Investing in people: microcredit and Kiva.org

Inspired in equal parts by Greg Cohn’s experience with Kiva.org and the awarding of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize to Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank for their work in micro-credit, I decided to make a couple of small loans to enterpreneurs in the developing world. For those who are not familiar with the concept of microcredit, Wikipedia offers this description:

Microcredit is the extension of very small loans (microloans) to the unemployed, to poor entrepreneurs and to others living in poverty who are not bankable. These individuals lack collateral, steady employment and a verifiable credit history and therefore cannot meet even the most minimum qualifications to gain access to traditional credit. Microcredit is a part of microfinance, which is the provision of financial services to the very poor; apart from loans, it includes savings, microinsurance and other financial innovations.

I made two small loans today using Kiva.org, which makes the process really simple:

  • One to a 43 year-old woman in Kenya to invest in her crafts business
  • One to a 42 year-old woman in Kenya to invest in her dairy business — mainly to buy two cows and feed.

For more about Kiva.org, read the FAQ. I’ll post later about how my loan portfolio is doing, though the repayment window is 10-18 months for the loans I extended, so it could be a while (one key note: these are no-interest loans, so it’s not a money-making opportunity). Kiva claims that their repayment rate to date is 100% and data from the United Nations Capital Development Fund say that the worldwide repayment rate for microloans is 97%. Even if you’re the cynical type, this seems like a good bet.

As the Nobel Prize press release says, “Lasting peace can not be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty. Micro-credit is one such means. Development from below also serves to advance democracy and human rights.” This is definitely a compelling use of the Internet.

Update: my good friend Andrew Leonard offers his take on Kiva in his Salon blog, How the World Works: “Do it yourself microfinance.” I am routinely astonished by the world as it emerges before me, but wrapping my brain around do-it-yourself microfinance has been one of those moments where I feel the earth move under my feet.

Widgets are the ringtones for the MySpace generation

Today, I was thinking about widgets and marketplaces like the Wallop Modder Network that allow for the buying and selling of widgets. The over-30 curmudgeon in me wondered, “why would anyone ever buy and sell silly little widgets for their blogs?” Then I remembered the always-surprising (at least to me) ringtone market, and a lightbulb went off: widgets are the ringtones for the MySpace generation.

(Of course, it’s much easier to charge a ringtone to a phone and have that bill go to your parents, but what’s stopping anyone from offering pay-by-mobile-phone widget options?).

Predictive markets microconference at Yahoo!

My Yahoo! colleague Chris Plasser has put together a really impressive (and free) event at Yahoo! on Wednesday, December 13, the first installment of a new series called confab.yahoo. Here’s the description:

Join us for a public “how to” session on prediction markets** moderated by James Surowiecki, New Yorker columnist and best-selling author of The Wisdom of Crowds. Speakers from Google, HP, Microsoft, and Yahoo! will describe how they are using prediction markets to aid corporate forecasting and decision making. Other speakers include the developer of Zocalo, an open source prediction market platform; the co-founder of InklingMarkets.com, a Paul Graham yCombinator startup; and Robin Hanson, the visionary economist and inventor whose pioneering work paved the way. The event is open to the public and will emphasize practical lessons and hands-on advice. After brief presentations from each speaker, Surowiecki will open up the session for discussion with the audience.

Check out the Upcoming.org page for all the details.

What was your first Amazon order? (and why George Jones matters)

I was logged in to Amazon tonight checking an order and followed the link to “orders by year.” The first order in my history was placed on December 23, 1997 and appeared to be a last-minute Christmas gift for my mother. I ordered these two books:

  • Kay Jamison’s An Unquiet Mind: a look at the connection between manic-depressive illness and creativity. I bought a copy for myself — it’s a fascinating subject.
  • George Jones’ autobiography I Lived to Tell All. Now, a title like I Lived to Tell All might seem a little melodramatic to some, but for George Jones, living to tell all is a truly unexpected achievement. Wikipedia describes George Jones as follows: “an American country singer known for his distinctive voice and phrasing that frequently evoke the raw emotions caused by grief, unhappy love, and emotional hardship.” That barely scratches the surface. Anyone who cares about American popular music (or humanity itself) should keep a turntable around loaded with a couple of scratchy George Jones records. George Jones lived his life squarely inside the agonizing parentheses in song titles known to all country music fans. . . If Drinkin’ Don’t Kill Me (Her Memory Will), These Days (I Barely Get By), A Picture of Me (Without You), Nothing Ever Hurt Me (Half As Bad As Losing You). These songs are clever in their expression of abject sadness (“these days I barely get by“), but never cute — they hurt every time. I saw George Jones perform at the Masonic in San Francisco in February 2000 (see photo) and the place was 2/3 empty. 1/3 full is a triumph for a man who once rode a lawn mower to the liquor store when his license had been revoked.

