My Social Enterprise

Lightbulbs

Without really trying, I came up with an idea for a social enterprise while preparing a presentation for Urekaweekend.

Before I get to my idea, I want to give a quick plug for Urekaweekend, an idea incubation event in KL that pushes you from idea to action on an accelerated schedule. Since this month’s theme was “social enterprises”, I focused on a few interesting organizations that I learned about through Changemakers, Acumen Fund, and general research (I’ll include a list and links in my next post). Thinking about one of the companies I profiled led me to consider the sorry state of recycling in Malaysia and how a social enterprise might go about addressing it.

My idea starts with creating an app/website/mobile website. Yes, this doesn’t sound particularly innovative and it’s pretty much everyone’s answer for everything these days BUT I have a few reasons for choosing this format.

First off, there seems to be a high rate of smart phone ownership here and a very poor to non-existent recycling culture. On a personal note, the number one barrier I have to recycling in KL is a lack of information about where I can take my recycling or if there are any services I can call. As I potential recycler, I know that I would appreciate a simple site that lists/geotags locations/restaurants/businesses where I could go. To hearken back to my days doing harm reduction health outreach, one of the first steps to behavior change is exposure to accurate information. Making recycling information accessible and actionable would be one goal of the site/app, something made that much easier by the prevalence of smart phones and the likelihood that this information would be very relevant while people are out and about.

Next up, recyclers can easily broadcast when they recycle or identify/geotag a new recycling site to their friends via facebook/twitter/etc. The goal of this, in addition to sharing information, is to start creating a culture of recycling by shifting peer norms and expectations. (Another idea I owe to health outreach.) People might start thinking to themselves, “Maybe it’s more ‘normal’ to drop my recycling off on Saturday on the way to the gym instead of just dumping it in the trash.” “My friends are doing it – I want to get on this bandwagon.” Or, maybe, someone just wants to brag about how environmentally friendly they are just like people brag about all the cool places they visit using foursquare or how many miles they’ve run with Nike Running. That’s fine, too!

After some research and a weekend of geotagging with a group of friends to start populating information, the site can beta-launch. Some next steps could include:
- Personal email/social media campaigns
- Reaching out to local press
- Working with businesses that recycle to make sure they are geotagged and that they start to think about recycling as a new marketing angle
- Encouraging new businesses to start recycling as good PR/CSR
- Getting a chain store to participate for a trial period (for example, Starbucks and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf are all over the place and it could provide great publicity for them while bringing their target consumers right to their front door)
- Selling advertising space to companies that are promoting niche products like organic juice/eco-tourism trips/etc who are interested in targeting people who probably have smart phones, definitely have Internet, care about recycling, and have the time and resources to make special recycling trips or arrangements (i.e. socially conscious folks with disposable income)
- Once the demand for recycling services is established, perhaps the government or more likely private business will step in and provide more organized, more convenient services at a compelling price

The initial site infrastructure could probably be developed in a weekend since it builds on existing platforms (including Google maps and foursquare), connects to other platforms (such as facebook and twitter), and will be simple, simple, simple. Expenses are low, beta-implementation is pretty straight-forward, and it’s really a behavior change marketing campaign after the site launches. I’m hoping to get this rolling ASAP and that one of my AWESOME developer friends will be game (once he wakes up in New York and reads his email). If not, I can always tap into the talented pool of Urekaweekenders. Wish me luck!

Road Trip Recap

We’ve got a few days of relative down-time in Southern California before a quick trip to Santa Cruz and a long trip to Malaysia. I’m in a bit of a blog lull at the moment but I’m going to toss a few pictures into this post to keep the momentum kinda-sorta going.

I have a few traditional Niagara Falls pics but I liked this one the best.

Chicago rooftops

Yes, we visited a vacuum museum in Missouri

Did you know that Arkansas produces wine? A picture from a Swiss-themed winery.

Eastern Colorado

While we didn't get a chance to check out the dinosaurs in Utah, this tree reminded me of one

More Zion National Park prettiness

Yeah, that was only the first third of our crazy hike to the top of Angel's Landing

Damn, Zion was photogenic.

Just one more

Best food in town: Whiptail Grill

Snapshots from the car. Like you do. Hello, Mojave Desert.

