Climatize Your Network

An article I wrote, reposted from Worldchanging.com

by Worldchanging Seattle local blogger, Nathan Rosquist

Article Photo 2people.org, a social networking site in the works by West Seattle transplant Phil Mitchell, is what he calls the “MySpace of climate action.” What sets it apart, however, from other social-networking sites (Be Green, Idealist.org, and Change.org) is its focus on action and commitment.

“We’re an online citizen network committed to closing the gap between what’s scientifically necessary and what’s politically possible. If you’re looking for ways to get involved and people and projects to connect with, you can find them here.”

When joining 2people, you first agree to expand the 2people network by literally two people. You then have the option to make commitments to support policy solutions, examples include— buy clean electric power, buy or build green things, drive a greener car, drive less and much more.

As Worldchanging’s Jon Lebkowsky discovered almost two years ago, social networking “sites will be more useful if they integrate with external solutions.”

External solutions are what 2people is all about, says Mitchell. His site aims to build an “overwhelming public mandate for real solutions to the climate crisis.” This is good news, as some estimates maintain that we’ll be using even more coal and oil in twenty years, unless there is the public mandate for change that Mitchell is working on.

Commitments like the ones you make on 2people are an important part of building trust relationships, and trust is a big part of what makes networking effective, as Jon has noted elsewhere:

“Where there’s fundamental trust, participants in a social network are unlikely to walk away when there are difficulties. We can’t see or measure trust, so we have to infer it.�?

Like Myspace, 2people.org can be a fun and exciting place to make amazing connections, but unlike Myspace the ability to beget positive change occurs— in commitment and numbers.