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trends in 09: micro-size me

As far as concepts go, micro-credit is brilliant, but it’s not new. However, the re-angling of micro-credit’s Lilliputian lens from recipient to donor is relatively new, and it’s getting a lot of press:
Obviously, the credit crunch has taken a massive bite out of corporate giving, but micro-giving seems to be emerging as the new champion of charity for a couple of reasons. I think it’s going to go the distance — below are a few reasons why.

motive
Greed is tacky right now. Being poor is becoming a very real possibility to more and more people — and even if you’re not one of them, chances are you are a touch more restrained w/r/t/ flashing the cash. With the banking profession taking more flack every day for leading us down this road in the first place, we’re absorbing the message that it’s evil to be greedy. Micro-giving allows us to lighten our karmic load and do a little good, even if we don’t have much to spare.

means
Web 2 is the ultimate in connective digi-tissue. Facebook, twitter, tumblr, and a whack of other apps make it so easy to speak to so many. As Borthwick and Lerer note, social media apps make it easy to find and belong to a tribe. And with Paypal, Moneybookers and any number of other legitimate and secure online payment processes available, appealing for money online only seems sensible. The social and commercial infrastructures are in place — it only makes sense for a new solution to emerge. And emerge they have — see tipjoy, ‘simple social payments for great people, causes and content’.

and one more thing…
I think the catalyst in this aggressive emergence of a new kind of giving is the humanization of charity: by cutting out the middleman, or the charity itself, the recipient of the aid becomes the face of that cause. And I think that human story is going to be the driver in compelling more people, from Hugo McBanker to Mommy Van Broke, to reach for their bank details.

Notes