Tipping Point: Where Is It For World Hunger?
December 10, 2006
In the world of tipping points, I think this blog has reached at least one, perhaps several. The one I am talking about is the emergence of Lip-sticking as somewhere to connect with -- women. It isn't the women's market. It's women as a group, as a collective mindset, as individuals who care about one thing or another. The important word in that description is "care." 
I'm delighted by the attention. Make no mistake about that. All the folks who write to me with neat ideas, with clients working to make a better world, with accomplishments by and for women that they hope to get attention for, are helping me in my cause - to show the world that women are, indeed, as Harriet Beecher Stowe once said, "The real architects of society."
To that end, I'm happy to share some upbeat, exciting events with you. In support of the women who are out there making a difference...
First, I must brag. The daughter, Chloe, has been accepted by Quickbooks as a community blogger in "Briefing on Small Business." She is adding her expert voice to theirs and offering advice on how to use Quickbooks effectively. Visit her as Miss Enterprise here, and don't be shy. Ask questions.
Recently I was contacted by a delightful woman named Kim who has a website (and blog) on parenting advice and decorating resources. I love her sub-title: "Where whimsical meets practical in the art of children's room design." It's worth a look-see. I talked with her a bit about what she does, and here's what she told me...
"I started out of my garage about 10 years ago when I
started looking for baby décor for my son that I was pregnant with at the time. There was a void in the St. Louis market that I wanted to fill. A year later, I launched the website and its been growing every year with new lines in furniture, bedding, and room décor. We hope to continue to grow and keep up with the trends in 2007. Our goal is provide personalized customer service and we always run calls within 48 hours to our customers. The most important New Year’s resolution is to spend time with my family and for my business, put our customers and style and selection first. "
Click here for the Disco Dot Blanket. How kewl is that?
Now, this is on a more serious note. David Patterson of Heifer.org wrote to me in early December to introduce me to his online community dedicated to solving the hunger crisis. Here's part of the email he sent me,
"At Heifer, we’ve created a way for blogging leaders like you to help. If you believe “teaching someone to fish” is the way to end hunger in the world, please help us spread that message, and encourage your readers to share the holiday spirit by supporting Heifer’s work in the US and around the world. Please sign up to participate in Heifer International’s first-ever online community fundraising campaign!"
If that wasn't inspirational enough, David included a link to Wendy Knits, where this talented woman has collected over $20,000 for Heifer.org so far! This is so fantastic, I get goose bumps talking about it. The ability of bloggers to influence charity and non-profits is just so powerful...it's exciting to see it at work, and working so well!
The challenge is to help Wendy raise $50K or $100K, or... get on board and show the world that you, too, can blog to raise money for the Heifer org.
As my alter-ego, Jane, would say, "What's not to like about that?"
Thanks for telling people about our BlogRaising effort. Hope lots of people jump on the band wagon at
www.heifer.org/onlinecommunityfundraising
Posted by: Dave Patterson | December 11, 2006 at 04:34 PM
The animal table and chair set on artisticsensations is really cute. Just what I was looking for. Thanks for the link.
Erika
http://www.amish-furniture-home.com
Posted by: Erika | December 11, 2006 at 06:12 AM
Thanks for the shout-out for my Heifer project. I am delighted and amazed at the amount we've raised so far. The credit, of course, goes to the entire knitblogging community. These women and men are simply an amazing group. Together we can accomplish so much!
Posted by: Wendy | December 10, 2006 at 06:41 PM
P.S.
Did not mean to go Off Topic, but your "women as a collective, not just a market" sentence triggered my thoughts, since the "Happy Birthday to Your Website" seemed to be a feminine, nurturing type concept I thought the wonderful ladies and she-bloggers would like and maybe have reactions to, could apply to their companies and products.
Posted by: steven e. streight otherwise shunned and feared as Vaspers | December 10, 2006 at 04:14 PM
First, I'm happy to see you with a graphic button for Fortune Business Innovation blog, a blog that gets almost no comments, and seems overlooked, but is one of the most important, and relevant business blogs in history.
Now--I recently joined a web design, hosting, etc. company a few blocks up the road from my bungalow.
We have this idea of sending birthday cards to our customers "Happy Birthday to Your Website on its one year anniversary" or similar. That was my boss's idea. I added a Seth Godin inspired "Free Prize Inside" element: a gift certificate to a local restaurant.
"Take your website out for a birthday dinner" maybe with a screenshot of the website, on a baseball card type format, with our company name and URL below the screen shot, so the customer could play along with the whole thing, and show the website to others, waitress, and whoever she or he took along to the dinner.
I think there would be a viral effect, "Guess what my web host and design provider just sent me?"
Car dealerships and insurance companies do the same--but without any kind of coupon or certificate, and definitely without a $25 restaurant gift certificate tossed in.
Whatcha think?
Any ideas?
Posted by: vaspers the grate aka steven e. streight | December 10, 2006 at 04:10 PM