MySpace Journal competition to attend Davos, please vote for her! http://bit.ly/votesloane

And yes, it’s worth resurrecting your old MySpace account just to vote…

P.S. Let’s take the idea one step forward. Pick out one person “living a life too cool to ignore”, and tell them. Reach out to one person that you follow online everyday but have never said hello to. And share with me the results, privately or publicly. I’m sincerely interested in what happens.

 

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