Welcome to the new DailyChallenge.org! If you’re an active Do Gooder, you may have noticed that we went live with what we’re calling Beta 2.0 of Daily Challenge last Wednesday morning. We’re still rolling out a number of updates over the next few days, but I wanted to take some time to walk you through some of the biggest changes.
So, what’s new with DailyChallenge.org? In short, everything. We’ve spent the last five months examining user preferences and listening to community feedback. We even conducted a series of usability tests in late January. The results were clear: everyone jived with the concept of doing random acts of kindness but desperately needed an easier way to get it done. So, we overhauled the entire site and essentially built it again from the ground up. Only this time, we were able to apply all the lessons we had learned to help make Daily Challenge more about you.
Let’s take a short tour through some of the major changes.
As many of you know, Daily Challenge is a tech startup that is looking to change the world by making it easy to Do Good. As part of our efforts to get the word out about Daily Challenge, we have submitted a 60 second elevator pitch to TechCrunch. TechCrunch is a prominent technology blog that covers the latest in the tech industry and provides valuable information for users, industry people as well as investors.
The 60 second videos are voted on and the top video in each week/month gets featured in a TechCrunch post (which is very valuable).
Voting is simple, you do NOT need to provide an email or even sign up. You can just click the green arrow (see the image) and that’s it. If you are really inspired, then you can also leave a comment for us.
We know that many of you have already put in your vote, and we want to thank you for taking the time. For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, please take a look and help us continue to get the word out about Daily Challenge and work together to create the change we want in our world!
We are happy to announce the launch of Daily Challenge 2.0! Our new website will officially go live on Tuesday March 03, 2009 at 11 PM EST. There will be many new upgrades and features that intend to enhance user the experience and allow our Do Gooders to more easily inspire and be inspired.
Over the past 4 months we have had the privilege of making personal connections with many of our users and have developed a strong in-depth perspective of their experiences in our social network.
We know DailyChallenge.org has a long way to go before we can truly create sustainable and massive change, but we want you all to know that we are 1000% committed to achieving that goal.
Our Creative Director, Verne Ho will be sharing a more detailed walk-through of all the new features of DC 2.0 in a blog post scheduled for Wednesday. In the meantime, you can check out a sneak preview of the new interface.
Important Note:
DailyChallenge.org will be down from 5 PM - 11 PM (EST) on Tuesday March 3, 2009 during the upgrading process.
Special Thanks:
The Daily Challenge Team would like to take this opportunity to thank YOU the users for all your support and patience.
Over the past 4 months we have received over 1000+ feedback forms, most of which were thoughtful and considerate suggestions on how we could improve our website.
Without your support this project would neither exist or be worth the effort. We are humbled to be working on a project with such passionate and committed users. We hope you enjoy the new site and look forward to your feedback!
Last week Darius introduced the first installment of the Daily Challenge Good News Report and it was well received by the community. So without further adieu, here’s this week’s dose of positive and uplifting news:
The Healing Toddler: A story about how a child transformed the mood in a doctor’s office waiting room.
I don’t know about you, but environmentally products that are FUN to recycle get my mojo going! Imagine this: you’ve just finished the ink in your latest eco-friendly, leaf-green pen and instead of chucking it in the garbage, you trot on over to the nearest flower pot and plant it!
MVP Design is a company making a big difference with the Green Pen. It’s made of biodegradable, compostable corn-based material; basically, an environmentally-friendly plastic!
All you have to do is dispose of the empty ink cartridge and bury the plastic barrel in some soil. Eight months later: fertilizer! They also have these cool bottom caps filled with seeds they say will “sprout and bloom while the pen decomposes”.
The only kicker for regular eco-aware folks is that these pens are only distributed as promotional items. You’ll have to find a Do Gooder company who is as committed to reducing their carbon footprint as MVP is (check out their about us).
Oh! Did I mention the other cool characteristic of the Green Pen? It’s square! At first, it’s just weird. And then I noticed that it fits quite nicely - it just takes a little getting used to.
So, who’s already giving out these cool promo pens?Let’s find out: Calling all Do Gooder companies out there who have purchased the Green Pen! We want to know who you are!
Stephanie Miller is a dedicated Do Gooder, spreading kindness in the world through Daily Challenge as well as assisting others in finding balanced, naturally healthy lifestyles as Head Health Nut on www.LiveLighter.org.
