Confidence in numbers

Here's a brilliant new website, pledgebank.  The idea's simple. Make a pledge, any pledge, conditional on a number of other people joining in.

Pledges can be symmetrical (everyone does the same thing)...

    "I will march on the White House in protest at X, if 1,000 people will join me."

    "I will paint my car bright yellow, if 200 people in my city will pledge the same."

...or a-symmetrical (you offer more than you ask from others.)

    "I will take $100,000 worth of sleeping bags to Pakistani earthquake victims if 5 people will join me to help distribute them..."

    "I will host free pizza at 10pm on my street, if a minimum of 30 people pledge to show up."

You gotta love it when the Net creates the possibility of social interactions that can never have taken place before in history. Sites like this have the potential to create virtual communities that don't just gossip online... they act. We're just scratching the surface of what's possible. 

This site has been built on a shoestring with massive help from volunteers. It was launched in the UK a couple months ago, and is only now starting to roll out in the US. (Their US user registration is currently structured by county, so it recognizes 'Manhattan' not 'New York'. They're looking for someone to contribute a zip-code based database.)

I contacted Tom Steinberg, founder of Pledgebank, yesterday, and he said they currently have about 20,000 people signed up.  In order for it to really take off in the US, he says it needs someone to come up with an eyepopping pledge that creates some buzz...   Ideas, anyone? 

I pledge to give $1000 to the person with the best eyepopping pledge idea offered here by the end of October, provided more than 5 people contribute an idea.

I'm serious. This thing's worth supporting.

Comments

[Cameron Sinclair]

Chris,
I'm going to pitch this to all my in-house volunteers today. We'll try and get something up by 'elevenizes' (our mid-morning brain dump).

Cheers, Cameron

[Cameron Sinclair]

Chris,
I'm going to pitch this to all my in-house volunteers today. We'll try and get something up by 'elevenizes' (our mid-morning brain dump).

Cheers, Cameron

[Zhang]

It's a lovely and great idea.
I will tell everyone I know, :)

[Deborah Elizabeth Finn]

What a terrific idea!

Best regards from Deborah

Deborah Elizabeth Finn
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
http://blog.deborah.elizabeth.finn.com/blog
http://public.xdi.org/=deborah.elizabeth.finn

[Tom Steinberg]

Wow - Chris, what a lovely surprise!

Let me be more useful and less effusive by sharing some of our learning about successful pledges:

1 - Real problems that can't be fixed without groups of people getting involved are better then general emotional support.

2 - PledgeBank has proven itself useful at getting people do to things that are a bit harder, more timeconsuming or generally difficult than usual volunteerism. Think about things that match that description.

3 - Think about pledges where a big organisation says "We'll do something but only if lots of people will do something".

4 - How will your pledge spread? PledgeBank is only 3 months old, has never been offically launched in the US, and so doesn't have eBay style torrents of visitors who'll just happen to see your pledge: how will your idea piggyback on online or offline networks of people or media?

just some things to go on!

Tom (mySociety Director)

[Cookie]

I pledge to sleep with a thousand women, as long as they're not mingers and they ask me.

[nmw]

I will provide a text link (max 80 chars) on the homepage of a generic domain of your choice if two others will subscribe for a "sposored" link for $50 per year (each).

The "choice" works like this:

1. you describe your request

2. I offer you 10 domains from my portfolio (it's rather large) that I feel would suit your needs best

3. you choose the domain

Note that this pledge is limited only to the "availability" of domain names (no more than three external links per page will be accepted).

[Chris Anderson]

Hmmm.... so far my eyes remain unpopped. I forgot to say that the idea should be posted here to count. If you've emailed one to me, please repost here... Thanks to those spreading the meme.

[Drew Adam Schnierow]

An eyepopping idea for this forum to get the name out needs to be simple, yet extremely proactive. Something a huge number of people will actually do, and then by word of mouth spread this brilliant website to others, creating enough buzz for media interest.

Here's a few ideas:

I pledge to give blood this month if 10,000 people do the same.

I pledge to be consciously positive with everyone I interact with next Monday if 5000 people do the same.

I pledge to share with people that the first step of being wise is appreciation if 2500 people do the same.

