Photo: simminch

I had a particularly privileged friend during high school—let’s call him Joe. On Joe’s sixteenth birthday, his father bought him a brand new Audi, a truly sweet piece of machinery. After several months of joyrides and speeding tickets, the engine block locked up, and the Audi was finished. Joe had never changed (or even checked) the oil. His father was furious and refused to foot the steep bill of repair.

What did Joe do? He got motivated. He mowed lawns and cleaned gutters every weekend until he could afford a twelve-year-old jalopy. And he cared for that clunker with the proud dedication of a doting mechanic. Was Joe’s sudden maturity unusual, or was it a natural result of his newfound self-reliance?

The bigger questions for our purposes are:

1. Does the weight of liability change human behavior?

and

2. If so, how should this inform the first world’s approach to extreme poverty in the third world?

In the realm of sustainable development and foreign aid (that is, not emergency-relief aid), there are no easy answers. The ongoing debate comprises a plethora of polemics, but I discern three main viewpoints among them:

1. Big money, top-down “planners”

The proposition: Extreme poverty is a big, multi-level problem that requires big, multi-level solutions. We need large-scale plans—ambitious, multi-billion dollar initiatives by resource-rich outfits such as UNICEF and USAID.

Top-down planners advocate a comprehensive strategy due to the interdependency of factors inherent to poverty. That is, economic invulnerability depends on diversity of employment options, which depends on access to quality education, which depends on reliable infrastructure and students’ health, so we must build roads and hospitals and distribute mosquito nets. . . and on and on. Everything relies on everything else.

Photo: dlisbona

The opposition: Ineffective penetration, lack of accountability. Big aid money goes to governments rather than the people, as money gets siphoned off at all levels. This approach enables corruption and encourages irresponsible governance.

Grandiose schemes are poorly implemented due to insufficient understanding of ground conditions. In short, there is too much distance between planners and intended beneficiaries.

Also, such aid smacks of neo-colonialism. Gift money brands recipients as junior partners in the exchange, and thus paternalistically prohibits self-reliance by perpetuating need.

The tone here is negative: “We pity you, so here’s some help. But we won’t invest and trade with you on equal terms, because you’re beneath us.”

2. Small money, bottom-up “searchers”

The proposition: Lasting gains are intrinsically incremental. Establishing improvements that actually benefit the poor requires ground knowledge. Aid workers must go to the bottom rung, learn the environment, and search for ways to improve conditions within quantifiable parameters.

Unlike top-down aid, bottom-up aid focuses on building capacity within target communities to become active participants in the determination and execution of development projects. This approach aims to level the exchange, so beneficiaries are gradually empowered to take up their own cause. Weaning is essential, hence these NGOs have an exit strategy.

The opposition: The process is slow, but hunger and disease don’t wait. And as with top-down aid, the onus of responsibility is lifted from local government. Government officials can sequester resources while remaining nominally responsible for the progress made by NGOs within their jurisdictions.

Though subtler, bottom-up aid is still paternalistic. It feigns home-grown development, but foreign influence is undeniable, especially in cases where community “input” amounts to locals saying yes to whatever is proposed by those holding the checkbook.

3. The “bootstraps” faction

The proposition: Foreign development aid is a self-perpetuating, growing institution and has actually harmed the third world. Aid fosters dependency, encourages corruption, and in turn exacerbates poverty. Top-down aid fails to create jobs or other lasting improvements, and likewise most bottom-up aid functions on the condescending presumption that target communities cannot participate unassisted in the open market.

This position calls for a sea change in the mindset of aid recipients, who have been conditioned to believe that foreign aid is the solution to their plight. They have been systematically incentivized against their own initiative.

Big money, top-down aid is more culpable for increased disenfranchisement in the developing world than the bottom-up variety, because its magnitude of misguided funds has more solidly entrenched corrupt leaders.

Bottom-up aid in which “searchers” prepare locals for full participation in the free market is non-ideal, but not necessarily harmful. The answer lies in pro-market measures: microfinance, foreign direct investment, trade, floating bonds—systems that encourage innovation and foster self-reliance.

The opposition: There is no definitive, causal link between foreign aid and extant poverty. The two are correlated, but there are too many excluded variables—access to water and other resources, quality of soil, geopolitical history, and so forth—to place the blame squarely on aid. Removal (even a phase-out) of aid in highly dependent areas could be disastrous.

