Previously posted on the NetSquared blog.
Change.org has just relaunched its website – an online hub and media network for social issues and collective action.
The new version of the site focuses on the question: what can I do? “If I want to end homelessness, what can I do? If I support gay rights, what can I do?”
The Answer
In Josh Levy’s words (Josh is the new Managing Editor):
To make the answer to this urgent question clearer than ever, we’ve left behind the social networking model of engagement and headed straight for the land of the blogs. Our idea was simple: while the old version of the site was good at helping people connect to each other, it didn’t do enough to help them get meaningfully involved in the issues they cared about. The experience was too fleeting, and too shallow.
How Change Works
There are over a dozen different issue portals ranging from homelessness to genocide to global warming. Each portal has its own issue-focused blog prividing editorial and news content around the issue or issues you care most about. That news is coming from the portal’s dedicated editor who is blogging “throughout the day, reacting to the news, profiling people and organizations, and highlighting concrete actions you can take.”
If you’ve used Change.org in the past, you are probably wondering how things are different and where all the actions have gone. Not to worry! They are all still there, just organized into the portals they relate to. Actions are now connected to the related issue area; you can see all cause areas here.
Nonprofit organizations are still a major part of Change.org, too. Like actions, nonprofits are now affilitated with the cause area that reflects their focus and mission. This will help individuals find nonprofits to support and connect nonprofits to actions and stories in the same cause. You can see all nonprofits here.
And, they’re hiring!
In order to continue expanding the cause portals for the site, Change.org is hiring dedicated editors to manage the issue blog and activity. To learn more about the causes of focus and how to apply, click here.