A few months back I was forutnate to talk with Jacob Colker about his experience as cofounder (along with Ben Rigby) of The Extraordinaries. We talked specifically about what he had learned since bringing the idea to last year's Mashup Challenge (the project was then called Volunteer Now). The Extraordinaries, smart-phone software that makes it easier for users to volunteer ("micro-volunteerism," as I've read Jacob refer to it as) in their downtime, has gained a lot of positive attention in the past couple of months. A couple of Tuesdays from now, Jacob will be tapping into the awesome brain-trust that is the Washington, DC Net Tuesday in order to set up a conversation about future - er - extraordinary Extraordinaries-related ideas so I touched base with him again in order to catch up with where things are at.

Read the interview below and check out The Extraordinaries

So folks in DC will be able to catch up with you in the near future at the upcoming Net Tuesday?

Yeah, man. It's really exciting. Matt and Gabriela (Washington, DC Net Tuesday organizers) were really great to let us hang out with all of these great minds, so we're really looking forward to it.

The last time you and I spoke, The Extraordinaries still had a bit further to go before launching. Where are you now in that process?

We're really close to launching. It could be as early as the next two weeks, and it will definitely be within the next 100 days. We've come a long, long way and we've nailed down some awesome developers who are working on the back-end. We've been talking with some really amazing organizations, too. We've talked with MoveOn, Peace Corps Veterans, and dotSUB. People are really excited about what we're doing. I actually just got off the phone with Clay Shirky and he's really excited as well.

When did [The Extraordinaries] start getting all of this attenion?

Well, I'm a professional campaigner by trade. I've worked statewide political campaigns for better part of 6 years and getting the word out is in my blood. I can tell you that I haven't gone to bed before 2 am for last 2 months. Beyond all of the mention, we've got a combination of great folks behind us. There's Katrin Verclas, Tom Dawkins, Alan Rosenblatt, and all of these mind-blowing people who have stood by and helped us. That helps us add credibility to the idea.

Working with Ben Rigby has been an amazing experience as well. I'm lucky to have such a great mentor as a co-founder, and Ben's relationships really help move this project forward. We've got a great dynamic between the two of us. I bring many years of political campaign, volunteer management, and issue advocacy experience, and Ben brings an amazing technical background. Our partnership is a perfect fusion of grassroots tactics and cutting edge technology. Its works really well."

And it's a damn good idea. People get it and the potential is really exciting.

You participated in last year's N2Y3 Mashup Challenge. What are some of the lessons you took out of participating in that experience?

Generally, one of the things that I've picked up is that writing is really important, as in getting thoughts onto paper. This makes these concepts easier to understand for people. It takes a while to get people to understand a new way of thinking. It's a new approach - hard to get across in a couple of paragraphs. That's especially important when it comes to explaining these kinds of things to people in that sort of environment.

And one of the things that we have experienced quite generally is that volunteering is seen as a sacrifice. Our approach is to revolutionize the way people use their spare time.

Learn more:

• The Extraordinaries
• Washington, DC Net Tuesday
• Yes, We Plan: How Altruism and Advertising Could Change the World (Wired.com)