[Thayne Muller]

OK Chris:

I pledge to see your $1000 and raise you $5000 more that I will donate to American Red Cross Katrina Relief Efforts IF...

You and at least five other media mavens will help propagate, via Pledgebank and your resources, the Gulf State Quarter “Donate and Recirculate” fundraising strategy, details to follow.

It’s a plan to help the ARC pay off the $1 billion of debt it’s incurred over the summer, but it’ll take a nation-wide grassroots campaign, through a whole lot of PR, to do it. I’ve started with a national radio blurb and I’m working political contacts, but I need more. Please take a minute to read the following and let me know. Thanks!

Ducimus, Thayne Muller, '02, '04

The need for further funding is huge--HUGE. This is from the Red Cross's website Sept. 23:
"The Red Cross has projected at least a $2 billion tab to cover the response to Hurricane Katrina, and untold additional expenses for Hurricane Rita. So far the organization has raised nearly $854 million, and already spent or committed $700 million for Katrina relief.
"We have a long way to go in our fundraising to meet the needs of people from Katrina, let alone what we need to do for the people of Rita," said Joe Becker, senior vice president of preparedness and response with the Red Cross. "As fast as the money is coming in, we are spending it."
--"Red Cross Needs Public Support for Ongoing Hurricane Relief Efforts." http://www.redcross.org/article/0,1072,0_312_4658,00.html

What's worse, we're approaching a crisis in giving: the flow is drying up. The Google citation list for "donor fatigue" is mushrooming, and the piece about this from the Chronicle of Philanthropy is getting more press. After doing so much in a big push for Katrina, people across this country are exhausted. Worn out. Stopped. With one catastrophe after another, it's understandable.

You know the phenomenon of "yo-yo dieting"? We now face the problem of "yo-yo giving"--giving only when there's a crisis, then collapsing later.

"Yo-yo giving" isn't near enough get the Red Cross, or the country, out from this disaster. The debt the RC has amassed could cripple it for years.

That's why this idea, this gimmick, this concept, squarely addresses the problem of "yo-yo giving". It gives us something positive we can do, something that's easy to remember, easy to act on, and won't reach too "prohibitively" deep into our pockets.

Like a good diet plan, it's not telling you to go to the gym for an hour every day, or eat nothing but celery. It's asking you for something simple, (something attainable!), like cutting out French fries, or taking the stairs; just adopting one easy, healthy habit. No excuses not to try it.

What's a small thing we all can do, that will lend itself to sticking in our minds over the coming months--years, even? Since we're talking about money, is there something about cash itself that we can tweak into becoming a simple, steady reminder for us to give?

What about those state quarters--the ones from the affected areas, the Gulf States? Would they "amount" to anything? Are there enough of them to make a difference?

That's when I looked on the US mint website, and was amazed by the numbers:

754,204,000 Louisiana quarters. 579,600,000 Mississippi quarters. Over 400 million Alabama and Florida quarters, and over 500 million Texas quarters. [Source: The 50 State Quarters Program of the United States Mint] http://usmint.gov/mint_programs/50sq_program/index.cfm?flash=yes&action=schedule

Add it all up, and there are over 2.8 billion Gulf State Quarters in circulation.

OK, say we launch an awareness campaign asking people to keep an eye out for these quarters, and if they happen to have one, put it toward the Red Cross ... or if they don't, please pass along this idea to someone else.

If only one quarter in ten-no, let's say one quarter out of every 100 gets donated--that's still over $7 million.

Now, think like an economist--that is, remember that money is different from currency. (All currency really does is represent money.) We don't want the Red Cross to get mountains of quarters, just the money!

So here's the BIG idea: If these quarters get actively recirculated, you get a steady stream of money going to the Red Cross--potentially millions EVERY DAY. (Assuming you get at least that one quarter out of 100 donated every 24 hours.)

In other words, don't let these quarters pile up in tills and jars! They need to be donated, counted quickly and a check cut, and then they're released back into the system to be donated again, and again, and again...! Only when they're out in society and moving, can they generate the millions --MILLIONS!-- needed to pay off the hurricane!

The tagline: Gulf State Quarter? Donate, then recirculate.