A largely libertarian approach may have worked for North America and western Europe, but these same countries arguably caused many of the developing world’s problems through imperialism. And owing to this differing root of poverty, it may be beyond the capacity of today’s third world to elevate itself out of the poverty trap.

So, what’s the solution?

I don’t know. Like most development workers, I am ambivalent about what exactly the developed world should be doing. My views both align with and diverge from certain arguments proffered by each stance. Every approach seems to have some merit, yet they contradict one another.

My intent is to raise the right questions, not offer answers. That’s where you come in. Share your opinions and experiences in the comments section!

Community Connection:

What about aid on a personal level? Check out 10 Ways You Can Help Street Children Without Giving Money.

Photo: Joe Stump

“Russell Simmons has a lot of Buddhas.”

That’s one thought I have as I realize my cup of coffee has tipped over onto the gorgeous Persian rug covering the floor of his ample living room… the rug the moderator has expressly asked us *not* to rest our coffee cups upon.

Oops.

“Russell Simmons OWNS the Shepard Fairey ‘Obama Hope’ painting.”

That’s another thought.

“And a Basquiat.”

That’s the third thought, and the last one I have before I hear John Forte (who, I will later learn, is a rapper and former producer of The Fugees), addressing another member of the group, asking her to “thank your father for granting me a pardon.”

Forte, you see, was just released from prison in January, after President Bush commuted his 14 year federal sentence (of which he served seven years) for a drug-related conviction.

That means he is addressing President George W. Bush’s daughter.

I stop trying to sop up my coffee as Forte picks up the guitar to play his song, “Breaking of a Man”:

*
It’s a rainy Saturday in September and I’m one of about 40 people under 40 years old sitting in the living room of hip hop mogul and philanthropist Russell Simmons, gathered here–directly across from the World Trade Center site–to “create an honest and open assessment of our generation and develop action items that will grow [among group members] and ultimately unite the generation in a more meaningful way.”

The people seated in the circle represent some of the most important thinkers and doers of my generation. Some of them are people whose work I’ve been interested in for a long time, like Jay Parkinson, founder of Hello Health, and Jehane Noujaim, documentary filmmaker and director of “Control Room” and “Pangea Day.”

There are also people I haven’t heard of before, but over the course of the weekend, I learn their stories. Dan Choi, the Army National Guard Arabic linguist and Iraq War veteran who was discharged for acknowledging he was gay. Robert Reffkin, a Wall Street analyst who’s running a marathon in every US state to raise money for underprivileged kids. Debbie Berebichez, aka “The Science Babe,” who takes her PhD in physics to break down the scientific mysteries of daily life (the physics of high heels?) in an accessible way (she’s particularly passionate about getting young girls interested in science).

There are women and men; blacks, whites, Asians, Latinos, and biracial folks; Muslims, Christians, Jews, and agnostics; Republicans, Democrats, and Libertarians; people from really wealthy families and those of us from middle or lower class backgrounds; people who are familiar with the polished wood tables of the nations’ most influential board rooms and those of us with more experience in street activism.

I look around and notice all the difference.

*
I find myself in a break-out group with Barbara Bush, daughter of the former president. I’ve made no effort to restrain myself from offering my assessment of her father openly here on Matador, compiling a round-up of his less articulate moments and praising the Iraqi “shoe throw” journalist (and just wishing he had better aim) and I sit in our circle with a concealed dubiousness about what she brings to the table other than her name.

One of the Buddhas is poised in a corner of the room, a benign presence on this overcast afternoon, the day after the 8th anniversary of the attacks, in a penthouse within view of the WTC site. Its golden legs folded easily into a triangle, its forehead relaxed, the Buddha’s eyes look down at us without judgment.

Me?

I’ve judged Barbara before she has a chance to share her ideas, projecting her father’s ideology and his shortcomings onto her unfairly. It’s only when she speaks up about health care and the potential uses of technology that I realize we actually have a great deal in common. She’s articulate, thoughtful, a good listener. The hour allotted for our conversation ends quickly. I’m surprised that I want to know more about her work, to hear more of what she has to say.

