The German relief agency MISEROR‘s new campaign asks people to swipe their credit card for a 2 Euro donation. They then get an instant sense of how their gift can help. Make donating an interesting experience.
Aspiration Marketing
Click HERE for Tom Peterson’s New Book! By Tom Peterson From his Los Angeles podcasting garage Marc Maron recently interviewed President Barack Obama. “When I ran in 2008 there were those posters out there: ‘Hope’ and ‘Change,’” Obama said. “Those are capturing aspirations about where we should be going—a society that’s more just, […]
Take on the ogres that block progress
By Tom Peterson Years ago, waiting with my younger son in the elementary school auditorium for the holiday program to begin, I ask what he learned in school that day. “VCCV,” he says. “VCCV? What’s that?” You know, Vowel, Consonant, Consonant, Vowel. He looks at a banner on the auditorium wall that reads […]
Cobra effect and other side effects
What could possibly go wrong? The cobra effect The colonial British overlord in charge of Delhi, India, wanted to rid the area of venomous snakes so he offered a bounty for each cobra killed. Everything has side effects: the medicines we take, the products we use— and an edict about deadly snakes. […]
Spread ideas that work
By Tom Peterson Inspired in 2002 by frequent electricity blackouts, Brazilian mechanic Alfredo Moser thought up a simple technology that’s literally a brilliant idea. Just fill a clear plastic soda bottle with water (add bleach to prevent algae clouding), cut a hole in the roof of the house and snugly place the […]
Before I Die: How Ideas Spread
By Tom Peterson In 2011 Artist Candy Chang used her creative powers to connect her New Orleans neighbors to their own dreams and to each other. Dealing with depression related to the unexpected death of a loved one caused Chang to reflect on what really matters in life. She turned the side of an abandoned […]
When to Reinvent the Wheel?
By Tom Peterson “Don’t reinvent the wheel,” we’re told. Don’t waste time re-creating something already created. Someone else has gone through the trouble to invent almost anything we use. We didn’t invent soap, the dog leash or the smart phone or the custom of saying “You’re welcome” when someone thanks us. But […]
A borrowed IDea for undocumented people
ID Cards in for undocumented people in Forsyth County, NC By Tom Peterson One afternoon last December I found myself in the conference room of a small business in a Hispanic area of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The nine people around the table were heavy into no-nonsense planning. They were an odd […]
Wicked Problems
By Tom Peterson A former teacher, Lily Eskelsen García is now president of the National Education Association. Representing public school teachers, the NEA is the country’s largest labor union. One day she found herself sitting next to a talkative businessman on a plane. He’s telling me where he’s going and what he’s […]
Bones and Butterflies: It’s All Connected
The toe bone’s connected to the foot bone The foot bone’s connected to the heel bone The heel bone’s connected to the ankle bone The ankle bone’s connected to the shin bone… —Dem Bones By Tom Peterson All social issues are connected. And […]