How the OWS movement gets teeth – part 1
The middle class in America is about to find it’s power…
And America and the world will be changed for the better because of it.
An example of what I am thinking about:
“You can find it by searching for ShopNoGMO in the iPhone application store…”
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_24171.cfm
“Description
ShopNoGMO is a shopping guide that helps you avoid GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) in the foods you buy at your grocery store.”
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shopnogmo/id393454798?mt=8
Now my thoughts in raw form:
It is time to leverage the power of social media, mobile technology, and networking to effect real, meaningful change in how we consume.
The problem – too many of the products and services we buy are connected to practices we wouldn’t support (environment, fair trade issues, mergers, job slashing for profits, etc.).
It is our money that feeds the inequity, that fuels environmental destruction, that keeps alive the corporatocracy.
We have within our grasp the power to wake up, arm ourselves, and make the necessary changes in our purchasing decisions to radically alter the landscape.
We need to crowd source…use mobile tech to scan products and get info on their ‘status’…crowd source by assigning research to a network of volunteers who will seek out the facts on products with missing or incomplete information…cross reference to verify.
It’s difficult…because of the reality of ministers of misinformation who lurk among us.
We need to gain the upper hand by creating trusted networks…let it start with ‘us’ instead of ‘them’.
This is one arena where the local grass roots media comes into play – people on the ground checking things out – armed with digital technology to reveal what is hidden and bring what is in darkness to light.
What is absolutely fundamental – transparency. If a company refuses to offer completely and authentic transparency it serves as a black mark that conscientious consumers will see as a sign that all is not well and that they should take their money to a ‘trusted vendor’.
Caution – fake advocacy groups exist, often with names that sound promising – for example, the name may sound like “People for the Responsible Use of the Earths Resources” but they may be a front group for ‘people who use the earths resources for their own personal gain only’.
“Advocate groups have a bad habit of selectively reporting only the information that flatters their causes”
http://cstl-cla.semo.edu/renka/Renka_papers/polls.htm
“Danger Will Robinson!”
Discernment is crucial in the information age. What sources of information can be trusted?
Again transparency is fundamental? Are they willing to disclose full and completely accurate info about funding etc? Who sponsored the study? Where does the money trail lead? Does it lead back to some corporate entity with a vested financial interest in the public perception of something? Or a truly independent consumer group?
And if the trail is impossible to discern red flags automatically go up.
MindOpenWhy 
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