We're delighted to announce that UnLtdWorld has been selected to present at Startup 2.0 in Barcelona on May 21st.

Startup 2.0 is an initiative that aims to recognize the most innovative startups in the EU. To find the 10 finalists from the over 170 entries there was voting on Facebook to select one project, 3 were voted within the Alianzo network and 6 will be selected by an international jury.

The awards partners include La Caixa bank, the Alianzo blogging network, Microsoft and Sun Microsystems, along with media partners that include Mashable and TechCrunch.

UnLtdWorld was the most voted entry on Facebook. We’re absolutely delighted have been selected amongst such a rich array of fantastic start-ups. It’s a great reward for all our hard work to date and towards our commitment to constantly improving UnLtdWorld and providing the most powerful possible platform to support social entrepreneurs in their efforts to change their communities and the world for the better.

A big thank you goes to the teams at UnLtdWorld, at UnLtd and to our technology partner Elgg. You all rock!

We’re really excited by the number of socially-relevant startups that entered the competition, as it demonstrates that more people are thinking around purpose and how to best use Web 2.0 to make a difference.

Above all we’re truly humbled by the passion and support that we received from the UnLtdWorld community, and having topped the “popular vote” is testimony to the fact that we genuinely place the value of people and benefit to users at the heart of everything we do.

So, the biggest thank you goes to the UnLtdWorld community.

Roll on Barcelona!

- Alberto

 

I read a great post yesterday from Umair Haque over at the Harvard Business Review , targeting a deep systemic malaise in the valley and challenging Sillicon Valley to be more innovative, and above all to tackle some of the planet's pressing issues.

The discussion was then picked up by ReadWriteWeb, a popular technology & social media blog.

Having read Umair's post (and having followed him, on both his Bubblegeneration and Harvard blogs for quite some time now), I think a key point was missed on RWW.

Umair is not saying that Web 2.0 is lame or lacks innovation potential, but quite the opposite (who has followed him for a while, knows that he actually has written positively of both Twitter and YouTube as examples): Web 2.0 economics (communities, markets and networks) are radically disruptive and can generate great impact. I think School of Everything is one of many brilliant examples of Web 2.0 economics disrupting and changing education for the the better, and Psiphon is a great example of enabling human rights innovatively.

The point is not about what will the next big thing be, but the very defintion of what is big and revolutionary: the majority of investment is not supporting deep innovations or supporting the economics of Web 2.0, focus tends to be more on the industry, than on markets, and rarely on purpose, and the spotlight of (most) coverage is rarely on such innovations either.

This leads to a vicious cycle within which, for example, lots of talented people focus more on what is needed to get investment and coverage, and less on purpose.

Umair closed his post with an open challenge to innovators, and with a committment to support, with his time and advice, 5 startups, which have the potential to impact crucial issues and change markets for the better.

To some extent, I think this intersects with the vision behind Catalyst Awards. The belief is that there are great ideas and projects out there, and the scheme is designed to recognize and award these initiatives and the ideas which are changing, or potentially can change, communities, or the world, for the better.
So, if you're based in the UK, and you're running a project, or have an idea, then check Catalyst out. The intention is to not only recognize and award projects, but moving forward to also support the development of innovative ideas.

Disclaimer: UnLtdWorld is the social media partner of the Catalyst Awards. 

Hi everyone,

UnLtdWorld has been entered into Startup 2.0, a contest and event to reward and support EU-based Web 2.0 startups, and we need your help.

The most voted entries are selected to go to an event in Barcelona where they will be able to present and pitch their startup.

If you like our work, it would be great if could support it by voting for UnLtdWorld.

The contest is being run on Facebook, so to vote for us, you need tosign into Facebook and join this group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=11783142979 and then install this application: http://apps.facebook.com/startup-eu/ .

Through the application you will then be able to vote (UnLtdWorld is at around 60 something on the list - these are in order of registration). Differently from the London Mayoral election, you can only cast one vote, so do pick wisely.

The whole process takes less than 3 minutes, and would be so very much appreciated.

Thanks!!

Alberto

Hi everyone,

Yesterday ruralnet|uk held a fantastic event called Collaborate. Cliff Prior, UnLtd’s CEO, and Nicola Jones, UnLtd’s Communications Assistant, attended and spoke about UnLtdWorld (video via Qik here and here - thanks to David Wilcox for sharing these).

Several really interesting questions about UnLtdWorld were asked, and we think it would be helpful to answer these through a blog as most could be of relevance to the broader UnLtdWorld community.

