In today's modern society, the common claim from most people is 'we are too busy' as if life is somehow so hectic that it is virtually impossible to complete all the things we have to do, let alone all the things we would like to do. The impression is that despite the technology, we live in a world where the resource drain on our time is just too much, and as such certain activities suffer.
The truth of the matter is, we are all actually in control of our own situations, and a few changes here and there would make a world of difference, it just takes a re-aligning of priorities. However, the technology we have day by day in our pockets, bags and purses can also be used in a multitude of ways to help us serve others who need help on a regular basis, without making too many drastic changes to the way we live our lives. And to demonstrate how this can be done, Orange UK are launching a new project, which aims to use mobile technology to transform the way we volunteer our time and services for a variety of charitable causes.
'Snack-sized volunteering' allows people to utilise the mobile phone into helping those who need help, helping to generate extra hours of volunteering in the UK each year. Initially the project is being launched via an online website, which is focussing on attracting new ideas and concepts on ways we can achieve mobile volunteering. The top ten suggested methods for mobile volunteering will then be developed and funded by Orange, with the aim of eventually producing the ultimate volunteering application.
Suggestions on the site already include ideas such as saving charities thousands of pounds by giving them free access to people's opinions, or promoting wildlife research and protection for endangered species by taking pictures of things we see. There is an idea to make it easy for people to get involved by mapping local community services, or giving blind people access and insight by recording audio snippets.
Head of Open Innovation for Orange, Jogesh Limbani, said: “We're taking responsibility as a company for maximising the true potential of the mobile phone, to see how it can be used to empower consumers to do acts of good whilst on the move. In trying to crowd source these ideas, we'll develop this concept in collaboration with top industry experts to ensure that the end product has a very real impact on UK society. It is an exciting vision that builds on our heritage of innovation whilst at the same time aims to inspire millions of people to give just minutes of their time, and making a massive difference to UK society.”
It is rare that we are as busy as we think, even so such a scheme should appeal to many people. Giving a micro moment of your time on its own admittedly will make little difference, but if this concept is embraced by a large number of people, those micro moments will soon add up to a number that can make a real difference to any number of organisations and charitable causes.
To forward on your idea, and get involved in building the online community, simply sign up at mobilevolunteering.co.uk
