While the tech world has been busy following the latest news about Facebook and Google's OpenSocial launch, some green promotions have slipped by under the radar. Here's a roundup of what's been going on in green Web 2.0.
Social networking site Razoo, "the platform for social good" that made the news in early October by supporting "The Road to Burma" project, launched the Good Travels Contest on Wednesday. In an effort to promote responsible tourism, Razoo is sending a winner on "the trip of a lifetime." Participants who create and fill out a profile, find a cause, participate in an action, and join the official Good Travelers Group are entered to win a trip for two from ResponsibleTravel.com's cultural, educational, or volunteer trip offerings. The second place winner gets an XO laptop for themselves as well as one donated to a child in a developing nation, courtesy of the One Laptop Per Child initiative (an interesting project in its own right).
Another contest is going on over at The Guardian's Tread Lightly. The UK newspaper's new green community site is giving away a G-Wiz electric car (OK, technically it's a "quadricycle"). The G-Wiz, which has a top speed of 45 mph and a range of 48 miles per charge, can be powered up at home and is exempt from road taxes and the London congestion charge. To enter the contest, readers must register and complete at least one weekly green pledge.
This tread, er, trend, has seen lots of companies eager to polish up their environmental image launching their own green sites. Just this week a coworker suggested that I reach out to EcoTreadSetters, not realizing that the site is actually a marketing initiative by Yokohama Tires. (They're currently giving away an eco-vacation in Costa Rica.)
These sites obviously reflect a range of motivations, from Razoo's genuine and earnest commitment to social and environmental change, to Yokohama's effort to brand themselves as green. To what degree they will be accepted or rejected as greenwashing remains to be seen, but as always it will be the community of Web 2.0 users themselves who reach the verdict.
-Annalisa
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