What are the boundaries of relevant membership?
UnLtdWorld is aimed at connecting social entrepreneurs, social innovators, socially-minded people and organisations that invest their efforts in changing the world for the better, and supporting these audiences to make an even greater impact in the real world. UnLtdWorld is fuelled by the realization that many people want to change the world for the better, and given the proper tools, they will. UnLtdWorld wants to be one of those tools.

How will long term ownership work, how will we monetise and how will revenue be invested?
UnLtdWorld wants to share the value it generates as openly and widely as possible. This is why we created the UnLtdWorld Research Lab, the world’s first mapping of social entrepreneurship, and of social and environmental issues, to be deeply integrated within a social network. We are currently working to enable access and dynamic use of the Research Lab for comparative analysis and to inform mash ups and applications on external sites. Anyone, no matter their size, can access, use and take advantage of this platform, and by doing so co-create even greater impact and in parallel support their own goals too.
Our focus, at all levels, will always be on providing a service that remains relevant to members and provides value to our audiences. We refuse any opportunity that does not offer value to our audiences. Through transparency, and by always placing our mission and the interests of our audience first, we believe that trust and loyalty can be built and that no short-term gain can justify breaching this trust. In short, the success of UnLtdWorld will always be measured by the value that we provide our audiences: we want to succeed by helping others be successful. Our focus is on providing the most powerful platform possible in achieving our mission, and our efforts will always be invested in this mission. We will also soon publish our values and guiding principles on the site, as we want you to hold us accountable.

Will users be able to read messages directly within the body an email?
This is coming soon. Promise.

When will content be available via RSS?
Currently we have RSS integrated within the ShoutBox, meaning that members can sync Shouts with their blogs or other services, such as Google Reader, FriendFeed, Twitter (using twitterfeed) or status and notes on Facebook.
We are exploring and working on other possibilities too. In doing so we need to ensure that there is always clear benefit to members and our audiences, and in parallel that all implications are properly considered (for example privacy implications, or enabling users to choose how and if they want their content to be shared externally to UnLtdWorld).
Beyond RSS, the UnLtdWorld Research Lab will enable to not only share, but to dynamically use social insight beyond UnLtdWorld, and consequently to co-create value in very powerful and exciting ways.

How about incoming feeds?
This follows the logic of outgoing feeds: we are exploring possibilities, and in doing so need to consider clear added value to members and all implications (including of not raising the “costs of interaction”, maintaining relevance and the impact on the user experience). Said that, we believe that there are many great services out there, and that in time we want to enable members to interact and share the ones that they use – we just want to do this as efficiently as possible.
In the mean time, one can share links through their profile and the ShoutBox, and we are also working on further functionality to easily share content from external sources.

How does IP work on UnLtdWorld?
This is actually a question that was previously asked in our Q&A: In short, members own their content. It’s yours not ours. When uploading content or sharing information (such as your email through your profile) you can also set access levels to public, private and friends only; meaning you decide who can see your content and information. You can also find out more in our TOS and Privacy Policy (both linked in footer).

Will you integrate blogging functionality?
No. Not because we don’t like blogs, but more simply we feel that there are many existing blogging platforms and services, and they’re pretty fantastic. You can do anything, but not everything. We think that going after entrenched places isn’t a good strategy, especially when others are doing brilliant work, and considering that niche and relevance are actually a big thing.
UnLtdWorld doesn’t want to duplicate efforts, but add value, complementing, or enabling new efforts through community, an open platform and through the use of social insight within a relevant context. That’s all we do, and we want to do it really well.
As mentioned though, we’re exploring ways to enable greater interaction with both incoming and outgoing content, services and spaces.
In the mean time, if you do have a blog, you can link to it from your profile, or use the ShoutBox to link to new posts, and vice versa sync your Shouts with your blog.
And of course we have the ShoutBox, a microblogging platform that allows 300 character-limit posts and is directly embedded within the community.

 

I hope this answers most of the questions that were made, and of course if there are any others, or any new ones, as always do get in touch. We really appreciated ideas and feedback, so please do keep it coming.
We’re working really hard on always improving UnLtdWorld, and I hope that it comes across from some of the comments above that lots of exciting stuff is the pipeline and shall soon be released.

 

We’re working really hard on always improving UnLtdWorld, and I hope that it comes across from some of the comments above that lots of exciting stuff is the pipeline and shall soon be released.