Life can be hard at times, and my mother’s old George Jones records taught me just how bad it can get (and the book I gave her was just a clear explanation of the story behind those records) — but they also taught me a little something about resilience and faith. (A 1999 piece about George Jones in Salon.com makes it all clear.)

So, what was your first Amazon order?

Welcoming Bix to Yahoo! with a little karaoke

Bradley only teased us in his announcement of the Bix acquisition (c’mon Bradley, post the karaoke!), but I’m laying it all bare with my rendition of the Roger Miller classic, “King of the Road.” It’s one of my favorite songs, but my version doesn’t do it justice, though it was fun. Here it is anyway (the photo is with my lovely fiancee Nancy, and I’m wearing my favorite western shirt).

http://www.bix.com/a/ElL2e5l64z

Vote for me on Bix.com!

Welcome to Yahoo, Bix! We’re going to make beautiful music together.

Voting is too hard / Berkeley ballot silliness

I signed up for an absentee ballot and set aside some time this morning to do some research and fill out the ballot so I could get it in the mail today. It took a really long time to figure out my votes. The issues are pretty complex in some cases, especially when it comes to the state propositions. It’s disturbing to me that so many election decisions will be made based on TV/radio commercials and pithy phrasing on glossy flyers. That being said, I consider myself pretty well-educated and well-informed and although I did some diligent research, I can’t say with confidence that all of my choices were the right ones — but I voted nonetheless.

Now, on to nutty California stupidity. . . .

I’m not a fan of the current presidential administration by any means, but city measures like this one on the Berkeley ballot where I live are just plain stupid and embarrassing:

Measure H: Shall the City of Berkeley petition the United States House of Representatives to initiate proceedings for the impeachment and removal from office of President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard B. Cheney and call upon the California State Legislature to submit a resolution in support of impeachment to the United States House of Representatives?

Oh, please. I voted “no.” Regardless of how I feel about the current administration, I would appreciate it if the Berkeley City Council would focus on things like recycling and fixing street lights, and leave constitutional matters to more appropriate governmental channels. On a practical political level, I can only imagine that Berkeley City Council support for such a resolution would only make it less attractive for the rest of the country, whose support would actually be meaningful.

Despite its frequent stupidity, Berkeley remains strangely loveable. Michael Chabon’s essay “The Mysteries of Berkeley” explains the love/hate relationship one can have with Berkeley far better than I ever could. He really nails it when he calls the Berkeley City Council “that august tribunal of collective neurosis.” Overall, Chabon’s essay is the best single piece of writing on Berkeley I have ever read.

Beck (and puppets) on Saturday Night Live this weekend!

PuppetsVia the PuppetVision Blog (!), I just learned that Beck and his puppets will be making what “may be their final public appearance on SNL” (according to puppeteer Rob Saunders, who I had the pleasure of meeting briefly backstage at Yahoo! Hack Day). If you’re wondering what in the world I’m talking about, be sure to check out the video from one of my prior posts. I don’t think a day has gone by at work that I haven’t said, “Doesn’t anybody work here? Where are the servers? Where are the techies to support this?” (you gotta watch the video to get it).

For more on Beck and his puppets, check out these links:

I love those damn puppets.

Subscribe to my blog via email

I love FeedBurner. Every now and then, I check out features I’m not using and try a new one out. Tonight, I added the ability to subscribe to my blog via email using FeedBurner email. The form is permanently in my blog template now, but here’s what it looks like for all you RSS-only readers:

To subscribe to my blog via email, enter your email address below:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Enjoy.

Counterfeit Mach3 cartridges and the war on terror — and boy, my face hurts!

I’ve written about transcedent shaving on this blog before, talking about my trip to the hallowed halls of shaving at Truefitt & Hill in London, where I got a truly elegant Mach3-compatible razor in July (lovingly pictured at right). I wrote then: My Mach 3 has never felt so classy. As close as I came to touching the face of the shaving gods in London in July, I just experienced a serious karmic shaving reversal, and it’s kind of shocking.

It all started a few weeks ago when I made a bulk order for 52 (!) Mach3 cartridges from an Amazon seller. The product page said: “Stock up and Save! 52 Blades in one package. Enought [sic] to swap to a new blade once every week.” Imagine. . . not having to buy Mach3 cartridges for a whole year. Who among you Mach3 users have not dreamed of a near-endless supply of sharp-and-ready Mach3 cartridges? Sold! I don’t think I’ve ever waited for a box any more eagerly than that one.

When I got the box, there weren’t 52 cartridges — it was a few short. “Oh well,” I thought. “I’m still good until August 2007 and I don’t have time to deal with it, so I’ll just eat the difference.”

