The 21st Century World

Question #2

In general, I think this type of activism is both effective and an improvement over activism of the past as long as these advocacy groups behave professionally and do not stand in the way of business, but rather help improve the image and social responsibility of the companies. The example Friedman gives of TXU Corp., the Texas power company, is an instance in which I think this new type of social activism in counterproductive. TXU provides power, and therefore, to expand their business, they must build new power plants. Instead of protesting the companies planned plant construction, these activists should have pressured the company to build more efficient, environmentally friendly plants. If they have a problem with TXU’s core business plan/method, they should instead petition the government to restrict plant construction. I do agree, however, with the use of this new activism to pressure companies into conducting business in a moral fashion. Because of modern technology and the internet, companies can no longer conceal the darker sides of their businesses. Ultimately, these groups force companies to look at themselves and change facets of their businesses which, if known, would likely disturb a large portion of the public.

If I were to be a social entrepreneur/activist, I would create a campaign around packaging materials and lobby companies to decrease waste in that manner. I would use the internet, as the chapter suggests, to go global. I would blog, e-mail, and publicize my quest to decrease the amount the packaging materials necessary to advertise a product. I would create an e-newsletter about the subject to send out to supporters. The best thing about this campaign is it also uses no physical products for advertising or marketing, its all paperless, plasticless, rubberless, i.e. wasteless, therefore making a bigger impact on the people.

Question 1:

If I were a social entrepeneur-activist I would attempt to go to a country and would help people by using low tech ways of creating wealth for themselves and others. After a period of time this company would be able to stand on its own and would hopefully prosper in its new environment. This would in turn also help me by making money for me as well as helping other people.

if i were a social entrepreneur-activist i would change several different things. FIrst, i would chnage the social realtionships of society today, i would then change social behavior to make evryone like eachother, and then i would change the social structers of every country. I would make everyone come and sit at a tabe and i would have a plan layed out for everyone to agree to and we wouldnt leave the table untill evryone agreed.

Question 2

I really like Friedman’s views of how to help the poor in under developed countries. I really like the fact that this method is a combination of the two political party views in America. It is both realizing that without help the poor will get no where, and that if you let the poor do something for themselves, it is much better in the long run. Personally I think that a lot of what is currently holding the world together is the idea of expectant capitalism; the idea that you could be the next Bill Gates, or even just the next person to make it to more than $400 per year salary. The business aspect is a good way to look at it, and I also like the part about helping the middle class. While it is more important to get the people in horrible conditions into reasonable ones, it is also necessary to help middle classes in developing countries, so that they can also help the poor. The U.S. is build on large businesses, so for developing countries to start having their own businesses of a fair size would be very economically and socially beneficial.

1. The best way to make an impact is to build an army; history has taught me that. From the dawn of civilization, the best way to achieve a desired result was to build the number of people who agreed with you, and the combined effort of many voices, or weapons, would be more likely to meet with success. In the situation that Friedman outlines, the internet would be my means of communication with people who held similar beliefs. Posting a blog or a video and broadcasting it guarantees viewers and readers, and if they agree strongly they will more than likely pass it on to someone else who believes in the cause. Before long a chain of people wanting to help will develop, depending on the cause, of course, and there we have an army. Friedman’s description of Muhammad Yunus was definitely a good example of such a person, though money was involved. By opening doors and creating opportunities for people to succeed, you greatly improve the quality of life for many, and by word of mouth or other mediums, word will spread of this innovative place where help is available. This worked well for Muhammad, who has a Nobel Prize to show for his efforts, and can be seen as a lesson for those wishing to make an impact on the people of the world.

Question #2

The Internet today is filled with way too much junk. I believe that social entrepreneur-activism is to blame for the myriad of sites containing essentially nothing. I think that social entrepreneur-activism is desirable to a certain extent but there is definitely a point when it doesn’t matter how much you care about a decrease in the domestic cat population, no one else does, and it doesn't need its own site. Social activism is a great idea up until that point however and I think it's a good thing that people are concerned, I just feel that there should be some major consolidation to free up Internet clutter.

Question #2

The Internet today is filled with way too much junk. I believe that social entrepreneur-activism is to blame for the myriad of sites containing essentially nothing. I think that social entrepreneur-activism is desirable to a certain extent but there is definitely a point when it doesn’t matter how much you care about a decrease in the domestic cat population, no one else does, and it doesn't need its own site. Social activism is a great idea up until that point however and I think it's a good thing that people are concerned, I just feel that there should be some major consolidation to free up Internet clutter.

