Flash mobs are awesome (check out the recent by @always1success to see what I mean), but I want to talk about something which can bring just as much joy to people and you can help out without having to learn any dance moves (or get off your backside!)...
I wondered if Steemit might be the right community to help me create the first ever online cash mob...
The idea is pretty simple: get a group of people together who are willing to pledge to shop in a particular independent retailer all on the same day.
My history in the cash mob movement:
My town got voted the worst clone town in the UK some time ago, so I thought I'd try to do something about it... I created a Cash Mob. A group of people who all agree to go to one specific (democratically decided) independent shop per week and spend at least £10.
The whole process has been amazing! I got to talk on BBC Radio 4 (one of the most listened to radio stationsin the country) about the project, and spoke about why I believe everyone should shop at indepenedents where possible. I also did several interviews with local papers. It's taught me a lot about leadership and has been a really positive experience for me, but of course the real benefit is:
We've put big smiles on independent retailers in our local area, and helped promote the idea of supporting independent businesses.
The local group I founded now has over 150 members, and while I've had to step away from administering it for personal reasons I am really happy with what I acheived. I thoroughly recommend setting one up for your local community!
Why bother set one up yourself?
Huge multinationals are destroying high streets, and monopolizing online sales. They are turning every city on the planet in to "clone towns". If you were blindfolded and got on a plane, landed and taken to the closest local highstreet, I can almost guarnatee you wouldn't be able to tell me which country you were in by looking at the names of the shops and cafés... It's the same brands dominating everywhere. It's such a shame. Setting one up in your local community is easy!
Why bother pledge to join this one?
The online world isn't far different, with independent retailers struggling to find customers and generate sales when huge corporations like Amazon dominate the marketplace. Let's do something about it! If I get enough interest, I'll put the money and time in to create the tools we'll need to do this properly. I honestly think we could do something pretty powerful here.
I think it could really help promote Steemit if we showed that the community is willing to look outside this website and start doing some good in the world.
We could even potentially make accepting Steem a requirement of the online shops we nominate, which would hopefully encourage more e-retailers to accept it. So what do you say? Will you join me in creating a #SteemitCashMob?