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THREAD is a web tool that ties action to social and environmental impact through relevant content so visitors can make informed choices about their daily actions.THREAD will create an online community focused on sustainability and social responsibility from the individual viewpoint. Individual actions become part of a community network, providing a trustworthy, peer-to-peer generated forum for advice and knowledge sharing in regards to the impact of products and services. The model provided by sites such as Yelp.com proves the viability and impact of peer-to-peer reviews in influencing consumer behavior on a local level. THREAD will take this concept to the next level – a global community of engaged people providing context and guidance in the macro consumer decision-making process. Syndicated news content will be aggregated in a searchable dataset system and tagged to allow users to make connections or “Threads” to everyday actions – purchasing objects, joining groups, digesting media. Users can personalize this knowledge tree by viewing it through different filters: “gender issues”, “politics” or “business”. Connections will be recorded along a timeline so users can see when different actions/objects were connected and the sequence in which connections were made. Although various sites attempt to provide guidance on spending decisions, they focus on niche areas vs. a more holistic view of the multi-facets that comprise any product on the market. By incorporating user preferences based on a variety of factors (including labor practices, corporate responsibility, human rights, environmental impacts, health, etc.) THREAD creates a centralized site where people can go to find information on socially-conscious living. Mobile technology will allow the content to be accessed anywhere, anytime. In revealing the complicated web of interconnections between products, choices, and sustainability from a consumer perspective, THREAD will revolutionize the process for consumer decision making.
Information in this consumer mashup will be aggregated and catalogued from a variety of sources – news organizations, consumer groups, environmental groups, corporations, research organizations, and user inputs/reviews. Combining the information provided by a range of sources will provide a concise, holistic view of specific product types, and allow for driving deeper to specific brand names and corporations. Search capabilities will allow sorting by product type, corporation, issue, brand name, and geography – providing people with a complete picture of the social impacts of various products, companies, and/or actions. Peer-to-peer interactions will enhance the factual data with opinion based ratings of products, services, actions, and companies. Users will be encouraged to provide links to information not captured by other sources – their personal knowledge and reach becomes a component of the overall mashup.
As an established non-profit online social network for youth activists YouthNoise is well positioned to develop this project. Our audience is eager to see informative news delivered in an innovative, relevant way. Our global reach and our ability to highlight local actions create a unique opportunity to build vibrant content that will resonate with people of all backgrounds while building lines of communication and understanding between them. THREAD will enhance our current content offerings with information that will aid in breaking down an increasingly complex world and creating visually stimulating connections between common actions and the multi-pronged consequences of these actions.
We need technical help in developing this concept to its fullest potential. We also need funding to make this idea a reality – our estimated budget is approximately $1.5 million.
Here are a few to begin: