Harvard business graduate, Mark McGlade, is the entrepreneur sitting behind the helm of the latest social enterprise platform called Zoosa. Still in its beta phase, McGlade’s idea is to put an extra twist on the popularity of “Corporate Social Responsibility” and make it personal. Zoosa’s mission is to act as a venue that highlights socially responsible individuals and organizations. You don’t have to be a businessman anymore to show off all the good things that you can do. You just have to hang out at the Zoo’.
While I hesitate to hate on anything that is developed with good intentions, I have to say that Zoosa doesn’t really get my humanitarian heart beating at a progressive rate. The problem with the younger generation of do-gooder/change-maker types like McGlade is possibly that they’re looking for the fastest way to make an impact. And with that goal in mind, the answer is almost always inevitably – the internet. But do we really need another social networking website? Is the best way to monitor a movement by number of profiles added? I hardly think that merits an action of social conscience. And lastly, do we really want to be promoting the self-glorification of our acts of philanthropy? Our personal aggrandizement of drunken nights out on Facebook is plenty enough for me.
My mom will kill me for not knowing this by heart, but I’m pretty sure it was Jesus who said something about being humble and not asking for credit where credit was due, just do it. By adding your profile of personal philanthropic deeds and philosophies, Zoosa encourages you to Share, Challenge, and Influence, but really, I wouldn’t waste your time. I understand the idea is to inspire others to make simple, positive changes in their lifestyle, yet if I think of all the people that have profoundly impacted the course of my life…they are all people I have only met and interacted in the real world.
The power of a change-maker almost always lies in their presence. They enter a room and you are enveloped by a sense of sincerity that you never knew existed. You sit there wondering when this person sleeps, if they sleep at all. You marvel at how they notice every little thing and how relentless they are in their speech to make a difference. The people you want to meet – the people who will really inspire you – don’t have time to make personally philanthropy reports and anything they have to say is a million times better in person. It’s just like Corporate Social Responsibility, you never know who’s in it to win it or who’s just riding the image wave of doing the right thing.
Does Zoosa have the possibility to facilitate valuable personal connections? Yes. Do I sort of hate technology? Yeah. We’re blessed to have the ability to see what people are doing all over the world, but we get sucked in. More than inspiration, we are lulled into thinking that by being cyber-connected to these people we are somehow a part of the movement. Even worse, we forget about the opportunities that lie within a few feet of our front door.
I know a lot of phenomenal people who don’t have Facebook profiles or anything remotely close to it and I have this theory that those without online social networks are actually the closest human beings to finding zen. They’ve eliminated all the noise and they’ve minimized their ego to almost nothing. They don’t log online to review the past and they don’t take pictures every Friday night, thinking about what they’re going to post in the future. They live in the moment. “How socially responsible are you?” Zoosa asks. In my opinion, nobody else should have to check your conscious. That’s information for you and only you.
Zoosa
Zoosa strives to bring transparency to corporate CSR and to the education, nonprofit, and “green” sectors by providing professionals with a location to find all social enterprise information, opportunities, people & organizations.
- Organization Type: For-Profit
- Website: http://www.zoosa.org/
- Founder(s): Mike McGlade
- Founded: 2010
- Location: Medford MA
- See complete company list here
Contributor Profile: Ashley
Ashley is a friend of anyone who is fighting the good fight for social change. She currently resides in Bilbao, Spain where she is teaching English and researching the history of the Basque conflict. Personal blog
Twitter: @socialearth
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