1. I would put stuff on the internet that would draw people's attention towards that company's bad behavior in order to try and change its policies. I would do this because the company was being unfair towards a group of citizens and someone needs to stand up for them. I think the internet is the best way to do this because it gets people's attention the fastest and it is the easiest way to get a campaign going against a certain company and see fast results.

1. If I were a social entrepreneur activist, I would encourage people to use (let alone build) more public transportation or at least buy more fuel-efficient cars. Since this seems to be the 'Facebook generation', Facebook would be a good way to start. I could make a cause, group or event suggesting my ideas and posting stats on the carbon emissions from vehicles in America. If I stayed in Minnesota, I could form an activist group and negotiate with 3M and Cargill about cutting down their emissions as well.

1.

If I were a scoial entrepreneur-activist i would start a foundation that would raise money to buy equipment and volenteers to destroy landmands remaining in areas where there used to be wars but there is no longer. We would need to raise a lot of money for the equipment to destory the mines and to transport the equipment and the voluenteers. There are mines all over the world that need to be destoryed. THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM!!!!! I choose this above all else because little kids die everyday while just playing in a field or taking a walk. These children are the future and there lives are worth all the effort to destroy the land mines. So that is what i would do.

Question #1

If I were a social activist, I would combat the poverty epedemic throughtout thrid world countries. Millions of people throughout Africa live on only a few dollars a day. If many Americans donated just a few dollars, than numerous families would be able to have food on the table. To solve this problem, I would create a website explaining the devasting effects of poverty. This website would include a fundraiser as well to motivate Americans to help impoverished third world nations. To reach even more Americans, I would create a public service announcement on Youtube that would also explain the devasting effects. Overall, the internet is a great venue to reach out to many people.

#1
if i was a social activist, i would raise money to help North Korea, Clean Landmines on the border, and concentrait most of my time on aids in Africa. i would do this because it is a recurring problem and if it is not dealt with quickly it will only spread worse. i would be affective at this method if i gave medicine to those who are contaminated, distributed condoms, and most importantly teach the people about the dangers of Aids and how it can spread. i would set up ralleys here in america to support awareness and give aid to the red cross

question 2

If i were a social entrepreneur-activist I would focus on two things. I would help raise awareness about HIV/AIDS. This is a serious problem in Africa, especially South Africa. And after doing the great decisions project on South Africa, I feel that it is an issue that really needs to be looked at more. Secondly, I would help out with raising money for Breast Cancer. I know that there is a lot going on in relation to this, such as the 3 day walk, but I would look for new ways to raise money and help out.

If I were do the social entrepreneur thing I would use the website in all ways the chapter suggests, email and blog and use websites to show my product without wasting space in the real world, and such to get the word out about my product. It would be really successful because my production costs would be very small since there's no actual stuff being used and its really good for the environment and the people

# 1

As a social activist I would choose a specific country to help further its advances in the flat world. By choosing a marketable product the country had to offer that its natives were familiar with I would plan to boost the economy. Also if the country was falling behind in technology I would work with the countries inhabitants to gain the necessary resources to advance whatever technology they had to work with. By using advertising in the United States I would hope to raise money in areas that needed specific help such as education and health care so that the country would be more able to give the youth a better chance.

If i were a social entrepreneur-activist I would utilize the internet as much as possible. The internet is the easiest way to get your message to alot of people around the world. And is far more economical than distributing flyers or going door to door. With those methods It is also nearly impossible to get your message to people throughout the world, which is essential if you want your cause to succeed.

If I was a social entreprenuer- activit, I would dedicate my time to children. I'd primary help children who lived in third world countries. I would set up schools every 200 miles throughout the countries. Depending on the student population, the schools would range from one classroom to an average American school. In order to raise money for this program, I'd target the public and private schools in successful countries. I'd do this because I believe every child in the world should be given the opportunity to learn and this will only make them more prepared for the flat world.

Question #2

I frankly do not see an enormous problem with the social activists that Freidman describes. In the example of the TXU Corp., I found it kind of pathetic that a company with such great resources could not fight back against an almost penniless opposition. It is unreasonable to be alarmed that "ordinary people" have access to equipment that allows them to spread their ideas more quickly, especially when that same technology is available to almost anyone. I do not understand why TXU did not employ the same techniques to gather support for their 11 proposed power plants. I was actually impressed by how efficiently the activists (who started with no bargaining power) were able to downsize the expansion by utilizing new techniques such as the internet. In addition, it would be impossible to stop these social activists, as that would restrict free speech. If people are standing up against something that they think is truly wrong, I have no problem with that.

question 1

if I were a social entrepreneur-activist I would try to start a group to try to destroy landmines. this would help in making things safer. because landmines are still killing inocent people. I would do this by trying to gain money and support for this.