Computers & Technology:

Internet

Slacktivism

 

Saving the world one mouse click at a time...

It's good to be a slacktivist

Snopes.com defines "Slacktivism" as:

the search for the ultimate feel-good that derives from having come to society's rescue without actually getting one's hands dirty, volunteering any of one's time, or opening one's wallet.

 

 

 

This zone will help you be a better slacktivist by serving as your one-stop shop for some of the best charity ad farms on the web.  These websites offer cool utilities, fun games, and other awesome content, and they donate their ad revenues to worthy charities.  Just by killing time at these sites, you can make a difference in the real world.  

FreeRice


photo by Valerie Everett
  • FreeRice.com is the epitome of human civilization. This website will help you improve your basic math skills, your English vocabulary, and your general knowledge with its fun, Harvard-sponsored trivia games. Ad revenues go to buy rice for people who need it. On your next coffee break, you could be improving your mind and fighting world hunger at the same time. Please visit FreeRice often, and be sure to tell your friends.

FreePoverty


photo by Ben Hosking

FreePoverty has a fun, highly challenging geography game in which you are asked to pinpoint locations on the unlabeled worldmap within a set amount of time.  The website uses its ad revenues to donate water, and you can track how many cups of water you have donated.  The game will hone your geography skills and is a nice change of pace from the games at other websites. 

Non-game sites

These click-to-donate sites don't have games, but they do collect charitable donations if you visit them and click on the links.  These sites are a good way to help save the world while taking a micro-break from work or school.  Vist them often-- small acts add up!

FreeKibble

When Mimi Ausland was just 12 years old, she started FreeKibble to help feed animals at a local shelter.  The site now feeds animals at shelters across the U.S.  For every day that you stop by and answer the trivia question, ten pieces of kibble will be donated to a shelter.  Visit FreeKibble and FreeKibbleKat and help feed homeless pets. 

HelpThirst


photo by Evan

The game on HelpThirst asks you to memorize numerical statistics.  Play the game.  Help end thirst.  Amaze your friends by knowing the GDP of Vanuatu.  

Help me be a better slacktivist! Submit a charity link.

Shop, Game, and Click for Animals

The Animal Rescue Site has several easy ways to help shelter animals, including online, ad-supported games that generate monetary donations, a click-to-donate feature, and a store.  The store has some fantastic merchandise, too!  I helped provide 126 bowls of food for shelter animals while getting a head start on my Christmas shopping this year.   

Comments (1 to 10 of 18)

Ann Hinds
Jan 24, 10 at 04:17 PM
Raven,
After 40 years, the Latin my mother made me take in high school pays off. I know most of the words on the Rice challenge. Now, I have to make myself turn it off so I can go back to writing and rating. This is a great zone!!!
Melissa R. Bickel
Jan 21, 10 at 08:22 PM
Raven, this is such a wonderful zone. Way to go you!!!
Raven Lebeau
Dec 20, 09 at 10:57 PM
Thanks, Jim!
Jim Bessey
Dec 20, 09 at 06:47 PM
Great stuff here, Raven -- I had no idea!
Raven Lebeau
Dec 17, 09 at 07:43 PM
Kimberly and Olivia, thanks for the encouragement! I'm glad to be promoting these cool charity sites.
Kimberly Schiller
Dec 17, 09 at 06:00 PM
Raven, this is awesome! I was especially happy to see the Animal Rescue Site link. It's my favorite - I click there every day.
Olivia Bredbenner
Dec 14, 09 at 09:25 PM
Nice job Raven.....Will be back again. :)
Olivia
Shaheen Darr
Nov 21, 09 at 08:25 AM
I have been clicking on the non-game sites but will try out Freepoverty one too. They all support such good causes, they all get my vote :)
Raven Lebeau
Nov 20, 09 at 05:46 PM
Thanks, Shaheen! I've gotten somewhat addicted to FreeRice and FreePoverty myself. I think I learned more geography from FreePoverty than I did in all of junior high/high school. I make a habit of going to FreeKibble and FreeKibbleKat, too. I've even gotten my husband trained to answer the daily trivia. Which is your favorite charity site?
Shaheen Darr
Nov 20, 09 at 08:11 AM
Love doing the clicks Raven, this is such a wonderful zone, thanks for introducing it :)

Zone Manager

Helium member since Aug 24, 07
Number of Zones: 47

GoodSearch and GoodShop


photo by Ed Yourdon

GoodSearch uses the Yahoo! search engine, but ad revenues are donated to a charity of your choice.  Related site GoodShop allows you to search for items from a wide variety of retailers and donates a percentage of the purchase price to charity. 

FreeFlour


photo by Will Luo

Answer trivia questions and help donate flour to the hungry at FreeFlour.

Volunteer computing.


photo by

If pointing and clicking to raise money for charity sounds like too much work for you, don't give up on being a slacktivist just yet!  There are legitimate ways to help save the world while letting your computer literally do all of the work for you.  If you have a computer that you sometimes leave on when you aren't using it, you could be one download away from making an important contribution to science.

Organizations like World Community Grid ask computer users to volunteer their computers' unused time in order to help solve scientific problems.  In essence, your computer becomes a small part of a collective psuedo-consciousness, a virtual supercomputer constructed by linking computers all over the world.  With the resulting computing power, scientists can make progress toward goals such as testing the accuracy of climate models, developing anti-viral drugs, or even searching for extra-terrestrial intelligence. 

If this sounds like your kind of slacktivism, visit World Community Grid or the BOINC project page and find a project suitable for your computer.  Harware and software requirements vary from project to project, so be sure to check the details.  You can also shop around for a scientific problem that interests you.  Many of the projects have associated online communities with message boards, newsletters, and updates on the progress of the project.  The truly beautiful thing about volunteer computing is that it allows you to get as involved as you want to in the project, whether that means downloading the software and just letting it run, or reading about and discussing the scientific problem of your choice.

FreeYourFootprint


photo by Shawn Skriver

 

 

Answer trivia questions correctly, and help the sponsors of FreeYourFootprint plant trees! 
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