UnLtdWorld wants to be permanently at a starting point, and never feeling satisfied with the way the world is, fuels the fuel behind our efforts, passion and enthusiasm in providing the most powerful possible platform to support the true innovators and enablers of positive impact – those that in unexpected ways can change the way the world is.

Alberto

UnLtdWorld - chief strategist

We thought it would be a cool idea to use the UnLtdWorld blog to showcase some of the exciting work that members are doing. So, today UnLtdWorld launches its first UnLtdWorld guest post, a space for UnLtdWorld members to let everyone know what’s going on with their projects, their daily struggles and make new announcements. Duane Melius, editor and founder of SENSE magazine, gives us an insight into the world of SENSE for our first blog. If you are interested in letting all of UnLtdWorld know more about what you are up to, please contact Nicola Jones.

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Pleased to meet you all

My name is Duane, and I make SENSE.

SENSE is the UK’s first proper YOUTH MEDIA COMPANY. We started out in Sunny South London. In November 2002. Back then we had just £1,000 and lots of ideas. Now we have lots and lots more ideas. *Ahem*… and the money?

*Cough cough***

I’ve got a bit of a cough at the moment.
ANYWAY.

We love magazines, TV and all things media. At the moment we produce a magazine and SENSE TV. Don’t take my word for it visit youtube.com/sensemag and watch some of our films. Our site is at www.sensemag.co.uk , but bear with me, it needs updating!

Since the beginning of the year we have been UBER busy. Our two main projects so far have been running the show at Voice’08

Some of the Ethique crew!

…And the launch of
BOOM!

Check out the site www.boomnation.net. It’s an exciting initiative between MTV and Clubs for Young People. Clubs’ are a hidden gem, and one of our best friends.

Lots of exciting things are in store for SENSE Media. It is a name you will be getting used to through SENSE Magazine, SENSE TV, and SENSE Online. If you don’t believe me, ask any young person you know.

NO, NOT YET!

Wayne Gretzsky (Ice Hockey player) one said. “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been”

Good old Wayne.

And on that note I leave you guys, for now. With this video. Check it out..


Happy hunting!

Duane Melius

FOUNDER | SENSE Media

UnLtdWorld is delighted to announce that we will be working, as the social network partner, with the Catalyst Social Technology Awards.

The Catalyst Awards are a national social technology award scheme that will celebrate and recognise the efforts of individuals all of the UK who use or create social technology to help their community.

In addition to the Prime Minister and senior cabinet ministers from the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, and the Office of the Third Sector, the awards are being supported by organisations such as NESTA and UnLtd.

Catalyst is an award programme for people who’ve used social technology (web, social networking, gaming, mobile, etc) to do something good for their community in the UK.

It’s for all kinds of people: in business, volunteers, employees, individuals and groups. And it’s for all kinds of ideas, including education, environment, skills, health and community cohesion. If you're running a project that is making a difference, or know someone that is, or got questions? Need advice? Want to make connections? Eager to discuss your idea? We've set up a Catalyst Awards group.

UnLtdWorld is proud to been chosen as the social network for the UK Catalyst Awards as the initiative truly reflects the ethos and purpose of the platform.

In the words of Jim Lawn Co-Founder of Polecat, a lead partner in the Catalyst Awards:

“We at Catalyst are delighted to be working with UnLtdWorld around the Catalyst Social Technology Awards. We selected UnLtdWorld as the official social network partner for Catalyst as we feel that UnLtdWorld is the pre-eminent social network when it comes to connecting social entrepreneurs, socially-minded people and socially driven organisations within a relevant context. Catalyst is about using technology to make a difference, and we think that UnLtdWorld is a fantastic example of this. The hope is that through UnLtdWorld we will be able to attract some of the UK’s most exciting innovators, and that all participants in the Awards will be able to connect, showcase their projects, share knowledge and co-create value as and within a community, so that Catalyst’s impact can continue in time long after the award recipients are recognized”.

We look forward to connecting with, and supporting, the UK’s leading social entrepreneurs and innovators.

Hi everyone,

Here you can find a video of the UnLtdWorld launch.

Thanks to the awesome people at Newspepper for creating it.

- Alberto 

 

Yesterday I got back from Austin where I attended my first ever SXSW. It was one of the most exciting and interesting events I've been to. It was packed with amazing people doing amazing stuff. Differently from your usual conference, attendants weren't there to self-promote themselves, but to genuinely share experiences, knowledge and participate in conversations - it's not just about formats, but also about the attitude of attendants. Another major difference, is that I actually left thinking that at many different levels I gained a lot of value, so I thought it might be helpful to share some of the learning gathered from several of the panels that I went to.

