Social media users have lately been criticized for being narcissistic and self-centered, and activism through social media has been looked down upon as “slacktivism”. However, as it turns out, social networks can actually be used to do some good, as proves a recent startup called Centscere.
The startup was created in Syracuse, NY by three students at local University, and its mission has been to turn social media actions into charitable donations. Its working is pretty straightforward: one just has to create an account, choose one of about 50 charities to donate to and decide how much money one is willing to give (usually a few cents) for each “like” and each post on Facebook and Twitter. The amount is then taken from one’s credit card once it reaches a certain threshold. It is also possible to set a monthly cap in order not to “break” the bank.
“We work with the Facebook and Twitter API’s. We have built a program that simply registers the interactions made by the users on their social media accounts. The backend then knows how many interactions were made by the users then multiplies it by the monetary amount that the users has designated for their interactions,” Centscere’s co-founder Ian Dickerson told Forbes.com.
The startup has recently partnered with big NGOs like “The Alliance to End Hunger” and presented a new website and a new logo in September. It has also earned a BCorporation title, awarded only to a small number of companies that focus on social and environmental issues. Right now, Centscere has roughly 300 users and it has collected over $8,000 for NGOs. In the future, the startup would like to expand to 50,000 users and look for more funding. If successful, it could be the best proof that social media users are not just “slacktivists”.
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