Microfinance is a multi-billion dollar industry with a rich history for supporting entrepreneurship and its endeavor to end global poverty. In recent years, we have witnessed the rise of crowdfunding, an industry devoted to supporting entrepreneurship by making capital easier to access through social media and web-based platforms. Like microfinance, crowdfunding ultimately serves as an alternative to traditional investment mechanisms like banks or venture capital. As both industries are inherently synergistic, I believe crowdfunding can channel its innovative funding mechanisms into the model of microfinance, ultimately benefitting the worlds poor in a more efficient and accessible manner.
Social, In Theory
As you know, my work with Lindy is all about helping organizations build the long term capacity for the work of social media management. We've seen substantive changes in how organizations are thinking about and implementing social media in the last few years, and I see some very important trends coming down the pike.
Vineet Nayar is the CEO of HCL Technologies, a large company in India. He talks about trusting his younger employees, and really giving them responsibility. But here's the rub: he doesn't have a choice. Nearly half of India's population is under the age of 25.
This is a guest post from Dan Marom, co-author of The Crowdfunding Revolution. In this series of posts about social media books, I invite the author to share something about themselves and why they wrote the book, and what in the book might be of particular interest to association or nonprofit audiences.
"This week the Supreme Court is considering a case about the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and legal protections granted to same-sex couples in states where gay marriage is now legally recognized. This is a watershed moment in US cultural history and internet activists are doing their part to make a collective statement."
"...Buzzwords have long been on my hit-list and I have found little use for them beyond giving me something to rail against, aligning myself directly opposite of them. Words like "engagement", "transparency" and "viral" have been cringe-inducing conversational throwaways - that do more harm to our industry than good, in my opinion. With that brief look into my past relationship with social media buzzwords, let me tell you about my recent begrudging acceptance of them as a source of professional value."