*
I don’t know about you, but the big lessons I have to learn in life are the ones that are the toughest to “get.” Being patient? Recognizing that sometimes getting my way or being right will do more harm than good (even if I am right)? Being in the moment? Being non-judgmental? The opportunities to finally get these–and get them right–come up over and over again. I don’t know if that’s the challenge of my generation, but it’s certainly *my* challenge, and it’s what I take away from the weekend, and what I realize I need to work on moving forward.

Photos: jesse.millan

In November of 2006, New York City resident Colin Beavan, along with his wife and daughter, set out to live with no net environmental impact.

Fast forward three years later, add the Huffington Post, and you have No Impact Week. According to the website, the goal is to “demonstrate ways in which small actions in our daily lives can have a profound impact on our world.” Together, they’ve provided a daily guide with steps you can take to lessen your impact over the course of a week. Each day has a different theme.

I’m joining over 4,000 people to take on this challenge to identify what impact my actions (or lack of action) are having, and to find out what areas of my lifestyle I can change to balance out my carbon footprint a bit more.

Day 7: Giving Back

After a whole week of conservation and consumption tracking, the end is in sight! The final day is for giving back.

I volunteer on a fairly regular basis, but today I decided to focus on the little things I could do each day to impact someone else’s life. As step one of the No Impact Guide suggested, I made a list and it looked something like this:

*Give spare change to a tip jar or to someone in need (coins just weigh down your wallet/pocket anyway).

*Go out of my way to hold doors open for people (even if it means they are going to get in line in front of me).

*Help someone else out (this turned out to be babysitting for a few minutes at my friend’s wedding so the bridal party could take their pictures).

*Instead of just walking by trash (and grumbling about how someone shouldn’t have thrown it there in the first place) just pick it up and throw it away.

Step two was to make a list of all the charities I’d like to help, why I feel like I can’t, and how I can address and remove these barriers. The No Impact Guide asks, “Do your barriers outweigh the importance of participating?” Surely the answer to that question is almost always no.

I know I get caught up in the thought of making sure I’m making a difference by helping a lot or working on a major project, but the reality is that I can make a difference by participating in a one day project, by donating money, by playing a minor part within a bigger project, or even by spreading the word about the cause.

For resources and to find volunteer opportunities near you, try Idealist.org or VolunteerMatch.

If No Impact Week inspired you to take action about an environmental issue, try Take Back the Tap, which encourages people and businesses to eliminate bottled water; 1Sky, focusing on climate change; and the Alliance for Biking and Walking, which is working to create walkable and bikeable neighbors all over the U.S.

The final challenge was perhaps my favorite: Take a break from everything. The No Impact Guide suggests taking one day, one afternoon, or even just one hour a week to not buy, cook, answer the phone, use the Internet or anything electric. I’m going for it, but taking a break from everything each week could possibly be the biggest challenge of all.

Community Connection:

Interested in learning how you can make a big difference by making a small contribution to an important cause? Matador member JoAnna Haugen has just launched the Karikuy-Haugen Fund, an initiative intended to provide travel experiences to Peruvian porters who help tourists reach Machu Picchu. You can read more about the fund here.

Photos: JC Rojas

In November of 2006, New York City resident Colin Beavan, along with his wife and daughter, set out to live with no net environmental impact.

Fast forward three years later, add the Huffington Post, and you have No Impact Week. According to the website, the goal is to “demonstrate ways in which small actions in our daily lives can have a profound impact on our world.” Together, they’ve provided a daily guide with steps you can take to lessen your impact over the course of a week. Each day has a different theme.

I’m joining over 4,000 people to take on this challenge to identify what impact my actions (or lack of action) are having, and to find out what areas of my lifestyle I can change to balance out my carbon footprint a bit more.

Day 6: Water

I was really surprised to find out the average American uses 1,189 gallons of water per day. You really don’t think about how much water is used with each flush of the toilet (4-7 gallons) or from brushing your teeth (about 2 gallons/day).

The first thing I did today was make a list of all the water I consume throughout the day (a general list, not specific amounts). I wrote down the basics: toilet flushing, tooth brushing, hand and face washing, showering, dishwashing, and then I looked at http://www.waterfootprint.org. I realized that I needed to add every meal as well. And my clothing. And the book that I’m reading. Almost everything in our day has or does require water. It’s mind-boggling.

