Featured on TechCrunch, Carbon Rally, the latest player in green social networking:
CarbonRally
applies gaming and social networking concepts to environmental activism by challenging participants to take positive steps against carbon emissions. Boston based CarbonRally offers a series of carbon reducing challenges, such as not drinking bottled water, dumping shopping bags and leaving your car at home, whereby users can compete against others to become the most carbon friendly participant. Current users include Google’s offices in Boston and Pittsburgh who are openly aiming to beat one and other. The competition is all in good fun with no prizes offered, however CarbonRally is looking at corporate sponsorship of challenges in the future. If you’re passionate about carbon emissions, CarbonRally providers a fun and friendly forum from which you can join others in saving the world.
This is a great example of well understood green psychology translated into a brilliantly executed business idea. Americans love to compete, and play. Take those traits, apply them to real life micro-communities, with a twist of corporate pressure, and you’ve got a great recipe for inducing positively green behavioral changes. Fundamentally, human beings are pleasure seeking creatures. Let’s not forget that basic psychological truth, in our efforts to get people to green their lifestyles.
