One laptop per child!
Posted 11-20-2008 at 04:34 PM by Supple Cow
I was kind of sad to see that the thread had already been created here and that it was not full of positive things like Xepherys' gamesforsoldiers.org thread was. I'm not even sure how I first missed that thread, but I see that Pogue wrote his article on my birthday and I was certainly not reading the paper that day. In any case, I have been really, really excited about this idea since I first watched the TED talks several months ago. I am going to try and continue to be very excited about it here in my blog instead.
One Laptop Per Child
I think the really exciting thing about this for me is that it is simply a great idea that is meeting success and becoming increasingly accessible. Many of my peers are currently struggling with finding meaning in their lives since graduating and joining the world of net producers, and a disproportionate amount of them are putting their blood, sweat and tears into start-ups right now - struggling to get funding for their great ideas that will ideally help spread ecologically responsible, sustainable practices. And the key word is certainly struggle. I have an idea of my own that I haven't had time to flesh out yet, but it's definitely still in me.. waiting.
But here it is, this great idea that started in the mind of a man who was passionate in the same way that my friends and I are passionate, who wants to change the world in the best way he knows how and doesn't stop to worry about whether this is the best use of his time because he knows that the best use of his time is to take this idea as far as he can take it and to touch as many lives with it as he can. I guess this feels a little like when your friend's band that you've supported and loved for years (ever since they sucked) suddenly becomes Starbucks' album of the month. Not that this guy is some wet-behind-the-ears millenial who just came up with a cure for AIDS... just that, on some level (I guess the proactive optimist vs. nay-saying pessimist level) he feels like one of us. And one of us just hit the big time where a major company is taking on our wonderful do-gooder idea and making it really easy for billions of people to take part in the doing of the good.
I just want to point out here that while $200 is not exactly pocket change for many people (myself included), having something like develop into something that is sold on a mega e-tailer like Amazon is like what Ray Kroc did for the hamburger only bigger, faster and less heart-attacky. So think about it like that for a second before you post any comments, just in case you are tempted to post more of that negatory crap in response to my enthusiasm. It's like wearing brand new white shoes... some people just can't help but want to soil them. I never really understood why but that never made it any less true.
One Laptop Per Child
I think the really exciting thing about this for me is that it is simply a great idea that is meeting success and becoming increasingly accessible. Many of my peers are currently struggling with finding meaning in their lives since graduating and joining the world of net producers, and a disproportionate amount of them are putting their blood, sweat and tears into start-ups right now - struggling to get funding for their great ideas that will ideally help spread ecologically responsible, sustainable practices. And the key word is certainly struggle. I have an idea of my own that I haven't had time to flesh out yet, but it's definitely still in me.. waiting.
But here it is, this great idea that started in the mind of a man who was passionate in the same way that my friends and I are passionate, who wants to change the world in the best way he knows how and doesn't stop to worry about whether this is the best use of his time because he knows that the best use of his time is to take this idea as far as he can take it and to touch as many lives with it as he can. I guess this feels a little like when your friend's band that you've supported and loved for years (ever since they sucked) suddenly becomes Starbucks' album of the month. Not that this guy is some wet-behind-the-ears millenial who just came up with a cure for AIDS... just that, on some level (I guess the proactive optimist vs. nay-saying pessimist level) he feels like one of us. And one of us just hit the big time where a major company is taking on our wonderful do-gooder idea and making it really easy for billions of people to take part in the doing of the good.
I just want to point out here that while $200 is not exactly pocket change for many people (myself included), having something like develop into something that is sold on a mega e-tailer like Amazon is like what Ray Kroc did for the hamburger only bigger, faster and less heart-attacky. So think about it like that for a second before you post any comments, just in case you are tempted to post more of that negatory crap in response to my enthusiasm. It's like wearing brand new white shoes... some people just can't help but want to soil them. I never really understood why but that never made it any less true.
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Comments
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I've been following the OLPC program since the beginning and still following it to this day. I've not bought one yet, and I don't think that I will. It isn't because of negativity but moreso that there are more needy that I've focused my attention that has a simpler and more sustainable business model.
Home - Room to ReadPosted 11-20-2008 at 07:29 PM by Cynthetiq
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You know, that's a perfectly reasonable thing to say that my post totally didn't leave room for. I guess it has been my experience that people who probably make that exact same decision feel the need to say it to me in a way that says, "My choice is a better one than yours," as if it were objective fact. Yet charity and human compassion are never objective; they aren't qualities that originate in our rational minds. They start in the place where we feel for our fellow human beings- where we feel that instinctive human sense of right and wrong.
I suppose one thing I didn't consider before posting this is that I'm an early adopter by nature. I value innovation that works well and I would rather take a risk on something new than maintain the status quo, so I tend to favor putting my effort into ideas that I find to be sound which are not necessarily widely accepted right away (or any time soon in some cases).
I felt almost as enthusiastic about Kiva.org (where I have partially funded a small number of micro-loans and plan to continue lending) because it did a similar thing - it made it easy and desirable to do a good deed in a new way. Micro-loans are a relatively new idea (at least I had just learned about them sometime in the last two years) and it seems I couldn't join in soon enough!Posted 11-20-2008 at 08:18 PM by Supple Cow
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No it's not a matter of saying that another choice is better. It's that I'm not interested in taking a risk wherein my time and effort may end due to the project being a more untested process and program.
I was very enthusiastic about the idea of OLPC. I just saw too many groups fighting over the idea and technology as I followed their story. I figured I'd return to their cause in a year or two if they've been able to get their distribution and channels set. I'm glad that a year after launch they are still going.
With Room to Read, after working in book publishing for a bit now and getting the opportunity to see John Wood, Founder and CEO, speak about how he left Microsoft to better the world. This is his brainchild and it was something that Skogafoss and I were already trying to figure out how to get books in the hands of impoverished filipino children in the barrios and ghettos of Manila.
The best part about charity is that there is room to do different and same, because ultimately it boils down to doing someting for someone else for no other reason than to help out a fellow human being.Posted 11-20-2008 at 09:19 PM by Cynthetiq
Updated 11-20-2008 at 09:21 PM by Cynthetiq
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