When I was in Cambodia, I couldn’t brush my teeth with the faucet water, so we used water from bottles. I was trying to conserve my bottled water, so I would brush my teeth with a carefully measured cup of water. It worked perfectly fine, so that’s definitely something I could implement at home.

Something that I am already doing that was also suggested in the No Impact Guide was to reuse the same glass throughout the day. Just rinse it out and keep using it instead of constantly washing it.

Some things that most of us have heard before: take shorter showers, turn off the faucet while you are brushing your teeth. But have you heard this one? “Only flush if you must!” When you do need to flush, use water saved in a bucket from your shower.

When you go to restaurants, only order water if you’re going to drink it. If you are going to drink it, go for tap water (bottled water is 1,000 times more expensive than tap water!). Drinking water also uses less energy to produce and transport than other processed beverages.

I’m almost done with No Impact Week! Tomorrow is my last day of action!

If you’d like to find out what your water footprint is, visit http://www.waterfootprint.org.

Community Connection:

Learn more about water with these 40 facts.

Maybe these baboons have heard of A.A. Gill. Photo: Tambako the Jaguar

The latest Twit-storm kicked off in Britain today when high-profile restaurant and television critic A.A. Gill decided to devote half his Sunday Times column to his experience of shooting a baboon while on safari in Tanzania.

Why? “To get a sense of what it might be like to kill someone,” of course.

In the column, which ran on Sunday, October 25, Gill recounts in full, Technicolor detail how he shot the baboon from a mere 250 yards while hunting in “a truck full of guns and other blokes.” He explains how he felt the urge to be “a recreational primate killer” – then went ahead and shot the animal through the lung. “You see it in all those films,” he writes, “guns and bodies, barely a close-up of reflection or doubt. What does it really feel like to shoot someone, or someone’s close relative?”

Inevitably, the column prompted outrage from animal rights groups. Steve Taylor, of the League Against Cruel Sports, called the act “morally completely indefensible”; Claire Bass, who undoubtedly has the perfect surname for wildlife manager at the World Society for the Protection of Animals, said: “It’s hard to say what’s sadder – the unnecessary death of a healthy baboon or that [Gill] has so little regard for the life of another creature. The vast majority of visitors to the Serengeti have a fantastic time shooting with cameras, not guns. We condemn the killing and the crude portrayal of it as ‘entertainment’ in Gill’s column.”

The RSPCA also condemned Gill’s actions but allegedly could not act against him because the shooting took place beyond its UK jurisdiction. As Steve Taylor also commented in The Guardian, “If he wants to know what it’s like to shoot a human, he should take aim at his own leg.”

Strangely, Gill has found some support. Commentators have pointed out that the baboons are classed as vermin by some in Tanzania. Oh. Right. So perhaps Gill was merely doing the locals a favour and saving their crops? What a benevolent soul – maybe we should be thanking him. But wait. Safari parks are not farmsteads and the closest Gill has ever gotten to vermin control is keeping himself in check – which he doesn’t tend to do very often as we’ll see.

Others have said only non-vegetarians should be permitted to express outrage. Well, I’m no vegetarian but I don’t go around performing drive-bys on cow sheds or kicking my way through chicken farms with scythes strapped to my ankles. You don’t have to be a bio-ethicist to know that there’s a difference between killing for food and killing for fun.

No.

Gill is right up there with those other contemptible imbeciles, fox-hunters. In fact he admitted as much in his article: “baboon isn’t good to eat, unless you’re a leopard. The feeble argument of culling and control is much the same as for foxes: a veil for naughty fun.”

“Naughty fun.” I thought taking your partner to a sex show or raiding your parents’ drinks cabinet when you were 13 was “naughty fun,” not riding around in a truck wasting defenseless wildlife with big guns. If that’s naughty fun, what’s insensate and needless animal slaughter?

Restaurant critic/baboon killer, A.A. Gill.

There’s that and then there’s the smugness.

Gill knows full well he’s done something obnoxious – “it can’t be mitigated”- and with his savvy understanding of the media knows it’s going to get him talked about. Sentences like “I took him just below the armpit. He slumped and slid sideways,” or “They die hard, baboons. But not this one. A soft-nosed .357 blew his lungs out,” are built to provoke, and sure enough he’s found himself a ‘trending topic’ on Twitter and the subject of a slew of outraged articles like this one.

