https://partnews.mit.edu/2015/04/22/an-online-social-platform-for-engaging-with-boycotts/ Treating newsgathering as an engineering problem... since 2012! Wed, 22 Apr 2015 17:51:00 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.2 https://partnews.mit.edu/2015/04/22/an-online-social-platform-for-engaging-with-boycotts/#comment-107981 Wed, 22 Apr 2015 17:51:00 +0000 http://partnews.brownbag.me/?p=6961#comment-107981 I think this is really well-done. In particular because the stories are so clearly explained by excellent journalists. I feel very well-informed about why the boycotts are important.

]]> https://partnews.mit.edu/2015/04/22/an-online-social-platform-for-engaging-with-boycotts/#comment-107957 Wed, 22 Apr 2015 16:33:47 +0000 http://partnews.brownbag.me/?p=6961#comment-107957 To your point about possibly adding discussion boards other mechanisms for local support: I think that’s exactly what needs to happen. One of the things I don’t like about Change.org is that it’s a pretty passive experience, with individual signees kind of in their own silos. For boycotts to be effective, in my view, that kind of community-wide support is necessary to sustain it.
Another thing to think about: For the app versions, would it be possible to build in a barcode scanning feature, in a manner akin to the apps Free2Work or GoodGuide? I have to imagine that it’d be a lot of work, but such a feature could help take these things into people’s built environments. That is, you could pick up a product, scan the barcode, and see if a WeCott boycott has been organized around that product or that company. For instance, one could scan a jar of Fancy Feast and get Wahyu’s WeCott. That way, WeCott could inform and perhaps influence consumer choices, in the moment.

]]> https://partnews.mit.edu/2015/04/22/an-online-social-platform-for-engaging-with-boycotts/#comment-107926 Wed, 22 Apr 2015 12:46:42 +0000 http://partnews.brownbag.me/?p=6961#comment-107926 Really cool idea! I wonder how you can use such a platform to build awareness on what is going on as well as keep a high level of trust in the content and the actions taken.

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