There has been a rising tide in online media and entertainment: A movement toward social entrepreneurship and activism that attempts to harness countless hours of online time and translate them to real world solutions for everyday issues.
Internet content has been dominated by mindless forms of entertainment, self absorbed social environments and e-commerce giants like Amazon or Overstock. Even though exceptions to the rule existed, concerns over the effects of internet usage on culture, business and parenting cannot be, nor should they be, understated. Recent trends to the positive, in the form of specific websites and games, have launched and serve as a beacon of hope. Splashlife, Urgent Evoke, and now ScholarGamers.com seek to promote positive change in their users local community, world or individual life.
Splashlife’s philosophy of “Be more, Do more, and Score more” intends to be the voice of young Americans, 18 to 29, that face ever increasing problems. Splashlife explains, “Be More is a platform for voices that inspire, instruct and entertain this generation, Do More guides Members towards various opportunities to serve their communities, Score More will offer members deals and discounts on everything from textbooks to health care.” Splashlife, created by Melissa Helmbrecht – also founder of the United Day of Service, is a response to the “challenges of coming of age in this era” and has been endorsed by celebrities such as Whoopi Goldberg.
Urgent Evoke is a self described “crash course in changing the world” as users are asked to play through challenges to learn about social entrepreneurship and apply it to their daily life. Developed with a team of educational specialists from the World Bank institute, Evoke is a 10 week online course in a game format. Acclaimed game designer and creator, Jane McGonigal states in a CNN interview “What we wanted to do was make a game that would give gamers a chance to develop their real life super powers – creativity, entrepreneurship, courage, collaboration and give those gamers a chance to use those super powers to solve real world problems.”
ScholarGamers, another website in the social entrepreneur theme, seeks to help individuals with the burden of educational costs through the vehicle of an online flash game competition. Created by marketing executive Angelo Tartaro, heard here in an interview with WBT in Charlotte, ScholarGamers has garnered good reviews by game industry insiders such as joystiq.com, Gamer Live TV, and dualshockers.
Critics complain these sites either play to anxieties of the masses, or potentially add to online addictions. Jane McGonigal retorts “Let me tell you, if gamers get addicted to this game that will be fantastic – because this is not a game about escaping reality, it’s about doing something that matters.” The innovators behind these sites did not create the problems they seek to alleviate; they are attempting to give solutions to them.
Traditionally, online properties encouraged self gratifying behavior and deserved the scrutiny of critics. However, the websites in this article are leaders in an online revolution promoting “epic wins” in a person’s life and surrounding environment while challenging the naysayers. They are a reflection of both President Obama’s call to civic duty and President Bush’s request for the private sector to become socially responsible. These examples of the new wave washing over the online landscape do not care about one’s background or beliefs; they simply call us to a purpose filled life.