No surprise then that Gill is no stranger to controversy.

Dressing up an ugly superiority complex as caustic humour he has described chef Gordon Ramsay as “a wonderful chef, just a really second-rate human being”; the Welsh as “loquacious dissemblers, immoral liars, stunted, bigoted, dark, ugly, pugnacious little trolls.” And Albanians, to Gill, are “short and ferret-faced, with the unisex stumpy, slightly bowed legs of Shetland ponies.”

All of which could be quite witty if it didn’t come from a man with a heart dark enough to want to know “what it might be like to kill someone.” What next? Sex with a praying mantis so he can “get a sense of what it might be like to procreate with someone”? One can only hope.

Community Connection:

Are your travels contributing to animal cruelty? Read From Elephant Tourism to ELephant Voluntourism, one of the many articles about animals in our archives.

Photos: stuartpilbrow

In November of 2006, New York City resident Colin Beavan, along with his wife and daughter, set out to live with no net environmental impact.

Fast forward three years later, add the Huffington Post, and you have No Impact Week. According to the website, the goal is to “demonstrate ways in which small actions in our daily lives can have a profound impact on our world.” Together, they’ve provided a daily guide with steps you can take to lessen your impact over the course of a week. Each day has a different theme.

I’m joining over 4,000 people to take on this challenge to identify what impact my actions (or lack of action) are having, and to find out what areas of my lifestyle I can change to balance out my carbon footprint a bit more.

Day 5: Energy

A couple weeks ago, one of the three light bulbs in the bathroom went out. I kept procrastinating replacing it, and then I got used to it. We don’t actually NEED three light bulbs in the bathroom; we can totally get by with two.

In my classroom, we have two light switches. A teacher next door always complains how bright my room is. I decide to turn on one switch, and I get used to it. Just like with my bathroom, when I use full light power, it actually gives me a headache.

Which brings me to today’s challenge – energy.

Today I assessed my current energy habits by making a list of EVERYTHING in my house that uses energy to operate (electricity, oil, gas, batteries). Then I went through the items and chose certain ones that I could eliminate (lights in the extra bedrooms), and others that I could definitely cut down on (turning off or unplugging electronics, turning off lights even if I’m leaving the room for a minute).

Besides using less electricity for lights, you can save electricity by stripping down or bundling up and turning off the AC or heat for a while. Use natural daylight when possible and burn candles at night. Not only will it “set the mood”, it will reduce your electricity bill!

Take advantage of the solar and wind power outside to dry your clothes. This natural drying method will save you money and your clothes will smell great. If you don’t have a backyard, use a drying rack or hang up a line in your shower.

If you are a tea person like I am, make tea from solar heated water with a homemade solar water heater.
Reuse plastic water bottles and use solar power at the same time. This is one I’m really excited to try out!

Did you know that electronics still suck energy even when you aren’t using them? Plug your computer, TV, and other electronics into a power strip and turn the strip off when you are done. I’m going to use one for my computer, printer, and wireless router, and another for my TV and video games.

Here’s a challenge that I’m going to take on – not using one of my top electronics (TV, computer, or stove) for a whole day once a week. My goal is to go for not using my laptop, but we’ll have to see on that one!

Water is the challenge for tomorrow!

Community Connection:

Curious about the environmental impact of your gadgets? Check out our article “Is Your Computer Killing the Planet?”

Photo: rockinfree

Is being “PC” passe?

Here’s what the Brazilian author and author of the popular self-help book The Alchemist had to say about political correctness on Twitter (yes, Paulo Coelho’s on Twitter: he’s @paulocoelho):

“Political correctness doesn’t make us more respectful; instead, it makes us feel ‘good’ but it also widens the gap.”

Do you agree with Coelho? Why or why not?
Bonus points if you can comment in 140 characters or fewer.

Community Connection:

Paulo Coelho’s bestseller The Alchemist made Matador’s list of the 10 Most Influential Spiritual Books of the Past 50 Years. To find out why–and to see the other 9 books on the list–click here.

Photos: Francisco Collazo

In November of 2006, New York City resident Colin Beavan, along with his wife and daughter, set out to live with no net environmental impact.

