Using Our Brains for Good
Critical Mass teams took time out of their workweeks recently to brainstorm for Idea Aid. (Read more about Idea Aid in this entry.)
Heifer International, a U.S.-based humanitarian and not-for-profit organization, partnered with Idea Aid for its inaugural year. By the end of the brainstorming benefit (at the stroke of 11:59 pm on Saturday, 11/21), Idea Aid had gathered 585 ideas to help Heifer raise $1 billion annually to eradicate global poverty.
57 of these ideas came from Critical Mass – through several brainstorms, bagels, beers, and one be-post-it’ed elevator. CM’s submissions represent a wide range of thought from high-concept one-liners like “Elevator Toll” and “$1/flight” to blown-out campaigns like “Buck Poverty.”
Idea Aid participants supported their favorite ideas during the brainstorm by clicking a “promote” button within the list or on an individual submission’s page. One of the Critical Mass ideas, “Beautiful Change,” reached #11 in this popularity ranking. This concept involves artists and architects creating fun, engaging coin-collecting sculptures to appear in tourist cities during a yearly, outdoor exhibit.
As of now, the list of idea submissions is viewable only to those who’d registered on the Idea Aid site. There, an official note from organizer (and Mensa Process Director) David Wynett states:
Thank you for your interest in IdeaAid 2009. The online brainstorming phase of the project is closed. The evaluation team will review and analyze all ideas submitted. The IdeaAid team, in partnership with Heifer International, will announce the five leading ideas once the review process is complete. All registered participants will receive notification of the results.
Whether a Critical Mass idea makes the final cut or not, we hope our contributions help Heifer International and Idea Aid achieve such a noble goal.
Last 5 posts by Margo Gremmler
- Winning Idea Lands Critical Mass on the “Nice” List – December 23rd, 2009
- You could save the world at IdeaAid(TM) – November 10th, 2009
- #350ppm: The Little Hashtag That Could – October 30th, 2009
- What Happened to Useful AR? – August 28th, 2009
- Google Wave: Anthropology in Overdrive – June 12th, 2009
[...] for, even amidst hefty year-end work schedules. (You can read more about Idea Aid here and here.) In a bit of unexpected news, one of the winners came from Critical Mass – submitted by this [...]