Busy Week

While it’s been a very busy week and next week is looking even more crazed, I thought I’d take two minutes and share my latest post for the Changemakers blog.

On a different work-related note, I played around with Jing this morning and it was super fun and easy. Jing is a free application that records your computer screen and commentary, and I used it to create a quick “how-to” presentation. Now I just have to think up some non work-related activities to use it for. Sadly, the only things that come to mind are more interactive “how-to” manuals. I suppose I could create a social media guide for a future presentation but that sounds a lot like work.

Time for a random picture:

Worker on the roof of O'Hare International Airport

Blogging Round-Up

Photo from Chicago. Stopping off there again on this summer's road trip.

The Changemakers blogging fun continues with a post this week about “Resources for Changemakers” and a post last week about “Connecting with Changemakers“. After today, I just have two posts left before the end of the competition and the end of my contract.

While I feel a little obnoxious talking about a seven-week long summer vacation, that’s not enough to stop me from doing it anyway. As I mentioned in a previous post, we’ve got a few East Coast trips planned before we pack up the car and head back to California. I’m envisioning a lot of reading, running, hiking, yoga, and relaxing. And I’ll also take a United Nations Capital Development Fund Microfinance course as part of my Kiva prep. Plus, I promised to help Dan with skinning* his boat. We are going to get that thing in the water before we leave or else!

So we’ll have a few weeks of cleaning, packing, and checking things off lists followed by a few weeks of driving, camping, and visiting with friends and family. Should be a lot of fun!

*I love how skinning is one of those words that can also mean its opposite.

Plotting another road trip

Glacier National Park in Montana. Just remembered that I need to go back there.

Last summer, Dan and I quit our jobs, bought a car, and headed out west. (Well, north first and then west eventually.) After about two months on the road, we rested for a week in Southern California and then headed to South Africa for what turned out to be another two months. Back in the States, we spent a few weeks in Boston and New York and then flew to California where we thought we’d be settled for a few months before returning to New York for a job Dan had lined up for March. But in January, I landed a job based in the Northeast so we were off again, driving 3000+ miles in five days (not recommended!). This summer, we’re going to strike a balance – we’ll have about three weeks on the road before we catch our flight to Malaysia and I’m trying to figure out how we want to approach things.

I’ve got family in Chicago so we’ll definitely stop there. And we have friends in Northwestern Arkansas so even though we’d dip a little further south than planned, we might go there anyway and spend some quality time in the Ozarks. But what Dan really wants to do is check out Colorado and Utah. I have a feeling this is where we’ll spend the bulk of our time (not counting hanging out with family in the Bay Area and Santa Cruz). If you have any recommendations for things to do along the route below, let me know! (Plus, check out a few pics from last year just for fun.)

Probable road trip route for August 2010

Adam and Dan at a crappy campsite outside of Quebec City

Weird lighting in Montreal

Fun times at the Mississippi River

Homesteading: No thanks

The Badlands looking pretty badass

We crossed the border into Alberta to spend our last $10 Canadian on fries with gravy

Taking the ferry in Puget Sound. Want a cheap place to stay near Seattle? Camp on Vachon Island.

Sand dunes in Oregon

The California Coast is so damn photogenic

Catching up on podcasts

Traveling: another time I catch up on podcasts

I spent the morning catching up on my political podcasts while working on outreach. If you’ve never listened to Harry Shearer’s “Le Show”, you should definitely check it out. Not only because the podcast is one of my husband’s favorites and he’ll probably bring it up in conversation (be prepared!), but because it’s a trip to hear the voice of Mr. Burns, Smithers, and Ned Flanders (among many others) provide scathing critiques of the government, the media, and anyone else who’s done anything inane in the past week.

I’ve also been listening to The Economist‘s various podcasts, including one on technology that stated something true yet hard for me to reconcile: “the best camera is the one you have with you all the time.” When I’m traveling, my SLR hurts my shoulder and calls attention to itself so I often don’t carry it around. On the other hand, I’m confident that the pictures I take will turn out more-or-less how I intended. I should probably take a closer look at the new baby digital cameras because I never regret taking a picture but often find myself disappointed that I didn’t bring my camera along.

But let me finish up on topic. I’m also a big fan of “Slate’s Political Gabfest” and NPR’s “It’s All Politics” for my weekly political round-up. Are there any other podcasts I should be adding to my listening list?