A new Faceboook-style website is linking social entrepreneurs,
community organisations and philanthropic freelancers who all want to
change the world for the better.
Users of UnLtdWorld
can search and share resources with each other, find socially-minded
groups in their neighbourhood and crowdsource people for their own
projects.
A spokesperson told FreelanceUK their idea was to take the best bits of
social networking sites, like Facebook, and develop them for people who
want to make a positive social impact.
To this end, users can post ideas on a comment ‘wall’, contribute to a
shout box – a mini blog on social enterprise, share their project
photos and, like Delicious, tag the content they post.
From their own personal profile page, users can also spell out the
social projects they are interested in, the projects they have live, as
well as join groups or Q&As on social business.
“While mainstream social networks boast millions of members, there is
often a lack in the relevance of connections and content that is
established, or can be forged beyond circles of acquaintances,” the
site said.
“UnLtdWorld is a community for social entrepreneurs, socially-minded
people and socially-driven organisations that invest their efforts in
changing the world for the better.”
But the site is much more than just an online network for social
enterprise: it also acts as a near real-time indicator of where social
projects are located, their industry and their demographics.
At the time of writing, the site’s research lab shows social projects
through technology or the internet were the most popular, accounting
for almost a quarter of all members’ projects.
Environmental initiatives were a distant yet telling second, making
them more popular than projects on social inclusion, education, health,
housing, sports and criminal justice.
The breakdown of members’ social projects, which is available to the
public, shows that the creative industries are a significant force when
it comes to social enterprise.
Media projects, for example, are being pursued by more people than
projects focusing on health, welfare, trade and international
relations.
Arts and Cultural projects are slightly less popular, but are also
getting more investment than initiatives on transport, employment and
urban or rural regeneration.
“The value in making the information available is all about access to
social insight, and is multi-fold,” said UnLtdWorld spokeswoman Rachel
Slade.
“It ranges from a general public better engaging with their local
community to informing research, from supporting a social
entrepreneur’s market research to helping organisations working in the
sector to better target their areas of operation and intervention.
“For example it’s extremely valuable for an agency to know that in a
specific area recycling is a key issue and which services are
available, or lacking, when it comes addressing that issue.”
Successful projects enabled by the site include a group of Scottish
entrepreneurs who arranged regularly meet-ups with UK magazines devoted
to their cause.
A group of architecture students from Sheffield uploaded and shared
project ideas, to then engage with partners, financers and freelancers
to enable project start-up.
Meanwhile, early and pre-stage start-ups have found volunteers for
their projects, while existing non-employers have sourced personnel,
like a designer, a PR expert or lawyer, at affordable prices.
“One of our key tools is the Neighbourhoods function that connects
members together if they share similar interests or locations,” Ms
Slade added.
“This is the key…; as unlike other social networks that connect you
with the people you already know, UnLtdWorld connects you with the
people you need to know.”
Mar 28, 2008
Email this article
Printer friendly page
Previous Page
