I spoke with Joe Edelman at the suggestion of Ze Frank, who somewhat emphatically suggested that MSH and Edelman be in touch. Edelman does a lot of cool things, one of which is maintaining Groundcrew, a piece of software designed “for the coordination of communities, by communities, for the granting of wishes, and for making things happen in the real world.” The service can be used to put together street action, games and scavenger hunts, large-scale volunteering, and more. It doesn’t get much more “Make Something Happen” than that. Among other topics, he talks here about how fun is driving innovation in how we are carrying out business online

Make Something Happen: What is your role in Groundcrew?

Joe Edelman: I am it, for the most part [laughs]. It is a Common Good thing, so it is half for profit and half nonprofit. I am the CEO and I lead development. There are graphic designers helping me out and other testers.

MSH: Why this?

Edelman: I am artistically interested in flash mobs and I have been for about 12 years. When I was in college, I tried to major in flash mobs and I wrote a whole proposal while I was at Dartmouth where I would have studied computer mediated events and made them happen. I have also done work as an activist and I had gone to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina where I had worked with FEMA people and a bunch of other NGOs. It was very disorganized. The National Guard, FEMA, and the police all have various dispatch systems but they didn’t line up – There was no sense of electronic community.

Even before that, I was artistically interested in other ways. I was organizing in Northampton with the North Hampton Adventure Exchange. We did scavenger hunts and other activities.

MSH: How is what you’re doing what Groundcrew possible in a way it might not have been possible in the past? Why is its moment now, so to speak?

Edelman: It is built on text messaging, Google Maps and the participation of some people who have more-sophisticated smart phones and other things. Text messaging has recently become mainstream due to political participation. Nonprofits are using it for lame announcements that everyone gets. They’re just now getting into geo-texting – focusing on people in an area that is geographically relevant. It’s getting to a point where we can target and activate mobile activists where they are and that is fairly new and interesting.

Texting has been worming its way into mainstream culture. It started with younger kids, some inner city components, early adopter geeks, etc. Now texting is something that the average 20 to 30 something American or successful person is participating in. The United States is behind Europe, Africa, and Asia in texting. The message gets to where you are embedded and available. That’s big and new.

MSH: It seems like the sort of fun that is possible with groups like yours and with Ze Frank’s interactive games is leading the way that these technologies are being utilized.

It is underutilized at this point. Ze Frank is doing his Twitter game and Jane McGonigal has set up a scavenger hunt for the Beijing Olympics that will take place over eight countries. People using these utilities to play games are way ahead of those people doing practical things. One nonprofit called INSTEDD is trying to use text messaging to mobilize in this way. We’re hoping to license to them.

MSH: Are you suggesting that fun is driving innovation?

Edelman: I think that it is reflective of a sad state of affairs in business and politics. It is a complex and sociological issue that has a lot to do with channels and marketing. There are the business and nonprofit sectors. The nonprofit sector has a history of lagging in terms of technology adoptions. Politics and government has a similar history. Business is usually on the ball, but this time they’re not. Business is reconciling the fact that they have to address people who are already engaged. I am looking forward to a point when the business world wakes up to people who are engaged, not passive, consumers.

MSH: So many organizers have trouble getting people on board with what they’re doing. How do you get people engaged with what you’re doing?

Edelman: I have never had any trouble getting people on board. One of the first experiments with Groundcrew, I put a note on craigslist in Northhampton that promoted an opportunity the following day to run around the city doing cool stuff, coordinated by texting. I got 80 people on board with less than 24 hours notice. For a small note on craigslist, I think that is great for working in a town of 40 thousand people. There are a lot of people helping to test it, and it is amazing how many people really want to make themselves available. These people are actually dying to do cool shit. If what you’re offering really seems like a cool experience, you can advertise it on any of these places if you are able to word it in a concise way and if you know what people are looking for.

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