Saturday morning, I laid in bed, one hand holding the blankets tight up to my neck and the other holding my blackberry. As I was reviewing my task items, I had a brainstorm related to the Leadership Corvallis project I'm in on.
My knee jerk instinct was to email it or twitter it. Unfortunately, not everyone in my project group is following me on twitter, and contextually, most of my twitter followers wouldn't get it, and even if they did, it wouldn't seem twitter-worthy. As far as email, people could reply to all and comment, but that ultimately leads to a mess of email replies from different senders and in the end it will get deleted from the inbox.
It got me thinking about what kind of collaboration tools are available for corporate workgroups or non-profit boards/committees to contribute content via mobile phone.
Imagine this- at our first group meeting, our group leader collects a list of everyone's mobile phone, along with the obligatory email list. Then, the leader registers a unique domain such as pep.ideate.com Once that is set up, as group members think of ideas, comments, talking points, etc, they can simply text (SMS) them to this group domain.
The domain would have similar functionality to Twitter, but instead aggregate all submissions into a group feed. You could even program a feature to the site whereby people can receive SMS updates when someone posts something, and then reply directly to that post. It would look something like this on the feed:
@chris "I think we ought to consider not buying a van- maybe we can develop a pass with the local cab company."
--->Jim " The problem with that is, after the cards are gone, the non-profit will have to fundraise again for more cards.
--->Lauren " True, but the van will have fixed costs that will require additional funds as well- it will be tough to raise enough up front to cover all future costs"
@Lauren "What if we sold advertising to local companies prior to purchasing the van, and then wrap the van with their logos"
--->Carrie " that could work, but we'd have to charge a lot to cover the purchase
and it may be tough with the economy like it is."
Rough example, but you get the idea. When the next board/group meeting rolls around, it's very easy for the chair to summarize the ideas and discussion that happened since the previous meeting, and put together a meaningful agenda for the meeting. All ideas and comments are captured in a timeline- conversational flow. Part twitter, part gmail.
As a standalone solution, I don't think this has legs, but as a bolt on feature for enterprise intranets(Think Jive's Clearspace or MS Sharepoint), I think it could add a lot of value, especially with the proliferation of SMS amongst the 20 and 30 somethings.
Maybe this is mental gymnastics, but I think Twitter is on to something, it just doesn't have the right functionality for group and/or business application.
Cheers
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Parent Enhancement Program- an LC Project
Beaver Cab, Community Partners and PEP - The Beaver PEP Pass
I recently attended a chamber of commerce meeting where the two owners of Beaver Cab spoke and talked about their business. I was impressed by their professionalism and passion for safe and clean transportation in Corvallis. They are even in the process of purchasing a hybrid suv to add to their taxi fleet.
Here's the vision and then I'll elaborate.
The Beaver PEP Pass
A card that would be distributed through PEP to young mothers and families in the most need of a transportation resource.
The card would be limited in it's use and provide transportation to certain destination categories such as:
Schools
Hospitals/Doctor's Offices
Grocery Stores
PEP office
Church or Places of Worship
Place of employment
Other restrictions or caveats can be placed on the card, but you get the idea.
The card would provide for 50 one-way trips regardless of the number of passengers or destination and would be punched after each use . Per PEP's discretion, new cards could be handed out based on need.
The Leadership Corvallis Team and PEP would negotiate a fair per trip price with Beaver Cab that would be good for a period of 1 year and then renegotiated each year after. This promotion or fundraising initiative could be easily managed by PEP for future years or as the need arises.
Businesses could sponsor a certain number of cards and can be publicly acknowledged for providing 150(or 500, you fill in the blank) critical rides to young single mothers and low income families in Benton County. Whatever the number, it is a direct way for businesses to impact the community in a positive way.
I think it is a great "cause concept" that businesses might respond well to. It's also a more sustainable option, considering there would be no ongoing insurance, fuel and maintenance costs into perpetuity. It would also allow PEP to focus more on programs/services and less on transportation logistics.
Once this program is set up, it's also an easy fundraiser. As PEP runs out of cards, they simply go to local businesses, perhaps many of the same ones that originally sponsored and communicate the need for more.
No insurance, no gas, no maintenance - (Admittedly a big concern for Nancy)
I spoke to Nancy, the Exec. Director of PEP. She is supportive of it. What do all of you think?
I recently attended a chamber of commerce meeting where the two owners of Beaver Cab spoke and talked about their business. I was impressed by their professionalism and passion for safe and clean transportation in Corvallis. They are even in the process of purchasing a hybrid suv to add to their taxi fleet.
Here's the vision and then I'll elaborate.
The Beaver PEP Pass
A card that would be distributed through PEP to young mothers and families in the most need of a transportation resource.
The card would be limited in it's use and provide transportation to certain destination categories such as:
Schools
Hospitals/Doctor's Offices
Grocery Stores
PEP office
Church or Places of Worship
Place of employment
Other restrictions or caveats can be placed on the card, but you get the idea.
The card would provide for 50 one-way trips regardless of the number of passengers or destination and would be punched after each use . Per PEP's discretion, new cards could be handed out based on need.
The Leadership Corvallis Team and PEP would negotiate a fair per trip price with Beaver Cab that would be good for a period of 1 year and then renegotiated each year after. This promotion or fundraising initiative could be easily managed by PEP for future years or as the need arises.
Businesses could sponsor a certain number of cards and can be publicly acknowledged for providing 150(or 500, you fill in the blank) critical rides to young single mothers and low income families in Benton County. Whatever the number, it is a direct way for businesses to impact the community in a positive way.
I think it is a great "cause concept" that businesses might respond well to. It's also a more sustainable option, considering there would be no ongoing insurance, fuel and maintenance costs into perpetuity. It would also allow PEP to focus more on programs/services and less on transportation logistics.
Once this program is set up, it's also an easy fundraiser. As PEP runs out of cards, they simply go to local businesses, perhaps many of the same ones that originally sponsored and communicate the need for more.
No insurance, no gas, no maintenance - (Admittedly a big concern for Nancy)
I spoke to Nancy, the Exec. Director of PEP. She is supportive of it. What do all of you think?
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