activefreemedia

Crowdsourcing Archives

February 9, 2010

LoudSauce is a Changemakers WeMedia Finalist

We just found out that our social venture LoudSauce, a social way to buy ad space for your favorite causes, was selected as a finalist for Ashoka's WeMedia Changemakers Pitchit competition, which means I will be pitching on March 9-11th in Miami for a chance at $25,000 to start the social enterprise.

A little less than a year ago, during another yearly beginning of reflection, I engaged in an excercise to find a new name for the social venture I had been discussing over the past few years. In 48 hours, a group of professionals and amateurs alike suggested names for a "crowdfunded media buying service for social enterprises," and the name that emerged as the winner based on NameThis.com's algorithms, was LoudSauce (suggested by non other than a previous Nokia client and hip hop karaoke master Dan Goodall.

The excitement of the interest from friends and supporters was contagious, and we ended up applying to a few venture competitions including TechStars and Ycombinator, and found a developer in the Bay Area who was interested in joining as a co-founder. We were happily surprised to be invited by Paul Graham and the friendly Ycombinator team for a final round interview in April, which perfectly coincided with a trip back to the US from London for my 10 year Duke reunion.

After one of the most efficient 10 minutes of communication I've ever experienced, they handed us a check to cover our travel expenses, and later that night we eagerly awaited their decision. While the discussion during the interview had focused on the model - we showed an early prototype and were asked what kinds of causes would attract the most funding - the email from Paul gave us the main reason they chose not to invest.

He said they liked us and they liked our idea, but they felt that LoudSauce would be "open to criticism on the grounds that you were encouraging people to spend money on advertising instead of giving it directly to charities." He wrote that advertising is criticized heavily anyway, and that as a for profit, we could be accused of channeling dollars away from solving problems and into advertising for our own profit.

While we understood his point, we were frustrated because we hadn't discussed that during the conversation. The appropriate causes that will benefit from LoudSauce are not causes like disaster relief in Haiti, which are well publicized and well served (at least initially) by current funding channels. The right causes for LoudSauce will be those that groups of friends or networks think are under-exposed for certain target audiences (like the Atheist bus campaign in London). We're essentially developing the tool to automate what groups like MoveOn and Repower American have been using with their users already, so that the rest of us active citizens can fund ad campaigns that we think are worth focusing attention and investment towards.

For too long, many conscious people have understandably criticized advertising as largely trying to get us to buy more plastic stuff that we don't need. In many cities, some graffiti and murals seem to do a better job at providing a positive vision for communities than billboards and television. However, now it's time to leverage some of the talented designers and culture jammers of our generation, and put our money where are vision is.

Over the coming few weeks, I'll be working on my 10 minute pitch for the WeMedia PitchIt session in Miami. If you have ideas about how you think it can be the strongest, please do let me know. Thanks so much for your attention and your support.

Note: I've also posted this on the LoudSauce blog.

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January 19, 2009

48 hours + 172 Names + 1,192 votes = Next Steps

Thank you to all of those who participated in the 48 hour Namethis.com session to name a new crowdfunding social marketing venture.

With 172 names suggested and 1,192 votes cast over the 48 hour session, it was an amazing experience that put vastly more energy towards launching this venture than I could have ever put in alone.

When I first received word about the three winners, I was a little shocked (Loud Sauce and seedjar seemed completely random). But after writing some draft proposals using the name LoudSauce, and hearing back from some of you in my larger community, I am starting to seriously consider it.

Not only is it a great first story to begin a venture rooted in trust in the participation of the crowd (and a name submitted by one of my current Nokia clients), but it may be a name that designers may find interesting potential in exploring a brand identity (more on that in later emails). Let me know if you feel strongly that it works or doesn't work.

Lastly, please join me online for feedback and discussion, as I will continue posting refined versions of the vision and plan for the venture: for starters at the Global Social Benefit Incubator and the Changemakers.net Power of Us Competition.

I hope you will continue to spread the word and share your thoughts via email or the comments below. Enjoy this amazing week for the world honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the new leadership in the United States.

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January 11, 2009

Help name activefreemedia 2.0 in 48 hours

Hello and Happy 2009!

After a year of hard work that wasn't totally aligned with my personal and social mission, I am beginning an exploration to consider whether to launch a new venture in 2009.  I invite you will join me in the journey and spread the word.

The first step is to come up with a market ready name for the venture in the next 48 hours (the best 3 names win up to $44). 

Suggest a name or follow progress (4 names already) at:
http://tinyurl.com/axjnkw

Crowdfunding Marketing Service for Social & Eco Innovation


An online crowdfunding marketing service for social enterprises and green businesses.

Using their own money or credits through viewing partner ads, crowds vote with their dollars to fund strategic ads that promote products, companies, and causes that they believe in. Users collaborate to push video and banner campaigns through dynamic Ad serving networks to the front pages of major media outlets online (and eventually offline). Media is only bought if the money is raised, and users see the difference they've made through analytics, with an incentive to invest in more campaigns to help build a sustainable culture and economy.

Important themes: open innovation, crowdfunding, radical transparency, measuring social and eco progress.

Useful metaphors: (1) Youtube + Kiva + Google Adwords. (2) like CarrotMob for Advertising. (3) A MoveOn.org Ad platform for everyone.

Suggest a name or follow progress at:
http://tinyurl.com/axjnkw

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