My apologies in advance for the random flow of this post, partly to blame on jet-lag, mainly due to the order of my notes.

One of the most interesting panels was run by Jason Freid on lessons learnt at 37signals - some tidbits of wisdom from his presentation:

1) Become successful by helping others be successful - what you do needs to help create real value
2) Target nonconsumers - think niche and don't go after entrenched players
3) Invest in what doesn't change (e.g. people will always want to access information effectively i.e. search, or will always want the goods they purchase to be delivered on time and in good conditions i.e. Amazon)
4) Build by sharing - like celebrety chefs who share their receipes.
5) Projections are Inventions. Roadmaps lead in the wrong direction - they make you think in think past: do the right thing at the right time
6) Everything you do should matter
7) Words are easier to change than pixels: work on a simple message that says what you do very clearly. E.g. Google makes the worlds information universaly accessible.
8) When deciding who to work with weigh curiosity over experience: smart and curious people will get it and learn on the job.

Focus was definitely the common thread that emerged from most conversations, from funny cat pictures to Project Management software: you can't do everything, and what you do decide to do needs to be very clear and embedded in your mission. This seems obvious, but actually a lack of focus is the main reason why companies and projects fail. Somethings which seem crucial, may actually be less important when put into perspective and future implications are considered - if a development takes months (and will also mean consequential development), and will only (truly) benefit a very small number of users it's probably not that important.

I also had the opportunity to meet, and have a brief chat, with Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook. What was most interesting, was again the focus on vision: connecting with the people you know and efficiently sharing informationwith them. That's what the social graph is about (and what makes it extremely powerful), and as an enabler what underpins and drives all of Facebook's work. That's Facebook's focus - there are many other services which through different dynamics enable different types of value.
I think that the consequences of this are two-fold: using the potential of the social graph on one hand and on the other the challenge is mainly on the side of developers, service providers and organisations to realize when (and how) the social graph can be leveraged upon, and when it's not the most effective solution.

Another interesting concept that was presented in a panel on designing social strategies was POST:

People: understand your audience as spectators, critics, sharers, creators.
Objectives: who are you? why are ou doing what you do?
Strategy: how do you achieve your objectives?
Technology: what are the most effective tools that you can use to do this.

Some bits and pieces, gathered from several panels, on how social entrepreneurs, social enterprise and not-profits can use Web 2.0 and technology: conversations - think of ways to build and enable conversations with your benificiaries, audience or clients

Some examples (from different sectors):

- Everywhere Magazine: all content which goes to print is generated via the magazine's online community of travellers.
- Nikon's use of Flickr
- A smoothie-maker company used YouTube (and close to no budget) to promote the power of it's product - sales went up multi-fold.
- Amnesty's Tear It Down campaign
- People powered customer service

From a panel on Angel Investment, some interesting considerations: an investor will be looking to make 20 times their investment over 5 years (the main reason for this, is that from a portfolio of say 10 companies, 9 will not generate sufficient returns). Be patient: it takes (in average) 2-3 years to breakeven. Once you're investment ready (have gained some traction) - if you don't find funding within 6 months, you should probably move onto the next idea.
The key element that an investor looks at is the entrepreneur, some adjectives: integrity, passion, knowledge, skill, leadership, vision, committment, coachable, experience.
During the panel, Open Deals, a platform that aggregates angel investors was launched - definitely a needed concept, but will reserve judgement, as it's not clear if it's more than a directory of investors and submissions, and the service charges companies to submit ideas, which is usually not the most innovative of models.

Several people have asked us if we will integrate OpenID into UnLtdWorld. While this is something that we will be exploring, and definitely keeping an eye on how the format evolves, some further information on how the service actually works might be helpful. The recently launched OpenID 2.0 allows large account systems (like Yahoo! for example) to provide OpenID support (alongside the current OpenID providers) - meaning you can sign into other sites with your Yahoo! account - this is what is mainly meant when you read "X embraces OpenID".

While the possibility to sign into a site using account details that you use elsewhere (or a universal URL in the case you use an OpenID provider, which though won't allow you to sign in to sites only provide support, like Yahoo!), seems cool on the box - in reality a user doesn't sign in directly, but is bounced around sites each time they need to login to verify their identity (unless you remember to save an infinitely long url) - this process could be confusing for many less-technical members and ultimately make the login process actually more complicated.

