Don’t Just Sit There - Razoo!
by
on October 15, 2007,
Razoo, a new goal oriented community for causes that raises awareness and promotes positive action. The public beta allows caring people to create or join causes they deem worthy. This is not a new concept but this is one of the best efforts out there for "actually" doing something good and being effective. There is no shortage of worthy causes in the world, but all too often there is no hub or tool to take action - Razoo is aimed at solving this problem.
Cause Groups
Creating or joining a cause essentially creates a group that acts individually and collectively toward set goals. Each cause gets its own blog and actions/goals that users can impact. Users add data and information like links, images, video, stories or text, acts, goals and blog entries. The site reminds me of a Facebook for altruism. Razoo is a very interesting development in that its vision is based on the dynamic for good in people.
Tools With Purpose
Razoo has essentially taken Web 2.0 tools and function and applied social networking toward people's passions. The site is quite inspiring and really simplifies how people can affect change to a large degree. A good example to use might be the fact that I can write a great blog post here - and thousands of people may see it and want to do something. However, there is not much utility here or on any blog to actually do anything other than head off in one's own direction. Razoo puts the gist of an effort and the ability to ‘act' right in front of the user.
Take action page from Razoo
Conclusion
Razoo is a great development with its heart in the right place. There are others in this venue like Carebadges and others, but none of these combined or refines the effort like Razoo has done. It is about time we had more developments that are beyond simple entertainment and shuffling of data. Razoo and sites like it can put some "can do" in what is the greatest tool in the world. We love video, music, games, communication and a host of other activities, but think about it - there are other songs playing out there that need our attention. Maybe Razoo can inspire a new breed of development that will add some balance to our activities.
Here's how on Razoo
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Svetlana Gladkova
65bus 
Irel Johnson 
Hi Phil,
Thanks for the great review of Razoo — we couldn’t have said it better ourselves!
We do like to think we’re using web 2.0 tools for a higher purpose, so I’m glad that came across to you. Our community is growing quickly, which is a great indication that folks are eager to put action behind good intentions. We’re excited by the momentum coming together around making our world a better place — it’s a fun wave to be part of!
Cheers,
Rebecca
rebecca@razoo.com
Razoo.com. Come Together. Change Your World.
Good Happens: http://blog.razoo.com
Sounds like you are talking about Care2, which I have belonged to for several years. I subscribe to their animal and human rights email alerts, and I’m active on the Care2 discussion boards for the animal groups there, plus for Oceana and The Nature Conservancy. They are at http://www.care2.com. I’m a big fan of their click races, where each click generates a donation to the nonprofit group. There are millions of Care2 members. I get to take actions all the time, plus they follow up and tell you if the campaign succeeded or not (i.e. the law was passed, the company stopped whatever they were doing, etc.) and you keep track of every action you have ever taken. I also contribute to their news network, which is like Digg, but with all progressive issues.
Hi guys - I cannot say enough that is good about sites that take our tools here and do good for humanity. There are really all too few of the comparatively - and even for people who love gadgets and entertaining stuff - the list of “chocolate” sometimes gets too long.
Lately I have been pondering just how much we could all really get done if all these users directed this energy toward our problems and even some “real” entertainment. I think we all need to start thinking about that.