- “digital natives” will find it perfectly normal to help others online.
>> True and they already do it mostly through online forum helping people to sort out a range of issues from IT to travel! But these are very punctual, un-committing actions.

- The internet makes it easier to volunteer.

>> Because it is easier, it is also easier to forget about it. The incentive is very different when you have to give one hour of your time tutoring a child after school than when you have to give one hour of your time searching information online or writing a project plan. The connected reward and the level of interaction are also very different.

- Last but not least, people already spend an amazing amount of time online participating in projects without pay.

>> Being paid is no the issue. The issue is to be able to see the results of your effort.
And last but not least… There are two ends to online volunteerism. If one end (us the developed world) is computer savvy, has a lot of time to spend online, can afford to be online, this is not the case of the other end where communities in need will rarely have access to a computer, where computer cost a lot of “mangoes and bananas”, where people won’t know much about computer and where access to the internet is rather random.

These points are very important for you when setting up the goals of your project. With who are you going to work and how?

Regards
~R

>> Because it is easier, it is also easier to forget about it. The incentive is very different when you have to give one hour of your time tutoring a child after school than when you have to give one hour of your time searching information online or writing a project plan. The connected reward and the level of interaction are also very different.

—– it´s true that it´s easier to forget about it, thus it becomes essential to manage online volunteers properly, making them feel that their contributions are meaningful and with timely responses and periodic communications. As far as the reward being very different, I´d say some the testimonies we heard from some OVs were quite touching, like persons with disabilities able to volunteer for the first time or people able to do things for others across the world (eg. dealing with HIV/AIDS victims or children leaving schools at 8 or 10 yrs. of age…). It is empowering to realize that you can become involved directly in international issues, whether on education, health, disasters, human rights, etc.

>> …And last but not least… There are two ends to online volunteerism. If one end (us the developed world) is computer savvy, has a lot of time to spend online, can afford to be online, this is not the case of the other end where communities in need will rarely have access to a computer, where computer cost a lot of “mangoes and bananas”, where people won’t know much about computer and where access to the internet is rather random.

—- Surely access to computers and the Internet in the developing world is much lower than in the rich North, but that doesn´t mean that many developing actors don´t have it. Many local NGOs and other actors use Internet on a regular basis, and the proliferation of community telecenters and cibercafes around the world makes this possible without having to enjoy having a computer and connectivity at your office. It´s important to realize that the list mile of connectivity could be at a specific development actor’s, and not necessarily with a poor farmer or with an HIV/AIDS affected family member.

— Perhaps a bigger challenge for the Lughenjo project will be to obtain a sizable level of well-articulated demand, my impression is that you´ll find many people willing to volunteer online. Development orgs are not used to OVing, and it takes some time and effort to get used to.

— Lastly, have you considered other names than ‘Lughenjo’…? I´m thinking of marketing, and the name is hard to remember or pronounce!

Manuel

Lughenjo is a code-name; happy to listen to any suggestions for alternatives you have.

Mike