Got a Gulf State Quarter in your hand today, next week, next year? Think Red Cross-or your favorite trusted charity. Donate, then recirculate...and donate, then recirculate, and donate, then recirculate..

Get it? That's all it takes.

But the hard part is this has to go national. One local group can raise a decent amount through this gimmick, but since these quarters are spread out across the country, that's where the message needs to go ... and only then do we have a chance of hitting these HUGE amounts of dollars possible.

The word to get out to America is that we (ALL OF US!!!!!) have got the power to pay down this --any-- disaster. A quarter in your hand is 25 cents. But all --ALL-- of us funneling them toward the Red Cross adds up to millions of dollars ... and food, water, shelter, and assistance for those in need.

Imagine a Red Cross that can not only pay for emergencies as they happen, but can seriously stockpile goods and material in threatened areas--AND have the well-paid professionals, the best they can hire, they need to manage it all. (Forecasters keep on telling us we're in for stronger storms.) Imagine a country where non-governmental organizations are so well funded that Washington can step back-seriously step waaaaaaaay back. Imagine programs that educate our children in safety, preparedness, and-most important of all-service.

Imagine us being completely ready for any catastrophe, natural or--God forbid--man-made. Yes, you know what I'm talking about.

That's what a steady stream of millions of dollars in quarters can do.

You and I will never miss that couple of coins-after all, it's not about giving all the change in your pocket.

It's about an attitude of constant mindfulness, constant caring. That's what linking Gulf State Quarters to the Red Cross can do. THAT is what will build this country back up now, and secure it for generations.

[Stacy Jo McDermott, SF, CA]

That Gulf State Quarter idea is brill! In fact, I'm going through my wallet now to find Gulf State Quarters to contribute more.

LOVE! $tacy

[Robert Tolmach]

I pledge to send an email recommending PledgeBank to 100 people I know, but only if 1,000 others do the same.

[Robert Tolmach]

I pledge that instead of buying my friends and family gifts they don’t really need or want, I will show my love by making charitable donations to make the world a better place, in their names. But only if 1,000 other people pledge to do the same.

[Sarah McCue]

I just had my afternoon java and am now well-caffeinated to challenge someone from this group to donate the creation of a free TED e-mail portal for kids. Every time a kid checks his or her TEDMail (TeddyMail?), they will be exposed to information about the world and encouraged to act to make a difference in the lives of others. They can also be encouraged to have their parents, grandparents, and teachers to make action pledges.

If someone creates the free e-mail portal for TED, I pledge to donate over 5000 e-mail addresses to TED which include most major media. If TED decides not to to create it, I still pledge to give you my e-m addresses.

I also encourage TED to put its logo on 100 websites including the "Big Ten" sites to raise significant awareness of the TED Pledge (e.g., Google, Yahoo, CNN, eBay, Hotmail, and other global non-US-based websites), and to apply for a Google Adword grant. We received one and receive literally tens of thousands of hits to our site every day.

With great respect and admiration from

Sarah McCue

Founder, Women with 2020 Vision - to educate 50,000 girls in developing countries on entrepreneurship so that they might start businesses in 2020

Founder, The Remembering Site - to allow anyone, anywhere to create their online autobiography so that we might learn life's lessons from each other

Former head of UNDP's Technology for Development practice and currently with the World Bank

[Amias Channer]

I pledge not to vote for one of two main political parties in the next election in my country and to try one of the other alternative parties if 1 million people from my country pledge to do the same.

[Steve Brant]

If 1,000 people will give me $1,000 each, I pledge to get a feature length movie of the life of inventor/philosopher Buckminster Fuller made. This film would portray Bucky's story in a way that would inspire people throughout the world to work on moving our global culture from the paradigm of scarcity (which, if you go deep enough, you see is the root cause of war) to the paradigm of sufficiency trending towards abundance. It would also inspire people to recognize that the answer to the question "What is the answer to the search for the unified field theory...the field that binds all life together?" is "Love." (Bucky said this was the answer to that question at a special meeting I attended in NYC in 1983.) It turns out The Beatles were right. "All you need is love." ;-)

I am currently in preliminary talks with a very well established producer/writer about this project. This person has worked with Robin Williams on a previous project. Robin, I believe, would be the perfect choice to play Bucky. I also know the Fuller family and the president of the Buckminster Fuller Institute. This money would give the production the seed money it needs to move beyond the talking stage.

