“Care2.com
is kind of the MySpace
for adults who care about green issues,”
- Randy Paynter, its founder.
Care2.org, founded in 1998 and based in
Redwood City, Calif, is a social networking site aimed at bringing together environmentally
responsible businesses, nonprofit groups and environmentally aware consumers Care2 currently connects 23, 129, 469 activists from around the world and aims “to help people make the world a better
place by connecting them with the individuals, organizations and responsible
businesses making an impact.”
The network features are all aimed at
creating avenues for people to be empowered and to empower others. Some of
these features include member profiles and groups, where people can get to know
other activists and talk about shared passions and interests, and inspire
others to be involved in upcoming projects. Petitions are open to anyone to
create and distribute, creating a space for anyone worldwide to be involved and
have the power to change local social issues in their community. There is also “Click
and Donate Races” to generate donations to charities, Free E-Cards, blogs,
photo sharing, email newsletters and alerts, job finder, and a “Healthy living”
channel with tips on living healthier, more sustainable lives.
Over the last year or so i’ve been very
loosely connected with Care2, receiving weekly emails about Care2 news and new
online petitions, and not really interacting with the website much more than
that. Because of this previous connection I’ve decided to keep my current
account, and therefore my identity for the assignment. Social justice being
something I’m fairly passionate about as well, I thought it would be a good
opportunity to get more involved and connected with their network.
So far I’ve found that the website comes
with both freeing and constricting factors. Care2 opens up social issues to a
global audience, meaning that petitions that were previously taken around door
to door, can now be put online and responded to, and completed within hours.
However, while you can sign the petition, you are limited in your physical
involvement as many of the petitions are worldwide.
Unfortunately it seem’s that there are a
lot of social networks out there that can be disempowering, and I think these
networks are ones that are usually surrounded by self reflection ie. Facebook
and Instagram. We look at networks like these and compare our lives to those
who we think are better, and end up feeling disheartened. However the great
thing about Care2, is that seeing what other people are doing on the network is
empowering because we can be involved. Instead of being putdown, we are pulled
up and inspired by the work of others, and therefore encouraged to do the same.
The idea of Multiple truths read in Denis Wood’s ‘Seeing through Maps: Many
ways to see the world’ (2001), can be applied here in the comparison of
different social networks in the same way a cartographer creates different maps
for different purposes. Facebook has been created to show the somewhat shallow
side of ourself, whereas Care2’s purpose is to empower others through the
action being taken place by everyday people across the world.
References
Roberts, L. (2007). Spreading
Their Gospel on the Web. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/07/business/businessspecial2/07sustain.html?_r=0
Woods, D (2001). Seeing through
Maps: Many ways to see the world. Pages 1-12
Jes Meacham
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