I still had a few of my existing cartridges left, so I didn’t dig into my Mach3 motherlode until last week. After tossing the last one I already had, I attached one of the not-quite-52-pack to my gorgeous Truefitt & Hill razor, did my usual old-school routine, and on the first stroke: OUCH! I thought maybe I hadn’t lathered enough, so I lathered more, and it still hurt. I eventually got the hair off my face, but I’m pretty sure a cheese grater would have worked better. It says something about a deep trust in brands that I wasn’t even aware of in myself, but I kept trying all last week, just not believing that my trusty Mach3 blades could work that poorly, and maybe it was something wrong with me.

After another horrible shaving experience with a “new” blade today, it suddenly struck me: are these things fake? A quick search for “counterfeit Mach3” made it clear that these were not my beloved Mach3’s. Enter the public servants at fakeblades.com to lay out in excruciating detail just how screwed I (and many others, apparently) were on my bulk Mach3 purchase. Shocking.

My search also led me to testimony by Richard K. Willard, Senior VP and General Counsel for Gillette before the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. Senate. Some quotes (definitely read the whole thing, though):

While corporations that sell well-known, branded products are the obvious and direct victims of counterfeiting, this illicit activity also poses a real threat to the livelihoods and lives of workers and consumers, though many may not realize it.

When the average American thinks about counterfeit goods, he or she may think of phony Rolex watches, fake high-fashion handbags, or cheap knock-offs of designer T-shirts. The purchasers of these items usually know the products are not originals, so they may readily conclude that buying a fake is no big deal, no harm done. What many consumers do not realize, however, is that this benign and somewhat limited picture of counterfeiting could not be farther from the truth. Counterfeiting is far more pervasive and dangerous than street vendors selling fake luxury items. In fact, only a minute portion of counterfeit goods are luxury items; most product counterfeiting has a far more immediate, and sometimes devastating, impact.

. . .

Consider for a moment the consequences should the counterfeit batteries wind up in firefighters’ flashlights and fail during a major rescue operation? The counterfeiter, a criminal, is the only one who stands to gain.

My battery example involves just one package of one product at one company. The magnitude of the problem at Gillette alone is staggering. Our lawyers are working alongside law enforcement agencies worldwide to identify and arrest counterfeiters. Recently in China, over the span of one week, we seized more than 1.5 million fake Gillette products that were destined for France, Russia, South America, the Middle East, and English-speaking nations. In one province, we seized a substantial amount of fake packaging for several of our products. In another, we recovered 100,000 counterfeit razor blades, 400,000 fake disposable razors, more than one million counterfeit Duracell batteries, and 40,000 fake Oral-B toothbrushes. Again, all of this is in just one week, in just two Chinese provinces, and involving just Gillette’s products. Imagine how much bigger the problem is for all U.S. manufacturers and for manufacturers around the world.

. . .

The danger of counterfeiting goes beyond mere financial harm and theft. Organized crime and terrorist groups use the sale of counterfeit goods to raise money for illegal activities and violence. The Basque separatist group, ETA, has been linked to the sale of counterfeit clothing and handbags. Paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland have funded terrorist activities through the sale of pirated products, including copies of Disney’s The Lion King. Protection rackets in Italy no longer demand just money from retailers; instead, they want shelf space to sell counterfeit goods. Most alarming is that those who aim to terrorize United States citizens look to counterfeiting to help them achieve their deadly goal: Seized Al Qaeda training manuals recommend the sale of fake goods as a financing source for its terrorism.

Did you know that your shaving-related purchases could be unwittingly supporting terrorism (gasp!)? Mach3 counterfeiting must be stopped — we definitely need to move all those law enforcement resources focused on the Microsoft Windows piracy beat over to this one. A stolen copy of Windows XP never caused facial irritation and general discomfort.

It’s a strange feeling when you glimpse into a world of deceitful corruption that you didn’t even know existed.

I’m headed to my local Walgreen’s right now to pick up some new Mach3 cartridges. I guess I’ll get back to buying them 12 at a time and keep my eyes peeled for terrorist toothpaste.

Update: I also found this document (PDF) entitled “Global Protection of Patents,” in which the Mach3 is mentioned. Check out slide 33 (just after slide 32, which states “Let Your Lawyer Loose Across the Business”), which begins a few slides about the “The Most Successful Consumer Product Ever” and the 63 patents protecting the Mach3. This appears to be a presentation from attorneys from Ernst and Young, Johnson & Johnson, and Gillette at the Advanced Patent Law Institute in November 2005. Having now shaved with a fake Mach3, I have a little more respect for patent enforcement.

WordPress upgrade

I decided to upgrade my 1.x install of WordPress to 2.04 tonight, so those of you reading this on my site and not in RSS, you’ll notice that I changed my theme to Fluid Solution. I had gotten sloppy with my other template, so it was time to clean house. All in all, it was an easy upgrade and I didn’t have to go back to any of my backups to fix any problems.

I did have to upgrade the FeedBurner Plugin to the 2.1 version and it seems to work. If you see anything funky, let me know.