[Ben Slade]

Has anyone thought about taking this idea into the political arena?

I'm thinking about a group of people pledging donations towards a political campaign in support of a specific issue.

Ben in DC
PublicMailbox at BenSlade dot com

[Alexander Korte]

Sarah mentioned Adwords.
And got my brainjuices running:

We all have a couple of free Adwords bucks left on our Google AdWords Accounts.
I pledge to give 10$ in Google Adwords if 1000 people do the same to promote either the Red Cross "quarter"-idea or the pledgebank idea.

We just need some guy who is used to write good/converting ads.

Alexander Korte
(P.S. I have to check wether a transfer from an adwords account is possible or not)

P.S.: Is there the possibility to a build in "double my contribution" when the people who pledge with me double too?

[Martin Ludvigsen]

Use brain not money

Sometimes this TED-community gets a little on my nerves. It seems that it’s a rich mans club where people can battle in donating money, and I just cannot follow in that trend. Being a PhD-student of design in Denmark I definitely belong to the richest part of the worlds population, but still I cannot donate 5000$ to anyone currently. And I am not saying this in order to get people to stop donating, but just saying that money is only money, and the scale of problems we are discussing here needs to be fixed on a different level, as I see it.

So I pledge to write a letter to the opinion pages of New York Times and Washington post asking for a raise in the taxes on gasoline and SUVs in USA, as I think this could start to solve a big problem in the world today. In the US the total import of oil from OPEC countries could be avoided if only Americans would drive cars with the same mileage as the average European cars. This would then balance the US economy and hinder further oil wars. Both of which could help the overall situation in the Middle East, and the animosity towards western interference and western wealth in these countries. Last link in the chain would then be that the current terrorist regimes and free-roaming fundamentalist terrorists would loose their popularity grip with the population in the Muslim countries and this could then end the regime of terror, angst and mistrust that is clouding the world today.

This I think is at the very base of the problems in the world – fear.

[mikey]

I pledge to smile at 10 strangers a day for a month... if a million other people will do the same.
happiness month.
pass it on :)

[Josh Cuppett]

I will quit my job and found a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization targeted at bringing down big-oil’s dominance and ending the 2-party system in America, but only if 20,000 people pledge to give a $10 tax-deductible donation once it’s established. Full disclosure of the immediate (well worked out) plan will be provided before donations are solicited. Think Super Size Me... only bigger...

[Josh Cuppett]

It's live at the link below if you want to sign it...

http://www.pledgebank.com/renmenven

[barak kassar]

I Pledge to Flip the Fifth (of the 10 commandments) to say "Honor your Children" instead of "Honor your Father and Mother"

why?... parents have an almost infinite range of options to get honor and respect....and it's young kids who really need it, yet don't have the resources

and besides.. if you really want to be respected... the best way is to respect the one you hope will respect you.

so...THE GOAL is to make 2/5 (of next year) international Flip the Fifth Day.

I WILL PLEDGE $500 (2 times) to a worthy kid's advocacy organization (open to suggestions) if 500 people do the following five things on that day.

1. when you're with kids, really be with them. put the blackberry away for a while

2. don't make them look up at you... get down at their level, physically.

3. don't force them to do anything on that day... you don't have to give in... but negotiate for your way as you would with someone with equal power to you

4. read them a book that you both like... and get really into it

5. mail (or SMS) this list to five more people along with a link to pledgebank.com

respect means putting real energy into understanding kids on their terms? not projecting your will and desires onto them. it doesn't mean giving in to every whim and wish... but it does mean listening and negotiating as equals, hard as that can be.

