Reputation Systems for Good Causes
Recently, Facebook profiles have been awash with cartoon character avatars - designed to raise awareness of the NSPCC (a UK-based children’s charity).
Although apparently nothing to do with the NSPCC officially (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1336035/Facebook-cartoon-character-campaign-NSPCC-charity-says.html) the online campaign has polarised many Facebook users, with many changing their avatars in support and many more refusing to do so.
My take on the whole event tends to follow the latter opinion, and more generally, the opinion of Malcolm Gladwell on social network ‘revolutions’ (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/04/101004fa_fact_gladwell). In the case of the NSPCC campaign, what ‘social effect’ does simply changing one’s avatar actually have? I’d argue ‘none’ other than to promote a Facebook meme. More disturbingly, I believe that most people who’ve changed their avatar actually believe (to some degree) that they’ve made a change.
Just like puffing on a placebo nicotine inhaler gives the ex-smoker the illusion of smoking, so too does a charity avatar change (be it a children’s cartoon, a green Twitter icon for an Iranian election or a poppy icon during Remembrance week) give the social networker a ‘charity placebo’ effect. The feeling of ‘doing something good’ is provided by making a change to a profile setting and the middle-class pang of guilt is temporarily appeased.
Real change, particularly change that worthwhile charities attempt to deliver requires real donations from people who are influential within their networks.
Isn’t it about time that charity sites such as Justgiving.com tapped into this general intention to do good that expresses itself through customised avatars?
How about JustGiving taking micropayments through Facebook and Twitter and giving those donators the capability to update their profiles/avatars in a unique way, specific to the cause? The nearest analogy I could think of is military ribbons - awarded to combatants who participated in key events during a campaign.
How about a micropayment donation that automatically triggers an updated (time-limited) avatar ribbon to be displayed on the user’s social network homepage? Heck, how about adding a medal cabinet to a user’s facebook profile containing ribbons for all the good causes that have been supported?
Not only can social networks show off their ‘limited edition’ pins and ribbons in this way, but charities genuinely get the chance to leverage the generosity of competitive donators.
Could this be implemented using Facebook credits? Micropayment systems such as Flattr.com? Farmville coins? Or is there another way?