In conclusion a few links and stats:

• A video by the conversational media group (also a bit about UnLtdWorld)
• Further info on all SXSW panels and soon videocasts of these
• You can find some pictures in my Photo Gallery
• From a small protest which took place near the Austin Convention Centre: Wholefoods inc., the fair-trade supermarket, sources its tomatoes in Florida, where tomato pickers are paid a miserable $10K/year. Considering inflation and cost of living, they pay is the same as what it was 20 years ago.
  
• Icanhascheezburger.com has 1.5 million page views per day, employs 8 full-time staff and receives 8000 submissions a day.

Overall SXSW was wonderful (and also lots of fun) - it is highly reccomendable, and I really hope to be able to go again next year!

Alberto

I thought it might be helpful to explain how privacy settings work, following a member's fear that some of his details were public for other members to see.

You can see all the information that you add to your profile (given it is your information there is no risk, just be careful to check who's standing behind your shoulder), but this is not what others see - you can set what information to share, and with who (friends, public or private).

For example if you add your email and set it to private - when you are on your own profile page you will see that email, but others will not be able to. If you set it to friends, your friends (that you added as friends) will be able to see it, and if you set it to public, all members will be able to see it. In no circumstance can non-members view or access any information on UnLtdWorld. 

We really take privacy seriously, so if there are any concerns or questions, do feel free to get in touch at any time.

Alberto

UnLtdWorld - chief strategist 

Effectively accessing and sharing information is fundamental. The saying goes that knowledge is empowerment. Traditional approaches are limited in reach, they’re expensive, and they duplicate efforts and costs. Messages are carpet bombed in the hope of hitting the right audience. Information is dispersed amongst multiple players who often tightly safeguard their knowledge within ivory towers.

Today, we want to help change this.

This evening we will be launching the UnLtdWorld Research Lab, the world’s first dynamic mapping and graphing of social entrepreneurship, and of environmental and social issues.

The Research Lab deeply integrates within UnLtdWorld, breaking down the network around demographics, issues of interest and of concern, skills, statistical information from services, events, discussions and resources.

This isn’t eye candy. We will soon make all the data within the Research Lab accessible through APIs, for comparative analysis and above all usable within external data-sets and projects, and the interaction enabled will be dynamic.

It is important to stress that we respect the privacy of members – personal user data is not captured within the Research Lab and all the information that is gathered is anonymous.
The Research Lab is about sharing value transparently and openly, and meaningfully leveraging on network dynamics.
Above all it is about the power of social insights, the importance of relevant commentary, and the added value that both enable.

Our vision is for the Research Lab to become core to a collaborative ecosystem through which value can be shared openly and transparently beyond one single website. The aim of the Research Lab is in fact to foster cooperation dynamically and enhance the efficiency in the ways in which information flows and is shared between social entrepreneurs, relevant organisations and the broader public.

Within this context we’re really excited to announce, in parallel to the launch of the Research Lab, that we will be partnering with an array of exciting organisations (details in our media page) to explore ways to foster deep cooperation and allow value to be shared between networks and services, shifting the focus to people and empowering people - social entrepreneurs, the beneficiaries of organisations and the audiences of a service - at the heart of a social eco-system.

Alberto

UnLtdWorld - chief strategist

 

Measuring the social impact of a website is a complex task as there are so many indicators at play. A guiding principle of any measurement that will drive decisions at UnLtdWorld will always be people and the value added to individuals and enabled as a community.

I wanted to share a meeting that I had today of Friday with one of our members. Roger Wilson-Hinds. Roger is a blind social entrepreneur. He told me that UnLtdWorld was one of the first social networking sites that he could fully engage with using ScreenReader - a software for blind and visually impaired individuals that he distributes. He explained how he will be using the site's tools to connect with other blind or partially impaired individuals, to liaise with tutors and supporters, blind, blind and seeing and allow them to share and access resources or more simply to discuss key issues beyond traditional boundaries. Most importantly Roger’s experience underlines how UnLtdWorld can allow opportunities for participation within all activity happening across the site - for example the ability to send and receive messages which the majority of us take for granted - and how inclusiveness is core to the impact that we hope to empower.

Everyone on the team was really proud and inspired by Roger’s story, and to see his profile filled in. His experience also underlines the power of Elgg, the open source platform on which UnLtdWorld is built, as a cutting edge and inclusive solution that is truly socially-aware.