2/5 is of course 5/2 in the UK, so it'll work there too...this webfont won't show it, but the 2 and 5 could be flipped images of one another making for a nice little logo (this being TED and all)

Flip-the-Fifth

[Ed Brenegar]

I think the pledge idea is a great one. Period.
However, the character of the pledge needs to be considered.
Read through many of the pledges here, and at the Pledgebank site, and what I find are people who pledging to do things that they should do anyway, whether 10 or 100 people do the same thing. If you have enough perspective to make a pledge that is clearly in your own and others' best interest, and you won't do it unless a certain number of people do it, then you've got the spirit of the pledge wrong. The spirit of the pledge is to build on what you are willing to do anyway, but to restructure it so that its impact is enhanced. The real spirit of the pledge is the sacrifice that a pledger is willing to make if a group does a specific thing.
For example, here's my eye-popping pledge: I'll give up a work week a month for six months to go to the Gulf States and work at my cost to help communities recover from Hurricane Katrina, if 10 people are willing to join me. Wait, I've already made that commitment. Ok. Let's up the ante. Make it more eye-popping.
I'll give one day of free strategic planning consultation services to the first 10 non-profit organizations and 10 churches along the Gulf Coast of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana that pledge to send a recovery team or support in some substantial way the recovery efforts in a community impacted by a natural disaster during 2006. I've already committed to giving my time and expertise to help. What I want to do is see if my investment of time can grow by the investment of other's time and resources. In essence, I'm turning my pledge into a bidding process. The first 20 bids get me for a day.
I believe the key to this pledge idea is not the "if...then" equation. Rather, it is the benefit that comes when the exchange is actually between the people making the pledge - "If you do this for me, I'll do that for you." And when that exchange helps someone else, it is even better. This lets the pledging build genuine community, instead of something that is merely clever.

[Amanda's Charities, LLC]

Good morning Chris Anderson:

Today is October 26, 2005. I just received a link to this site from Don Withrow from DWCllcsolutions.com and boy, am I grateful.

With your $1000 pledge, I, in turn, pledge to share my wisdom and many years of experience in recycling into a productive, hands-on instructional class for art teachers.

In my experience, I have learned that the act of charity takes many forms. Cash, generally being the most favored form of charity, is indeed wonderful to the recipient, but it serves a limited, finite purpose.

A slightly better form of charity, in my experience, has been to donate physical, in-kind items to individuals and groups who sincerely need them and will use them in good ways.

By donating items to individuals and groups, my company, Amanda's Charities, LLC has provided multiple benefits to the environment as well as the recipient.

(A) by retrieving items from the garbage, hence, saving them from the landfill, I have succeeded in making the earth a tiny bit more earth-friendly.

(B) by donating items to appreciative recipients, I have eliminated their need to purchase items out-of-pocket, thereby saving them some money, even if it's as little as $20.00.

While I have had great success in donating physical, in-kind items to individuals and groups, I feel like there is something still missing from my charity equation - instruction.

I feel that I could successfully incorporate active, hands-on instruction to teach people exactly HOW to use the materials that I routinely save in creative and artistic ways.

The problem, as I have discovered, is not the items themselves, because I take the time to painstakingly clean, organize, sort, and label everything I donate. The real culprit of misunderstanding is in not knowing HOW to use the items or perhaps not understanding their utility.

As the saying goes: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

Your pledge of $1000.00, Mr. Chris Anderson, will guarantee not only that I can provide a good, solid set of materials with which to provide creative instruction to art teachers in the D.C. metropolitan area, but it will also help me expand my teachings to many, many more art teachers throughout the U.S.

With the help of a local videographer, I feel confident that I can taperecord a visual and audio set of instructions that will ultimately help many more art teachers.

Feel free to phone me for more information on this idea or if you'd like to stop by and visit my home office.

Amanda's Charities, LLC is a one-person endeavor run by me, Amanda M. Socci, out of my private home in Alexandria, Virginia.

I have converted my home into an actual warehouse that stores hundreds of rescued items - all for the sake of saving the earth (one tiny piece at a time) and donating items to art teachers, daycare centers, K - 12 arts and crafts programs, and even to independent DIY crafters who always need raw supplies.

Thank you for this generous opportunity.

Amanda M. Socci, Creative Director
Amanda's Charities, LLC
P.O. Box 8081
Alexandria, VA 22306
office: (703) 780 - 5754
cell: (202) 320-1831
web: http://www.AmandasCharities.com