Talk:Carrotmob
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Suggestions from the founder of Carrotmob
I'm Brent Schulkin, the founder of Carrotmob. I think I can do a lot to improve the Carrotmob article, so I'm here to post some suggested improvements. There are some things in this page which are outdated, and other things which will clarify exactly what Carrotmob is. Please take these suggestions into account if you feel it's appropriate, and if you see any problems I'm looking forward to your feedback. Here are a few specific problems I'm hoping to fix:
- Carrotmob is a form of consumer activism, but it's also the legal name of our organization, which is incorporated as a non-profit, and I want to explain that we are both an organization and a broader movement.
- Carrotmob can exist in many forms, so its meaning is broader than what is currently described. For example, rather than "buying goods from one company" it could be buying goods OR services from small businesses OR large companies, and it could be one businesses OR multiple businesses, and so on.
- Virgance, the company I co-founded, used to be an incubator which supported Carrotmob, but today Virgance no longer exists (except for an old website), and all the projects that were part of Virgance (including Carrotmob and 1BOG) are now separate, with no connection to one another.
- Many of the statistics are out-of-date.
- Additionally, if I understand what a neologism is, I don't think Carrotmob is one. A dictionary chose us as a runner up for "word of the year": http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/11/hypermiling/
If I were going to rewrite parts of this page, here's what I would write:
Carrotmob is a non-profit organization based in San Francisco, CA whose mission is to empower people to use their influence in commerce to advance sustainability. Carrotmob also refers to a global movement of community organizers who use the Carrotmob tactic of consumer activism as a way to help change businesses in their communities. In a Carrotmob campaign, businesses compete at how socially responsible they can be, and then a network of consumers spends money to support the winner.
History
The first Carrotmob campaign happened on March 29, 2008, at K & D Market in San Francisco, CA. It was organized by Brent Schulkin, the creator of the Carrotmob idea, and founder of Carrotmob organization. In the first campaign, Schulkin went to 23 convenience stores with a plan to transform one of the stores into the most environmentally-friendly store in the neighborhood. He promised to bring a "mob" of consumers to one store to spend money on one day. In order to receive the increased sales from this event, store owners were invited to place bids on what percentage of hypothetical revenue they would be willing to set aside and reinvest into making improvements which made their store more energy-efficient. The winning bid was 22%, by K & D Market. On the day of the campaign, hundreds of people arrived and spent over $9200. In exchange, the store took 22% of that revenue, and used it to do a full retrofit of their lighting system. The campaign also collected 366 pounds of food for the San Francisco Food Bank. A video of the first campaign entitled "Carrotmob Makes It Rain" first spread the Carrotmob idea to people around the world.
From May 2008 until February 2010, the Carrotmob project was incubated within Virgance, an incubator company co-founded by Brent Schulkin. Virgance also incubated other projects, most notably 1BOG. During this period, the carrotmob.org website evolved to become the central hub for an increasing number of Carrotmob campaigns around the world. Carrotmob provided organizers with simple web tools, and offered hands-on help and support to organizers who wanted to plan campaigns.
In February 2010, Virgance spun out all of their projects to be separate, and ceased functioning as an incubator. Schulkin began working full-time to incorporate Carrotmob as a non-profit organization. Sarah Zisa also joined in February as Carrotmob's Director of Community. Carrotmob was officially incorporated in April 2010. Carrotmob is currently fiscally-sponsored by the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment. The organization is focused on building technology to support Carrotmob organizers and expand the Carrotmob network in order to enable larger-scale campaigns in the future.
Campaigns
As of December 2010, there have been approximately 115 Carrotmob campaigns in 70 cities across 20 countries. There have been an especially large number of campaigns in Germany, Finland, and the United States. Nearly all campaigns have been focused on energy efficiency in small businesses. However, the Carrotmob idea can be used to advance other causes. For example, a Carrotmob campaign in Washington DC rewarded a restaurant for offering paid sick leave to its employees. Most campaigns are planned by individuals, but some campaigns are organized by NGOs or advocacy groups.
The Carrotmob Model
The name Carrotmob is derived from the carrot and stick idiom, which refers to a policy of offering a combination of rewards (carrots) and punishment (sticks) to induce behavior. Many traditional forms of consumer activism, such as boycotts and protests, rely on the "stick" method of attacking businesses. The Carrotmob model stands in contrast to these stick methods, because Carrotmob campaigns only offer potential rewards to businesses, never attacks. This can be described as a "win-win" model of activism, because organizers achieve the positive social change they seek, and businesses achieve the financial success they seek. Carrotmobs are often explained as the opposite of a boycott. Similar campaigns which are unrelated to the Carrotmob organization are described with the generic term, "buycott". Carrotmob campaigns seek to take advantage of the fact that consumers can wield a great deal of power with their purchasing decisions. By organizing consumers to make purchases together, Carrotmob organizers can harness this economic power in order to compel businesses to make changes they wouldn't otherwise be willing to make.
