Pledgebank

There are a lot of tools on the internet meant to help bring people and communities together across the world for good. But do any of these tools make a real impact? Can they be used to build trust between people despite the anonymity of the Internet? In this episode, we look at one such tool, Pledgebank, a project of the UK-based organization mySociety. The idea behind this website is that someone pledges to take an action as long as a certain amount of others do too. We explore this tool's simple premise and how it has brought the city of Bhubaneswar, India together with people from around the globe and with Western literary heroines like Pippi Longstocking. Click to hear this episode. Featured in this episode: mySociety.org Pledgebank Bakul Foundation digg_url = 'http://digg.com/podcasts/The_Idealist_org_Podcasts'; digg_skin = 'compact'; digg_window = 'new'; | Add to Del.icio.us | function fbs_click() {u=location.href;t=document.title;window.open('http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+encodeURIComponent(u)+'&t='+encodeURIComponent(t),'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=626,height=436');return false;} html .fb_share_link { padding:2px 0 0 20px; height:16px; background:url(http://static.ak.facebook.com/images/share/facebook_share_icon.gif?43:26981) no-repeat top left; }" onclick="return fbs_click()" target="_blank" class="fb_share_link">Share on Facebook