One Million Acts of Green

Upon putting together a presentation on this topic for my Sustainability and Community Relations class I learned a few very interesting facts and it really made me think about the Human Networking Effect.

David Suzuki started the Nature Challenge four years ago. This involves and individual visiting his website, and signing up after completing 10 green acts. Thus far he has had approximately 400,000 people sign up. Hmm, now that I think about it that is equal to 4 million acts....not too bad. Anyway, the OMAoG program reached a million in less than four months (105 days). Wowzers. The exact reason for the success I am unsure of, although I do have some speculations. The nature Challenge required one to complete ten acts, this was likely too much commitment for many people as it is a big first step. OMAoG only required an individual to do one act, well actually you could sign up without doing any. Once people are sign up they may discover that it is not all that bad and end up committing ten, however they have taken small steps at a time.

Also David Suzuki did not really utilize the media to advertise, sure at the end of an article he may have thrown in a line like, visit my site and sign up. However, this was nothing compared to the exposure gained of OMAoG on the hour. TV, lots of air time, and celebrities all contributed.

On the topic of Celebrities, just because I see a famous individual involved doesn't mean I am immediately going to run out and follow suit. However, seeing multiple celebrities kind of sets it as a norm, people are always looking around to see what others are doing and they may decide, "hey I just saw 6 people join up....some of them famous, maybe I should check it out."

It is also very intriguing how fast word can spread. Almost like a small town, sometimes everyone knows about something that happened to you before you hardly even realize that it has happened. I tell five people, they tell 5, and they tell five equals a grand total of 125, all because one person told five others. I think that word of mouth is the best advertising one can get, just as long as they can get it started with something interesting.

Anyway, a quick bit about OMAoG. Go to http://green.cbc.ca/, sign up (all you need is your email) and do one act. That is all I ask, oh ya and tell 5 of your friends about it!!

Super easy to make a difference, even if you are already doing something and have been for 5 years, put it down and count it. Try a new act, and remember it all starts with one small step...and the only way to get things going is by taking that initial step.