I have no big objection to the Australia content, however I suggest removing it because it only seems to fit if other geographical areas are also included. I'm not sure what the standard protocol is for deciding what links should be included, but here are some suggestions:
I'm unclear on the significance of this link. In my experience I haven't come across this website before: http://socialsynergyweb.com/cgi-bin/wiki2/CarrotMob/FrontPage
The FAQ page has changed, so citation #3 is no longer relevant.
These links may be helpful if more citations are needed:
http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2010/janfeb/pc/schulkin.html
http://www.sanfranmag.com/story/ready-set-shop-0
If I have made assertions here which require further citations, please point them out and I'm well-equipped to find appropriate citations. Thank you!
Schulkin (talk) 07:33, 10 December 2010 (UTC)
- Hi. Thanks for the suggestions. In order to use them, we'd need more detailed references. All the facts really need a specific 'in-line reference' to show where the fact can be verified. Note that primary sources can be used, with care, for simple neutral facts. However, any claims absolutely must have a reliable source.
- So, for example, after you wrote first Carrotmob campaign happened on March 29, 2008 you'd need to give a reference - right there.
- For help on how to do so, please see the guide at WP:REFB.
Updated suggestions from the founder of Carrotmob
Thanks Chzz for the tips above... Here’s another draft which includes more references. Let me know if you think it works....
{{Request edit}}
Carrotmob is an organization based in San Francisco, CA[1] whose stated mission is to empower people to use their influence in commerce to advance sustainability[2]. Carrotmob also refers to a global movement[3] of community organizers who use the Carrotmob tactic of consumer activism as a way to help change businesses in their communities.[4] In a Carrotmob campaign, businesses compete at how socially responsible they can be, and then a network of consumers spends money to support the winner.[2]
History
The first Carrotmob campaign happened on March 29, 2008, at K & D Market in San Francisco, CA.[5] It was organized by Brent Schulkin, the creator of the Carrotmob idea, and founder of the Carrotmob organization.[6] In the first campaign, Schulkin went to 23 convenience stores with a plan to transform one of the stores into the most environmentally-friendly store in the neighborhood. He promised to bring a "mob" of consumers to one store to spend money on one day. In order to receive the increased sales from this event, store owners were invited to place bids on what percentage of hypothetical revenue they would be willing to set aside and reinvest into making improvements which made their store more energy-efficient. The winning bid was 22%, by K & D Market.[7] On the day of the campaign, hundreds of people arrived and spent over $9200.[8] In exchange, the store took 22% of that revenue, and used it to do a full retrofit of their lighting system. A video of the first campaign entitled "Carrotmob Makes It Rain" first spread the Carrotmob idea to people around the world.[9]
From May 2008 until February 2010, the Carrotmob project was incubated within Virgance, an incubator company co-founded by Brent Schulkin.[10] Virgance also incubated other projects, most notably 1BOG.[11] During this period, the carrotmob.org website evolved to become the central hub for an increasing number of Carrotmob campaigns around the world. Carrotmob provided organizers with simple web tools, and offered hands-on help and support to organizers who wanted to plan campaigns.[12]
In February 2010, after Virgance spun out all of their projects to be separate,[13] and ceased functioning as an incubator, Carrotmob became an independent organization.[14] The organization is focused on building technology to support Carrotmob organizers and expand the Carrotmob network in order to enable larger-scale campaigns in the future.[4]
Campaigns
As of November 2010, there have been approximately 112 Carrotmob campaigns around the world.[4] There have been an especially large number of campaigns in Germany, Finland, and the United States.[4] Nearly all campaigns have been focused on energy efficiency in small businesses.[4] However, the Carrotmob idea can be used to advance other causes. For example, a Carrotmob campaign in Washington DC rewarded a restaurant for offering paid sick leave to its employees. [15]
The Carrotmob Model
The name Carrotmob is derived from the carrot and stick idiom,[16] which refers to a policy of offering a combination of rewards (carrots) and punishment (sticks) to induce behavior. Many traditional forms of consumer activism, such as boycotts and protests, rely on the "stick" method of attacking businesses. The Carrotmob model stands in contrast to these stick methods, because Carrotmob campaigns only offer potential rewards to businesses, not attacks. This can be described as a "win-win" model of activism, because organizers achieve the positive social change they seek, and businesses achieve the financial success they seek. Carrotmobs are often explained as the opposite of a boycott.[6] Similar campaigns which are unrelated to the Carrotmob organization may be described with the generic term, "buycott".[4] Carrotmob campaigns seek to take advantage of the fact that consumers can wield a great deal of power with their purchasing decisions. By organizing consumers to make purchases together, Carrotmob organizers can harness this economic power in order to compel businesses to make changes they wouldn't otherwise be willing to make.[17]
