October 30, 2005
Economic Development 2.0
Perhaps you have heard of microlending. The idea is, hey: There are lots of people in countries like Bangladesh or Bolivia who could do something useful with $20 or $200 -- buy some livestock, make some baskets, start a little shop. Those are all productive enterprises, and if these people could get loans to start them, they'd be able to pay the money back. Buy it's not worth it for "real" lenders to bother with that. A $20 loan? In a place with no financial infrastructure? To somebody with no collateral? Wait, seriously, a $20 loan? No thanks.
Enter organizations like the Grameen Bank and FINCA. There are many more; microlending has been picking up steam for about two decades now. Most organizations give loans in the tens or hundreds of dollars, and most couple the loans with interesting social schemes: Grameen, for instance, requires that women apply for loans as a group. One woman gets hers first; she must pay Grameen back before her friends can get theirs. Voila -- a little productive peer pressure.
Microlending isn't a silver bullet. In fact, it's doesn't do much at all for the very poorest of the poor. But in terms of general economic development it works about as well as other strategies and, in addition, it confers an interesting aura of accountability and sustainability. It's development aid perfectly in sync with the zeitgeist.
So, all of that is setup for Kiva, a tiny, brand-new microlending organization that adds another element of now-ness to the mix: the internet!
... Read more ....October 28, 2005
Setting the Table for a Feast We Will Not Share
Robin says,
This line in a recent Boing Boing post stopped me in my tracks. George Dyson went to Google, and writes:
The mood was playful, yet there was a palpable reverence in the air. "We are not scanning all those books to be read by people," explained one of my hosts after my talk. "We are scanning them to be read by an AI."
I think there are two ways to read that line... both interesting, but one really interesting (and kinda creepy).
Scott McClellan, You Paying Attention?
Matt says,
I was very impressed by how lucid and straightforward Patrick Fitzgerald's press conference was today. My eyes have insta-glazed for two years now whenever I've encountered the words "Valerie Plame." He managed to lay it all out in a way that makes me feel I actually understand what just happened. Of course, he can probably do that better than anyone since he's apparently the only person in the world who actually knows what happened, but still. Good show.
Love in the Age of Chemoglobin
Matt says,
Alan Ball's next HBO project sounds like my new favorite thing:
Project is set in a world where vampires and humans co-exist after the development of synthetic blood. First book, "Dead Until Dark," revolves around a waitress in rural Louisiana who meets the man of her dreams only to find out he's a vampire with a bad reputation.
After seeing the brilliant heights Joss Whedon reached with these tropes in Buffy, I'm thrilled to see Alan Ball take it on. Via Towleroad.
October 27, 2005
I Don't Know What I Think About This
Robin says,
America's Next Muppet. No, really.
(Via the 'Pulse.)
Your Daily Adspaper?
Matt says,
Am I reading this article correctly? Did WaPo editor Len Downie actually suggest that the biggest reason the Post's daily news coverage couldn't be cut by a third is that there wouldn't be enough stuff to put ads on? Read for yourself and get back to me.
The relevant sentence: "He (Downie) says (business editor Steven) Pearlstein 'hasn't really thought through carefully' the impact of a one-third reduction, which would leave less room for advertising."
October 26, 2005
Re: RomenRSSko
Matt says,
If you're one of the subscribers to the RSS feed I scraped together with Wotzwot for Romenesko's sidebar, you might have noticed that the feed had stopped working properly. Here's an updated version; here's hoping it stays intact.
October 25, 2005
Yet Folks Still Use Webex
Matt says,
Has anyone else heard of Freeconference.com?
"FreeConference.com offers a terrific value to consumers