CauseWired: Plugging In, Getting Involved, Changing the World,   ISBN:9780470375044

Customer Rating: 

This is not a book I would have read had I not received it for my participation in Blog Action Day 2008. (Yes, I've had the book for a year and just now got around to reading it. That's actually pretty good considering there was no deadline.) I'm not usually interested in current events books (that's what the internet is for) or books about how OMG teh intarwebs are changing everything (ditto). But I also never pass up a free book, which has probably done more to broaden my horizons than any concerted effort on my part.

But that's neither here nor there. The fact of the matter is that I would not have picked up this book on my own, but I'm glad I read it. It is more or less a discussion of the impact of social media (Web 2.0, Facebook, that kind of stuff) on philanthropy. From Hurricane Katrina to the 2008 US presidential campaign to a myriad of other internet start-up charities, there's a whole lot of information in this relatively slim volume. I was particularly drawn in by the descriptions of Kiva and DonorsChoose, both of which are about reducing the middlemen between the donor and the receiver. I even made a loan on Kiva to Saret Sao in Cambodia. The idea of helping a specific person really appeals to me, and the knowledge of what exactly my money is doing makes me want to donate more. At worst, I don't get my $25 back. I can deal with that. At best, I help a businesswoman grow her business. Which is awesome.

Some of the book bored me, such as the discussion of the 2008 presidential campaign. I suspect that might be because it's too recent; I'm still tired of the nonstop politicking leading up to the election. The liberal bias was a touch irksome too, which is telling considering I voted for most of the candidates Watson was praising. (For example, where did he get the idea that Ron Paul was an anarchist? People who are truly anti-government don't run for office under the banner of a major political party. They'd put all their cronies out of a job.) I suspect, being a blogger and a Twitterer and a Facebooker and (sort of) a "millennial" already, I am not the target audience anyway. But once elections were off the table, the rest of the book was surprisingly engaging, and made me want to do more research on my own. The list of links and references in the back alone are worth photocopying.

So in short: I'd recommend this book if you're a jaded would-be philanthropist looking for new opportunities. Yes, the billionaire donors are still the world-changers, but slowly us ordinary guys are banding together and making a difference.

Customer Rating: 

Tom Watson closes his title "CauseWired" with a quote from novelist William Gibson: "The future is already here; it's just not evenly distributed." It seems, once you are done with the book, that Watson is determined to more evenly distribute the future by trying to dissect it for the benefit of the readers.

The advent of Facebook Causes, Kiva, Change.org and Social Actions is only the tip of the iceberg. Yet, Watson is well aware that the new social web (i.e., Web 2.0) is a means to an end; he says: "... after all the clicking, emailing, viewing and posting, people need to get up from their chairs and step outside." He acknowledges the importance of having new media become an enabler of social change offline: whether you give five dollars, make phone calls or host an event...

The book is thought-provoking and stimulating while keeping things real and keeping the hype aside. It is not only a must-read for all nonprofits evaluating social media (a way to say, evaluating staying current) but also for anyone wanting to understand how new media are affecting the way we affect social change.

Customer Rating: 

Causewired is an excellent resource for anyone interested in learning how to market their non-profit online. For those of us who are not particularly tech savvy, Tom Watson does an excellent job of illustrating, in easy to understand terms, how to tap into and get the most out of social networking. There is also a terrific collection of social-networking websites in the back of the book, which are quite helpful.

As someone who has recently co-founded a grassroots non-profit, aimed at providing free legal services to lower middle class individuals as a means to build a stronger community, I have learned a great deal about social networking, and I have gained valuable networking skills, from reading Tom Watson's Causewired. I highly recommend reading Causewired.

Sincerely,
Jessica Levy[..]

Customer Rating: 

Watson has done a masterful job of capturing a new model of how young people are getting involved in the world today. We often worry (rightfully) that young people are checking out of politics and community, but this book shows that civic participation is alive in well, just in forms we're not used to seeing. Causewired is ultimately a hopeful book. The key is to convert that desire to help into real action offline. This book points the way.

Customer Rating: 

CauseWired by Tom Watson describes an ongoing revolution in philanthropy sparked by the Internet's social networks. Sites like Kiva, DonorsChoose, and Change.org allow people to choose the global or local causes that matter most to them, to donate even small sums according to their preferences and passions, and often to see how their efforts benefit those causes.

A fluid and engaging writer, Watson, who knows the entrepreneurs behind these sites, and has participated in charitable and online start-ups from the Web's early years, describes how even Facebook and My Space allow people to add causes to their profile pages, making causes like AIDS/HIV awareness or cancer research part of their "identity." By advocating these causes with badges and inviting their "friends" to join, they raise awareness and passion even if they're not contributing money, because of youth or (temporarily) insufficient means. While major philanthropists like Warren Buffet will always play the biggest roles, a multitude of friends can make a big impact on any number of causes, from stopping genocide in Darfur to promoting women's health to education or cancer research--whatever issue hits closest to one's heart.

Watson also describes "Flash Causes," where millions of people blog, petition, and phone politicians and bureaucracies, such as insurance company Cigna, which denied Nataline Sarkisyan a liver transplant until she died; or Mukhtaran Bibi placed under house arrest by her native Pakistan for speaking out about human rights; and even the victims of hurricane Katrina. Using the Internet's social networks, people can call up virtual storms of outrage. These can, and have, pressed higher powers into action.

In the wake of the online groundswell that helped to elect Barack Obama, this book is timely and inspirational. Causewired is a phenomenon that is still in its infancy, but is already changing the world.