LitLiberation

So I've been busy dealing with eye issues this week. No one can figure out why, but somehow my cornea is damaged so I need a series of drops and then figure out if I can wear a more "breathable" contact. I wonder how this will effect my travel. Glasses are fine, but wearing on the beach or skiing isn't really my idea of comfort.


But in other news, I recently learned about LitLiberation. I've really never heard of anything like it. Their site says that they are the "largest online literacy experiment in history, redesigning fundraising as a competition with world-class prizes." So they're bribing you to be charitable. I'm intrigued.

LitLiberation poses the question: "Can we raise $1,000,000 from normal people in just four weeks? Many of the world’s top CEOs and bloggers think so." From there you can decide to support education in US schools, developing countries, or both. You then donate to specific projects, some with a requirement of less than $50. Or, givers can decide to create a personal donation challenge page to show others and get them to donate. It says they have sample pages you can copy and paste code from. And then apparently you spread the word and have the chance to win prizes like roundtrip airfare to anywhere in the world, lunch with the co-founder of Yahoo, a thank you in the next printing of a #1 NY Times bestseller, artwork, VIP passes to parties, etc.

I like that you can win free travel through raising money for a charitable cause. But it also seems like a lot of hype and press for the celebrities involve. I noticed Gina Trapani from Lifehacker is on the list of givers, as well as Tim Ferriss from the 4-Hour work week. So you're essentially competing against millionaires who have the resources to invest. Regardless, I'm happy someone is using their celebrity for a good cause and actually stimulating the world to read at the same time.

Anyone tried this?

Here is Tim Ferriss' video entry about LitLiberation. His speech is pretty compelling, it's hard not to want to go look at their site.