Social Actions + Cell Alert = Social Actions Alerts
When Peter Deitz, Founder of Social Actions, approached us at last year at N2Y3 to create Social Actions Alerts, we all immediately saw the need for customizing our information overload filtering tool to help him make some sense and relevance of all the Social Actions coming from the 50+ platforms.
Social Actions Alerts
Project 1 – Social Actions Alerts (completed)
Social Actions Alerts filters and delivers your causes and interests by keyword sent direct to your email or cell phone.
For instance, if you only want to receive alerts when the keyword "education", "health care" or any cause-based keywords you want appear on Social Actions, this is the tool for you!
Social Actions Alerts filters and delivers you all keyword-relevant postings available at http://search.socialactions.com through connection to the Social Actions API
Click here to read about how Netsquared's Britt Bravo uses Social Actions Alerts!
Please click here to set your Social Actions Alert!
To co-promote with Cell Alert in the Change in Web Challenge, please email israel@cellalert.org
Social Actions Alerts Widget
Project 2 – Social Action Alerts Widget (prototype only – needs funding).
The Social Actions Alerts Widget is currently in prototype stage. We hope for it to become a multi-lingual viral widget for Cell Alert-based matching and distribution of Social Actions Alerts of all 50+ action platforms.
Social Actions Recommender System
Project 3 – Social Actions Recommender System (prototype only -- needs funding)
The main goal of a Recommender System is the management of information overload and to improve the signal-to-noise ratio.
When I use Social Actions, I feel helpless. I feel daunted when I read the huge commitment that some of the listed actions require of me. We need to be "led" toward action, not just informed. Not just "invited", but led, inspired, empowered.
You can't ultimately empower with technology. Empowerment is the realm of people alone but technology can help (when people-focused). So we would create a people- and empowerment-focused 2-tier Recommender System solution for Social Actions:
Recommender System 1
A "people-to-cause" Recommender/Empowerment System similar to the user-generated criteria- and interest-based Iams Pet matcher. http://www.iams.com/iams/pet-care/dog-breed.jsp
We would create this person-based Recommender System with a similar user criteria-matching method that Iams offers and then use our existing Cell Alert matching engine to alert users when their requirements are matched.
Recommender System 2
AÂ "people-to-people empowerment tool" Recommender/Empowerment System matching the top-10 most popular Social Actions to the top-10 Group Actions on PledgeBank.com.
We at Cell Alert believe that it's ultimately people who empower us, not technology alone. It's groups of people who inspire us, not technology apart from community. Ultimately, groups of people doing good truly move us. Community actions, we believe, are the most empowering and inspiring of all social actions.
This system would also rely on the existing Cell Alert matching engine to locate and then distribute these Group Social Action Alerts to users.
Summary
We think that the combination of Social Action Alerts and the Alerts Widget with the Social Actions Recommender/Empowerment System will result in the following:
1) An increase in the findability of useful information (via Social Actions Alerts) about social actions for users who will in turn take action. And isn't that the point of this site?
2) A net increase in social actions completed due to the synergy created through the group social actions (connected together by the Social Actions Recommender Systems)
We leave you with these poignant thoughts from "Information Wars" by Jackson Browne.
"Beyond the hundred million darkened living rooms out where the human ocean roars. Into the failing light, the generations go, heading for the information wars."
"And in the flickering light and the comforting glow. You get the world every night as a TV show. The latest spin on the shit we're in, blow by blow. And the more you watch, the less you know."
"And there's a front row seat for the precious few. The latest war as a pay-per-view. Famine and disaster right in front of you. And the more you watch the less you do."
We want to help Social Actions prevent the action paralysis that is borne of these information wars!
