What would you say if I gave your donations to someone whom (until recently) I never met, who used it on a country I've never been, and helped people I've never seen?
What you would get is this video:
First, it must be said that this is far less sketchy than it seems. Rohan was a friend of mine long before I sent him a dime. I trusted him enough as a friend before I entrusted him with part of this project. That, of course, does limit how often I can do things like this.
Second, there is a specific reason I wanted ...
Why I Went to VidCon
[caption id="attachment_2489" align="aligncenter" width="481" caption="Hank & John Start VidCon Early in the Morning (thus the rare shot of empty seats)"][/caption]
VidCon. In a word? WOW. As one friend put it, "it's like the internet exploded into real life". It was surreal, amazing, & awesome to meet people that I've only been able to see through my computer screen.
Even though there wasn't nearly enough time, I'm in awe at how seamlessly online friends turned into "real life" friends. In most cases it's like you've known someone for ages and are just hanging out.
[caption id="attachment_2488" align="aligncenter" width="482" caption="This photo makes me look more ...
My 5 Fact Pitch to Save the Children
It's the first of April, and I'm standing in a dimly lit room with a bright projector light blinding me. In front of me, some high ranking officials who came to hear me speak. This is no April's Fools joke: this was my presentation to Save the Children USA's Global HQ.
[caption id="attachment_2423" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Save the Children's USA HQ (pic by Madge Canning)"][/caption]
After an hour of Keynote slides, graphs, and videos I was pleased to see that my presentation was well received. Lots of nodding heads. But I needed one more thing. I need to drive the message home. It ...
Does Steve Jobs Care about Global Poverty?
Less than 24 hours ago, Apple surpassed Microsoft to become the world's biggest tech company. As someone who used to spell Microsoft with a dollar sign, I can't believe what I'm about to say: this is a bad thing for the world.
The only thing I love more than Apple is what I use my Mac gear for: fighting poverty in developing countries. In this regard, unlike Microsoft & Bill Gates, Apple & Steve Jobs don't seem to care much about poverty and global development.
[caption id="attachment_2235" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="One runs the biggest tech company in the world, the other is a global ...
Hey Shawn, I saw your Davos video (of course) and the one blaring thing I noticed is that you did not mention what is UNIQUE about YOU. Lots of people work on ending poverty. You even listed websites who are doing it too.. but you didn’t say.. what is special about YOU.
You’ve gotta start using that as your leverage. Thats why I gave YOU money instead of them. That’s why we follow you. You’ve got a unique audience because of the unique way you work – which is also important.
Mention it in your next davos, and in any of the other videos you make that describe what you do. The thing about not using guilt, about showing your viewers where the money goes.. use that. use the unique viewers you have.. we are not middle aged charity people.
We’re nerdfighters and youtubers and we are powerful – use it!
“Innocent children of war, famine, and disease – will you help them?” WELL THEN PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL RIGHT NOW! Operators are standing by! It only costs as much as a cup of coffee a day! Does this sound familiar? Well, that’s part of the problem.
One of the reasons I started this project is because I had the lofty goal of changing the conversation about global poverty. Commercials are a big influence on that conversation. More often than not, when someone sees images of the third world or poverty on TV – it is usually from a television commercial. But commercials like the ones I talk about my latest episode on YouTube, actually do a disservice.
People don’t like to be made to feel guilty. There is no point – making me feel guilty doesn’t get us any closer to solving global poverty. But commercials like these definitely try and take the viewer on a guilt trip – complete with rhetorical questions such as “But who cares? He’s not your child – why should you care?”.
These commercials also go for the pity factor. In the 15 videos that I have thus far put on YouTube – there is only one video which has a child crying. But, judging by all the charity/poverty-related commercials on TV, you’d think that all kids did in the third world was cry and make sad faces. Evoking images that make us see the poor as objects of pity not only do a disservice to the poor – it’s downright insulting. In fact, if I got a dime for every time I saw a kid smiling here in Bangladesh, this project would have paid for itself.
The only thing worse than evoking our pity for the poor or making us feel guilty is the fact that it all boils down to one message: send us your money. Send us your money and you’ll feel better. It’s an over-simplified conception of global poverty that hinders real solutions towards ending global poverty. Did you know, that developed nations get back more money from the third world per year as interest on their debt than we give to them each year in aid? It’s true – and it has been for quite a while.
Picking up the phone and dialing the number on your screen does more to ensuring more pity-evoking and guilt-inducing commercials in the future than it does to help us achieve the end of poverty. I think it’s time to change the conversation about poverty. And, thanks to your support – my loft goal of changing the conversation is starting to look not-so-lofty anymore. As of recently, The Uncultured Project on YouTube is now more popular (in terms of subscriptions) than all the following YouTube channels combined:
This is not a charity, organization, or anything formal. It’s my journey to try and make the world a better place - one meaningful difference at a time. It’s about inspiring others to believe that we can be the generation that ends extreme poverty. Hopefully, this project can also show the big multinational organizations that there is a better way to engage people on the issue of global poverty.
About Me
I'm Shawn - a 29 year old Canadian from Toronto. Before starting this project, I was a graduate student on scholarship at Notre Dame University. My life took a turn after I met Dr. Jeffrey Sachs (author of the book "The End of Poverty") when he came to give a speech at Notre Dame. That speech inspired me to withdraw from grad school, liquidate my savings, and begin this journey to try and make the world a better place - one meaningful difference at a time.