Imagine if every leader in the world (which includes bosses, parents, teachers, etc.) measured their success with how many eyes they made shine? This is exactly what Benjamin Zander does!
As conductor of the Boston Philharmonic since 1979, Mr. Zander soon realized that his main role as a conductor, as a leader, is to unlock the potential in others. He says he knows when he’s done this when he sees people’s eyes shine.
Mr. Zander guest conducts and tours around the world using classical music to speak on leadership. Here is an inspirational sneak-peak performance from a TED (technology, entertainment and design) conference last year, guaranteed to leave you appreciating classical music and motivated to be a better person:
Whether you’re a leader or not, how many eyes have you made shine today?
On February 12th, a handful of Do Gooders, the Daily Challenge team and a whole nest of Twitter folks descended upon the lavish digs at CiRCA for Twestival Toronto. And we rocked the T-Dot!
The scene had a magnificent, Bob Marley, feel-good vibe - and it wasn’t the shine from the free Molson beer! Everyone was smiling and networking, and many Tweeples met online Twitter friends face-to-face for the first-time!
Check it out with this 3 and a half minute video of Testival Toronto:
The Daily Challenge team had a blast at this event and we are honoured to have been one of the media sponsors. We can’t WAIT for the next Twitter event!
Sometimes we all forget how easy it is to smile and change our mood. Being that today is Friday, I think everyone is a bit more receptive to the idea of simply smiling!
This was posted as one of our challenges. You can click and complete the challenge here: See the challenge!
Habits begin as offhanded remarks, ideas and images. And then, layer upon layer, through practice, they grow from cobwebs into cables that shackle or strengthen our lives. Denis Waitley
Motivated by pleasure, habits are repeated behaviour that eventually require practically zero attention or effort. Because of this nature, “Habit is either the best of servants, or the worst of masters,” says Emmons. This is what Waitley in the opening quote meant: bad habits become our chains while good habits strengthen our lives.
Most people will agree that kindness and happiness are good habits to develop. Daily Challenge is a great tool to help do exactly this!
One of our community members, Dan Hocking, recognized the potential of Daily Challenge as a kindness tool and wanted to know how he could work Daily Challenge into his already very busy life. Here are a few tips:
Log on every day. When creating a habit, it’s more important to just do it. Habits are created by repetition, so don’t worry about quality right now. You don’t have to accept or complete challenges, comment, make friends, etc. If you want to make Daily Challenge a habit, just log on every day. Which leads us to the next tip… Continue Reading
Who doesn’t love to hear celebrities doing good? They exemplify success, the holy grail of western society, and inevitably become idolized by many people (especially kids). They have an enormous power of influence and can benefit humanity greatly, if they choose. So we love to hear when celebrities do good because when they lead by example, they become positive role models for us all!
Here are our picks for the 6 Most Socially-Conscious Celebrities and why:
Barack Obama, President of the United States of America and all-around great guy. Mr. Obama is #1 on this list for a reason: for walking his talk and passing a huge stimulus plan that promises job creation and focuses on health-care, energy and education.
Sting, music entertainer & activist. We don’t have to tell you why he made this list, but we love him even more for headlining on May 21st, One Night Live in Toronto, the benefit concert for the Women & Babies program at Sunnybrook Hospital. Continue Reading
This is the official blog for Do Gooders. It is the vehicle for the Daily Challenge story and the tool to get you directly involved in the project so you can become part of the story, too.
Welcome to the new DailyChallenge.org! If you’re an active Do Gooder, you may have noticed that we went live with what we’re calling Beta 2.0 of Daily Challenge last Wednesday morning. We’re still rolling out a number of updates over the next few days, but I wanted to take some time to walk you through some of the biggest changes.
Last week
I don’t know about you, but environmentally products that are FUN to recycle get my mojo going! Imagine this: you’ve just finished the ink in your latest eco-friendly, leaf-green pen and instead of chucking it in the garbage, you trot on over to the nearest flower pot and plant it!
Motivated by pleasure, habits are repeated behaviour that eventually require practically zero attention or effort. Because of this nature, “Habit is either the best of servants, or the worst of masters,” says Emmons. This is what Waitley in the opening quote meant: bad habits become our chains while good habits strengthen our lives.
