THE POINT’S MAJOR UPGRADE FURTHER EMPOWERS COLLECTIVE ACTION
Redesigned site features “carrot” campaigns and a campaign widget that lets people embed and join campaigns from anywhere on the Web.
Contact: (312) 676-5775 | press@thepoint.com
CHICAGO — August 6, 2008 — The Point, a Web platform that lets people organize group actions, today announced a major upgrade after spending eight months in beta. The new site features a fresh, easy-to-use design and expanded tools such as “carrot” campaigns, which take a positive approach to catalyzing change. In addition, The Point’s new campaign widget lets individuals and organizations join, promote, and monitor campaigns from anywhere on the Web.
Based on the “tipping point” principal, The Point was launched in November 2007 to help people organize fundraisers, social events, boycotts, group discounts, or any type of activity that requires certain criteria to be met before it can succeed. People promise to take action but do nothing until the stage is reached where their participation will enable or force a desired result. With the introduction of “carrot” campaigns, The Point offers users the power of positive persuasion in which they can pledge to bring business or give money once a campaign’s target agrees to certain terms. Examples include:
- Offer money, good press, or the promise of business to the first company to adopt socially responsible policies. For instance, the first major shoe company to move its factories back to the US.
- Pledge to volunteer to the first elected official to introduce a particular bill into Congress.
“Carrot campaigns are Petitions 2.0,” said Andrew Mason, Founder and CEO of The Point. “No one puts much stock in petitions on the Web because they don’t feel credible. Carrot campaigns solve that problem by backing demands with a real promise of money or action. It shows the campaign target how the group’s objective is in everyone’s best interest.”
The Point’s new widget makes it easy to embed campaigns on blogs, social networks like MySpace, or any website. Users can make secure pledges directly through the widget, without needing to visit thepoint.com. Campaign organizers have access to detailed recruitment reports and custom tools for messaging their members.
Campaigns on The Point can be small and personal, like a fundraiser for a Nicaraguan woman to get an accounting degree and avoid working in a sweatshop. They can also be large and sweeping, like a campaign to make Election Day a national holiday by establishing safety in numbers and getting thousands of people to skip work and vote.
The Point has proven useful for David Cohn, founder of Spot.Us, a website that lets people raise money to commission journalists to write investigative stories that benefit their communities. “The Point has been a fantastic tool to organize people around our cause,” Cohn said. “By using it, I can ensure everyone that their contributions are meaningful and that has lowered the bar of participation.”
About The Point
Established in Chicago in 2007 and empowered by “tipping point” methodology, The Point is a platform that helps individuals organizes efficient group action, leveraging the power of the Web to solve problems and make things happen. Learn more at www.thepoint.com.