Fast forward three years later, add the Huffington Post, and you have No Impact Week. According to the website, the goal is to “demonstrate ways in which small actions in our daily lives can have a profound impact on our world.” Together, they’ve provided a daily guide with steps you can take to lessen your impact over the course of a week. Each day has a different theme.

I’m joining over 4,000 people to take on this challenge to identify what impact my actions (or lack of action) are having, and to find out what areas of my lifestyle I can change to balance out my carbon footprint a bit more.

Day 4: Food

The first step today was to take my food list from yesterday and calculate my carbon “foodprint.” I found the website to be rather limited, and didn’t have most of the foods that I ate, but there was some interesting information. I read that a “high carbon” day for people in the United States would be 4,500 points (1 point=1 gram of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions of greenhouse gases). Creating this kind of carbon dioxide everyday equals about three tons of emissions each year, the same as three roundtrip three hour flights.

Most of us are at least aware that our trash, transportation, energy, and water usage have an effect on the environment, but how often do we think about the impact our food choices have? I know I didn’t.

There are several ways to lessen the impact from our food choices, and many of them will in turn improve health and save money. First, buy fruit and vegetables that are in season locally. Buying locally will cut down on the emissions created from transporting your food from another country (or just across this country), as well as support your local economy.

Check out the Slow Food movement, the goal of which is to reconnect people with the whole food process – people, plants, animals, soil, water– by conducting public awareness and educational outreach workshops, encouraging people to enjoy local, sustainable foods, and advocating for farmers.

Another way to lessen your impact is to eat fewer animal products. I’m not saying you have to go vegetarian (if you want to find out more about becoming a vegetarian, visit The Vegetarian Society) but cutting out meat just one day a week can make a significant impact. If you need recipe ideas or want more information, visit Meatless Monday.

Some of the other suggestions from the No Impact Guide include preserving your food through canning or freezing those seasonal fruits and veggies, asking for tap water instead of bottled, and bringing your own doggy bag when you go to restaurants.

After today’s challenge, I’ve committed to buying my fruits and vegetables locally and seasonally. If you want to support your local economy, find your nearest local bakery, butcher, and farmers’ market here.

Photo: Rodrigo Basuare

Fast forward three years later, add the Huffington Post, and you have No Impact Week. According to the website, the goal is to “demonstrate ways in which small actions in our daily lives can have a profound impact on our world.” Together, they’ve provided a daily guide with steps you can take to lessen your impact over the course of a week. Each day has a different theme.

I’m joining over 4,000 people to take on this challenge to identify what impact my actions (or lack of action) are having, and to find out what areas of my lifestyle I can change to balance out my carbon footprint a bit more.

Day 3: Tuesday: Transportation

The first thing to do was to make a list of everywhere I’m going today and how I usually get there. My list would be work, home, maybe the gym. The drive to work isn’t really negotiable, because my commute is 25 miles each way, but a couple years ago, I joined the Prius revolution. Going from 27 miles per gallon to 42 miles per gallon definitely saves money but also dramatically reduces my environmental impact.

I tried to think of another way to impact my carbon footprint, and remembered that another preschool teacher lives near me, so I’m going to ask her to carpool a couple days a week. Luckily, the gym is right down the street from me, so it will be easy to hop on my bike to get there. As a bonus, the bike ride can double as my workout warm up!

According to the No Impact Guide, 50% of trips are less than two miles away. I’m committing to riding my bike or walking if I just need to pick up a couple items from the grocery store.

Is there mass transit near you? Taking public transportation saves money on car maintenance, gas, and you don’t have to worry about the stress of traffic. Most major cities have a metro or bus system that you can take advantage of. For more information or to find a transit system near you, check here.

If you have to drive, some suggestions to increase mileage include keeping your tire pressure where it’s supposed to be, turning off the AC, accelerating gradually, and turning off your car if you’re not moving. Change the way you drive by learning about hypermiling techniques to save gas.

Today, I’ve also been keeping track of the things I’ve been eating to get ready for Wednesday’s challenge: food.

Community Connection:

Want to dust off your bike and get those wheels rolling? Matador has lots of guides and resources for cyclists, including:

The World’s 15 Most Bike Friendly Cities

A Traveler’s Secret Way to Save Gas Money

and many more in our archives!

