5 mega-trends in the green webosphere
Fri, May 08 2009 at 10:24 PM EST
Photo: G Living
For my web theme this week, I've been posting on online media innovations that are changing the way we think about "green." Several mega-trends seem to be emerging, so here is my recap of the Top 5:
1. Green Search
I recently did a post on green search engines, linking to an article by MakeUseof. Green search engines take advantage of the most common of daily activities (the average person googles seven times per day) to make a positive impact on the planet ... like planting trees or offsetting your carbon.
2. Green Video Blogs
Video blogs, or vlogs, are a way to access news an information in small 3-4 minute web chunks. This batch of green vlogs includes consumer news like Zaproot, green tips like Ask Umbra, and clips from Planet Green's G Word.
LINK: Top 10 Green Video Blogs (UPDATED)
3. The Green Twitter Parade
MNN's own Shea Gunther created a bit of a social media storm with his post on #FollowFriday a Twitter institution in which tweeters (particularly green ones) recommend their favorite tweeters to each other. After the success of the post, fellow social media blogger and green pundit MaxGladwell kicked off a "green-only" event called #EcoMonday in which tweeters recommend the best green tweeters. The experiment was so popular #ecomonday made it to the Top 10 trending topics on Twitter (a pretty massive accomplishment considering the recent Jonas Brothers frenzy). Kudos for @Sheagunther and @MaxGladwell for leading the parade.
4. Green iPhone Apps
In 2008, Facebook apps were all the rage. But 10 trillion Lil' Green Patch and Vampire Bite requests later, Facebook users have all but forgotten that deluge of juvenile distractions. But just as iTunes changed the way we think about music downloads, the iPhone is changing our perception of apps. iPhone's shopping cart model for downloading apps has somehow elevated them to a higher plane, and a recent series of green iPhone apps will provide users with a host of eco-friendly functions -- tracking your driving miles (GreenMeter), planting trees in Africa (MokuGift) or finding local green businesses (3rdWhale).
5. Online Green Competitions
The X-Prize's Crazy Green Idea video competition was one of a slew of well-funded competitions asking web users to come up with planet-saving ideas. Realizing this is a great way to get media impressions while giving away money to good causes (and of course getting great brand association along the way) corporate sponsors have been jumping on the bandwagon. One company Advanta came up with IdeaBlob, a cool social media website that awards $10,000 to the best business idea. And on Earth Day, Nat Geo kicked off the 'Green Effect' competition which will be awarding 5 prizes, $20,000 each for 5 great green ideas.
There is a final emergent trend called "Green Social Media" but I will leave that one to the expert MaxGladwell, who rumor has it is launching a social media experiment of epic proportions next week. Google "maxgladwell" on Tuesday, May 12 and you will see...
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