Micro Volunteer – You are the next big thing

I am challenging you to do good in five minutes or less! Real good. Don’t tell me you don’t have five minutes. Use that “clear your head moment” at the office. That cell phone that works on the train (in a way that doesn’t annoy everyone around you). Replace that cigarette break with a more intrinsic reward (okay, maybe I am pushing it). Become a “micro-volunteer.”  When it comes to volunteerism, YOU can be the next big thing.

Micro-volunteerism is the ability to contribute small chunks of tasks or information in the service of a good cause.  Most recently, micro-volunteerism is  using cell phone apps  (the most spontaneously afforded access) but other web connections are also used.   The concept has recently gotten a fair bit of media play (see below), and perhaps its most ardent champion, promoter, facilitator (and maybe monetizer) is a group called “The Extraordinaries” which builds smartphone applications to realize micro-volunteerism’s potential.

Although the”gift” itself may take no more than five minutes, it may take a touch more than that to figure out exactly what kinds of good you want to do and to choose your favorites.

Here are just a few examples (the links go to their organizations –  apps may  might only be found here):

KaBoom! is an organization whose mission is to have “a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America.” They are mapping the country’s play spaces and “there’s an app for that”. Pass a playground. Stop. Photograph. Send it. Eureka– you are a micro-volunteer and some kids may be the better for it.

Big Cat Rescue. Anyone offer to sell you a lion or tiger lately?…or have you seen one mistreated?  Photograph.  Describe.  Send.   And you’ve done your part to help protect the species.

Smithsonian Institution or Bibliotheque Toulouse? Make your choice. Help tag their vast collections with terms and descriptions that will help us all find what we are looking for. Great for the true American patriot or the francophile looking for a treat.

If it sounds like micro-sourcing is the charmed progeny of “crowdsourcing,’ you are right.  As a popular concept and term, “crowdsourcing,” described in wikipedia as “the act of taking tasks traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, and outsourcing it to a group (crowd) of people or community,” was unveiled by Jeff Howe in Wired in 2006. The books, We are Smarter than Me,  Here Comes Everybody,  and The Wisdom of Crowds have all explored and amplified the concept. Micro-volunteerism as a practice is not that new in the cultural community. The Steve project has for several years enabled the public to tag cultural objects for museums with key terms and concepts. The Brooklyn Museum’s “Click!” project was evolutionary (revolutionary?) in the way it allowed the public to “curate” a photograph exhibition.  Last April, Dan Cohen, Director of the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University used twitter “to replicate digitally the traditional ‘author’s query,” where a scholar asks readers of a journal for assistance with a research project . However, if the word “micro-volunteerism” brings brings focus and definition to this crowdsourcing role and becomes a popular buzz word in the process, it’s purpose will have been served!

Below are some links to recent media coverage of micro-volunteerism and The Extraordinaries. I hope you will experiment with the process for yourself or even think about how your favorite non-profit organization or community group could benefit from it. Please  share your thoughts, experiences and additional resources right here.  Is this the way of the future, ready to ignite and blaze or just a fad for a few minutes of ego-gratifying distraction? Is it for you or your organization?

Mobile-volunteering puts thumbs to work for good causes – CNN

New ways to make a difference – Time Magazine

The Extraordinaries