Results tagged “Reynolds” from The NYU Reynolds Program Blog

by David Russell

But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags
that Time cannot decay...

Craig Newmark, who spoke at the NYU Reynolds Programme in Social Entrepreneurship as part of the Social Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century Speaker Series on Wednesday joked that he was revealing his age by sharing this, one of his favourite lyrics. The relevance though is not his stubbornness in keeping to his original conception of a free online classifieds and listings service with no banner or pop-up advertising - despite the large sums of money that have been offered to him through the years from the likes of Microsoft. Some may see him as stubborn, but as he revealed in referring to the lyric, it is democracy that is his driving force.  

Founder and Customer Service Representative of Craigslist - Craig is a social entrepreneur with a difference. A self-confessed nerd, he is a man who enjoys not having to arise from his seat. But as he is showing, it is possible to change the world and start a revolution without necessarily leaving one's computer in this internet age.

Cragislist evolutionised the ability of people to connect online - a full decade before facebook was even a twinkle in Mark Zuckerberg's eye. The secret of the site's success - which clocks up over 10 billion page views a month - is its simplicity and dedicated focus. As Craig revealed "we know what we do well, and we treat people like we want to be treated."

Humble and modest, he spoke honestly about his ineptitude in managing people - and his realisation that it would be best for all concerned if he were to just concentrate on what he knows and does best, and enjoys most, responding to and helping Craigslist users. And as he admitted, with the site carrying his name, he has a vested interest in doing the job well..!

Craig admitted that it was partly by accident, rather than design, that he has created a concept that perfectly matches the Reynolds definition of a social entrepreneurial venture. It is scalable - now in 570 cities worldwide and continuing to spread, recently to Ramallah as Craig explained, due to the request of the mother of the owner of the coffee-shop at which he is a regular. It is sustainable - overheads are covered by the revenues generated by the only sections that charge for postings, brokers that post flat listings and businesses that post job vacancies (to which "erotic services" will soon be added, though with revenue raised going to non-profit organisations). And it is pattern breaking - democratising the paid-for classifieds section of newspapers.

It is this last point that has led to the often hostile reception that Craig has received from traditional media. He is now supporting the burgeoning field of citizen journalism - naming NYULocal, the venture of Reynolds Scholar Cody Brown, as a great example - but which no doubt will endear him even less with the old guard.

But the world is changing, for which Craig can claim some credit in his role as a technology advisor to Team Obama. As is media. And it is Craig that is helping to pave the way.

As Leonard Cohen went on to sing, which no doubt Craig wanted us to recognise....

I'm junk but I'm still holding up
this little wild bouquet:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

by Trabian Shorters

Are Social Entrepreneurs indeed Earth's next best hope for survival, prosperity, utopia? Sure, why not. Believe what you choose to believe about it. It is just a term. It doesn't ultimately matter what you call the people who would rather do it than define it.

As someone who has been labeled a social entrepreneur, and then was asked to find social entrepreneurs for Ashoka, and now is asked to coach emergent social entrepreneurs for NYU's Reynolds Program in Social Entrepreneurship, I am most surprised by two things:

1. How fast one goes from 20-something aspirant as I was, to mentor material. That time flies much faster than you would imagine.
2. How calculated, cautious, and afraid the current generation of "changemakers" appears to me.

So maybe, as a mentor, I can earn my chops by having an opinion on that.

The desire to simultaneously "make a difference" and "earn a living" is admirable and good - but you do have to prioritize one over the other. There is no "program" for social change nor a meaningful life. You must already have that desire kindled inside of you. It is the root of courage. For some, the desire to make a difference smolders and for others it burns. The rest are faking. Like any true love, it is impossible to embrace "social change" from a safe distance.

So let's talk about "risk-management."

Your willingness to risk normally decreases as you age. That's why all those people who tell you that they will make their money first and then commit to changing the world are proven wrong 99% of the time. If you are too afraid to risk it now, that usually means that you plan to have far more to lose in the future.

I know that the many people who want to make social entrepreneurship a "field" say that we should have many levels of tolerance - from charismatic prodigy to nonprofit paper shuffler. Fine by me but let's not confuse wage-making with changemaking.

Social change is NOT a field. It is a calling - a profession in the original meaning of the word. You may be called by your faith, your conscience, your ancestors, or your circumstances but the optimistic belief and integrity of a zealous changemaker (by whatever label) is vital to human progress. That makes it sacred.

I like the way that John Gardner described it.

"[People] of integrity, by their very existence, rekindle the belief that as a people we can live above the level of moral squalor. We need that belief; a cynical community is a corrupt community."

I often encourage young people to fail big as soon as they possibly can because learning how to get back up is far more useful than learning how to never fall down. You would still be crawling if this were not inherently true. Think how limiting that life would be.

Time flies so how long should you crawl? Are you a changemaker by any name?

 
 

By David Russell 

There are as many questions raised, as answers I have found, in social entrepreneurship.

As a Reynolds Fellow at NYU, I am fortunate to have the opportunity to explore some of these questions as they pertain to the projects on which I am presently engaged.

How does one optimally prioritise scarce resources? What are the most effective means to secure support for a cause? Where can greatest value be added?

Such questions are not unique to social entrepreneurship, but they are just some of the issues that I am addressing on work with the Rwandan Survivors Fund (SURF) and HelpAge International (HAI).

With the 15^th Anniversary commemoration of the Rwandan genocide next year, the needs of the estimated 400,000 survivors in Rwanda are still great. SURF's approach to the support it delivers to survivors, through raising awareness and funds internationally, is defined by a holistic philosophy. It recognises that it cannot address any need in isolation - whether that be shelter, healthcare, education, employment. There is a necessity to develop programmes that are integrated to provide the comprehensive support that many survivors still require.

For SURF, how does one optimally prioritise scarce resources? By listening to the needs of the survivors, and prioritising resources dependent on the issues that are most pressing as determined by them. What is most effective to secure support? Giving a voice to the survivors, empowering them in the process to speak out for themselves. Where can greatest value be added? Through channelling funding through local grassroots survivor's organisations, to enable them to own and deliver the programmes.

With the UN International Day of Older Persons approaching on October 1^st, the challenge for HAI is how to engage the international community to address our aging society. The approach I helped to develop is an adaptation of community organising, to mobilise older persons across countries to empower them to meet with their respective Governments and call for improvements in national policies on aging - through a programme called Age Demands Action.

For HAI, how does one optimally prioritise scarce resources? By developing a programme of direct action, which for a minimal cost can deliver a maximum impact. What is most effective to secure support? By identifying and engaging those in policymaking positions, and empowering the older persons to demand action directly from them. Where can greatest value be added? By leveraging the Government to deliver services that otherwise would not be met by the private sector.

But often answers lead back to further questions. And when the questions relate to social entrepreneurship, they ultimately lead back to how the work is sustainable; scalable; pattern breaking?

And therein lies another question: How many socially entrepreneurial acts make a social entrepreneur? And another: Does it matter what the work is called, as long as it doing good?