GroundUp Bookmarks

While Facebook helps users connect with people they already know, At the Pool wants people to connect with strangers who have shared interests.

The new approach showcases bold photos, so if you want to buy a sponsored story for your own business, make sure you have an eye-catching image to go with it

the brand’s fan page “serves as a small, tight-knit community for our very loyal, rabid fans.”

If they are not solely interested in freebies and giveaways, then what fans really want is content that is personally relevant on one hand and a sense of being part of a larger community on the other.

The former requires the brand to post content that is varied and useful to their fan base, while the latter requires the brand to find ways to encourage interaction between fans.

The Facebook fan page of this company offers visitors a virtual tour that interactively explains how to use their product.

Specialized in calls to action, the company has adorned its Facebook fan page with mini games and a web TV program.

Through a clever photo contest, the company gets fans involved in the making of its Facebook fan page.

Threadless also carries over important functionality from its core website, allowing users to vote for t-shirt designs and enter design contests. Threadless does a great job of creating a fantastic user experience that doesn't require the user to leave Facebook

The company also shares a ton of great images on its wall that generate a huge amount of engagement.

It uses social proof and data from Facebook to actually show why people like the Bing page

“Crowdsourcing is the process by which the power of the many can be leveraged to accomplish feats that were once the province of a specialized few.” And a lot more will change, very quickly.

In Europe, equity-based crowdfunding allows people buy an ownership stake in your business. That practice is illegal in the U.S., but will likely gain steam in a global marketplace where individuals can use platforms like Symbid to help propel an interesting new business into the marketplace. Social lending sites like LendingClub or Prosper permit you to legally crowdfund your for-profit startup in the U.S., but you’ll have to start paying it back immediately, and you could be left liable for the loan if the business fails.

Crowdsourcing will only grow, and it’s up to you to weigh the risks and benefits of using it to extend your enterprise. It may serve a single, specific purpose, or support a key component of your operating blueprint across your organization, or it may not be the right choice--at least not yet.

There’s a new era of social networking that’s taking shape around charitable giving. Younger people are rapidly adopting these new tools, and learning to use them in more and more substantive ways, to go beyond mere socializing and make these tools extremely productive. We’re seeing the sphere of social networking mature in a way that’s very exciting. People who continue to dismiss these social platforms as "a waste of time" or "just social chatter" are missing the boat. This is how people interact with each other and get things done. They share their personal and professional lives online. It should be no different when it comes to their philanthropic lives. More and more, we’re seeing the Crowdrise community share their charitable efforts with their social networks, both as a way to highlight their own commitment to a cause and as a very efficient way to turn their friends and family into new supporters.

They say “time is money,” but time is also an irreplaceable and personal connection to a cause.

Every Mosaic project is carefully vetted and structured to minimize risk while maximizing benefits to investors and to the planet.

Mosaic aims to open up this historic opportunity to everyone by democratizing the way energy is produced and financed.

You shouldn't have to choose between making money and making a difference. We created Mosaic to give people a secure place to invest directly in things that are real and create lasting value.

Invest as little as $25, or as much as you want, in clean-energy projects. Earn a princely 6.38 percent interest annually for the next five years. Make the world a better place.

Mosaic, based in Oakland, Calif., has figured out how to crowdsource solar projects in a way that seems to be a win-win for everyone. For each project, it seeks investors — smaller fries, like you and me — to fund a given project, promising a respectable rate of return. As loans get repaid, investors can roll the proceeds back into new projects, or take the money and run. Think of it as Kickstarter for clean energy.

He dropped out of Yale in 2002 to help build a youth movement for climate solutions.

Another strong example of the commitment phase of employee engagement is being demonstrated in Cleveland, Ohio, through a community-wide economic development initiative called Sustainable Cleveland 2019 (SC2019).The SC2019 initiative focuses on the strengths of the region and levera

It is my pleasure to introduce you to Michigan Impact. The University of Michigan is having tremendous impact throughout our communities. From the downtowns of Detroit and Grand Rapids and the shorelines of Traverse City and Muskegon, to the community colleges of the Upper Peninsula and the medical clinics in mid-Michigan, U-M is committed to improving the quality of life in the Great Lakes State.

A new $9 million U-M Great Lakes research and education center will guide efforts to protect and restore the world's largest group of freshwater lakes by reducing toxic contamination, combating invasive species, protecting wildlife habitat and promoting coastal health.

Nearly $1.7 billion in support for the U-M comes from donors and gifts from every county across Michigan. Support also comes from alums, and that happened in a significant way this year in the arts at U-M.

Similarly, Intel has achieved global market leadership in the growing global technology education market through its rigorous approach to measuring shared value. Key to Intel’s success, says Barbara McAllister, is understanding “what works” for students and teachers and to incorporate that knowledge into product design and deployment. Ongoing tracking of product performance in the classroom, as well as post-sales measurement of educational outcomes, provides insights to improve the product design and delivery, which ultimately improves the effectiveness of Intel’s education technology solutions and leads to additional sales and greater market share.