Photo: Slumdog Thousandaire; Feature photo: Michael Pickard

Somewhere, a marketing executive must have smoked a bowl and watched “The Amazing Race.” He’d probably been grappling with how to exploit all of the social networks in one shot, his team had probably been harping about peer-to-peer marketing, and his boss was most likely riding him about joining the YouTube Generation. What to do?

It would seem that he (or she, or an outside marketing company) invented Coke’s luke-warm Expedition 206 campaign, in which three pre-packaged Coke-heads will travel through 206 countries currently serving the beverage. Along the way, according to Coke, they’ll “seek and share the optimism and happiness of Coca-Cola”, while providing the world with more much-needed blog posts, tweets, videos, interviews and pictures.

Voting is currently taking place to pick one of three teams, whose candidates have been assembled by Coke themselves, having gone through “an extensive application process and boot camp at Coca-Cola headquarters in Atlanta, GA.” Take that for what you will, but I smell media training and a polish.

Rehearsed and scripted ‘viral’ video introductions of each team are currently available on the 206 website. In an apparent attempt to alienate almost anyone at the campaign’s onset, the clips ooze with surreptitious corporate objectives, from the squeaky clean contestants to the team’s humdrum names (“Team Wow!” ,“Team Mix”). The whole thing comes off like what it is– a marketing tool.

In a move that won’t come as a surprise for with an IQ higher than a pheasant, Coke is downplaying the branding aspects and is instead selling the project as a glorious experiment for mankind. Adam Brown, director of Coca-Cola’s Office of Digital Communications and Social Media, told Forbes, “It’s not about having the Coca-Cola brand first and foremost, center of the screen…. It’s about telling the story that involves Coca-Cola, that involves the attributes of what Coca-Cola is about, optimism and joy.”

What’s that smell?

Coke! Available in Sierra Leone! Photo: Sigma Delta

As someone who has been traveling the world for nearly a year, I keep wondering if the company really has any idea what they’ve taken on, and to what end they will pursue it. The upside seems to be the potential for a social media presence, as witnessed by the obvious grabs during the voting process (add Coke to your Facebook friends, etc.). But couldn’t they have nailed as much activity by giving away a few new computers and a pony? Why the desperate need to organize some kind of worldwide hokey-pokey?

The answer, of course, is that marketing executives need to substantiate their jobs in a world gone socially mad. Fourteen year olds are marketing their shitty death metal bands better than some brands and there are many expensive college degrees left out there to substantiate. This contest is merely executives trying to prove that they can out-maneuver a bedroom marketer.

The three winning candidates are surely out for a great ride, and at Coke’s expense. I have to wonder if they realize, though, that the whole thing will be Last Year’s News by mid-2010, as they’re left wandering the planet Tweeting about neato waterfalls to a captive audience of ten Coke interns. Twelve months is an eternity in the advertising world, where new campaigns and new initiatives are launched monthly. Unless the program is a huge success, I don’t see how it could hold the interest of a corporate culture for that long.

There also seems to be little revelation about what these youngsters will be doing out in the world. According to the site, they’ll be “…meeting new people, seeing amazing places, experiencing different cultures and attending local events….” This could mean life-expanding adventures that open their world view. Or it could mean a canopy walk and a game of ‘ole Pat Pong Ping Pong.

Lastly, there’s all of this business about happiness. I’m all for making the world a better place through a positive attitude and hope… but how about shedding a little bit of light on what is pulling the world apart? We’ve got a planet currently held together by duct tape – is now the time to spend a year running around it like Smurfette, giving kisses to whoever will have them? Or is it the year to expose world poverty, build houses for the homeless, and get together with the world’s thinkers? How exactly are you going to make a person with no water smile? Oh right, you’ll hand them a Coke.

It’s a little unfair for me to be jumping the gun this early, before this group’s body of work is brought into the world. I do wish them the best and I hope, no matter which team wins, that they’ll realize they have a platform to show us more than they have in their current trite videos. And hopefully Coke will keep their hands of the censor button long enough to allow these kids to tell us about the important things happening in the world.

Either way, at least you’ll have me watching.

Community Connection:

Interested in the tactics other big corporations are taking to polish their image? Check out Christine Garvin’s article “Localwashing: Shop Locally at Your Neighborhood Corporate Store.”