CivilizedNation.com Blog

The contest is finished, but the impact of our efforts is just beginning.

It's been extremely encouraging to hear about different organizations contacting the varying artists to see if they can potentially use some of the fantastic posters that were created for the contest in the first place.

And that is exactly what we envisioned the contest would do...locate talented artists who are passionate about sustainable transportation, encouraging them with prizes and a contest platform, and eventually putting them in touch with organizations who could use those talents in full.

It never ceases to amaze me how an idea, no matter how simple, when acted upon, can become a reality, impacting the world in these little ripples, potentially touching the lives of people everywhere.

I used to think it was all a grand conspiracy; that businesses were all working in cahoots and that they exercised total control over the entire society.

And who knows? Perhaps that is, in fact, the case.

But over the past several months, having been studying advertising and marketing and business at University of Texas at Austin, looking at the many examples of companies that were once giants, and that are now just struggling to survive, I now have my doubts about grand conspiracy theories and companies that have total control.

Such theories are too general and not dynamic enough to account for all the changes that we've seen over the past fifty years, and besides which, I think they give too much credit to businesses and CEOs, who are probably not capable of that degree of cooperation for such a duration of time.

Now that being said, I do still think that there is some level of cooperation among major heads of corporations, but I now recognize that there are hundreds, if not thousands of wild cards that come up every single day.

The founders of google, for example, with their company motto, "Don't be evil," changing the world with their websearch programs, with google earth, as well as their pay-per-click google adsense system.

The founders of eBay, with their online auction program, that has changed the way millions of people do business.

The engineers and CEOs of Freeplay Radio, who are trying to bring information and news to Africa with their wind up radios that require no electricity.

Every day, there are people all over the world who are thinking for themselves, acting on those thoughts, trying to find new ways of doing things, and doing their best to help make this world a better place.

And while I cannot prove it at the current time, with any research-based statistical date, that is a theory I'm happy to support.

In a car oriented society, there's obviously going to be an inherant bias against mass transportation. People want their freedom to move about whenever they wish, even if it means they may end up sitting in traffic for hours at a time. As long as they have the illusion of freedom, they'll be willing to pay for it.

But there are ways right now to make mass transportation more reliable and much more attractive to those who would never dream of ever getting out of their cars.

It's just a matter of imagination and putting the technology to work.

For example, what if GPS technology were used at bus stops to notify people how much longer it would be until the bus arrived? A system could be set up so that people could know the location of the bus, updated in real time, giving information regarding the bus's distance from the bus stop, along with the approximate waiting time.

Or perhaps, the technology could be connected in some way to participating user's cell phones, so that they could receive a text message or some kind of alert whenever the bus gets to be within a two mile radius of where they are. That way, you wouldn't have to wait out in the cold, always wondering if the bus is a going to be a little early or a little late, and you could instead finish drinking your cup of coffee in the comfort of your home, and then time it just right so that you could be at the bus stop whenever the bus arrived.

Google is already doing remarkable things with GPS location technology, with its latest innovation, google ride finder http://labs.google.com/ridefinder where you can locate a taxi, a shuttle or a limousine in select cities across the U.S., with locations of the vehicles constantly updated in real time, so that you know which vehicle is located nearest you.

Similar programs and information systems could even be applied to people who are interested in developing carpooling, vanpooling, or rideshare programs.

The technology for making mass transportation a feasible, cost-effective and attractive alternative is out there. It's just a matter of whether or not we're going to have the imagination and the initiative to use it.

At one point, Starbucks was just one little coffee shop, McDonalds was one little hamburger stand, and Whole Foods was one little co-op grocery store.

But now, here they are, decades after their inception, with hundreds of stores, thousands of employees, and millions of dollars.

So how did they do it?

And how can non-profits and other organizations, working for environmentally sustainable and socially responsible causes, learn from these for-profit businesses?

These are the questions that are asked, and in part, answered in a book called Branded Nation which analyzes the success of varying organizations and their branding efforts.

Obviously, the challenges that face non-profits are in many ways more complex than their for-profit counterparts (when it comes to communicating brand message) but many of the basics remain the same: consistency of communication, attention to detail, superior customer service, adherence to the mission statement.

If NGOs and non-profits are serious about being successful in fulfilling their goals, this book would be a great place to start.

And if anyone else out there knows of similar literature demonstrating successful techniques of other organizations, we here at CivilizedNation.com are all ears.

Let us LEARN from each other.