Being a Digital Do-Gooder (IxDA Berlin Event #53)

Being a Digital Do-GooderIxDA Berlin Event # 53 I 2016 @cklavery

http://www.fondation-barry.ch/en/mediennews/hospice-dogs-are-back-pass

Quiet please.

🙊

Shush!

!!! 🙊 !!!

Are you all feeling good?

You sure look great.

I’m going to changethat in the next 20 minutes.

At least I’ll try my best.

This talk may contain traces of half baked philosophy, social romanticism andself guilt.

Disclaimer.

And there will be no cat content or Star Wars references.

Sorry about that.

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Watch video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBuC_0-d-9Y

LoveIy to see so many beautiful people here tonight.

I’d like to welcome you all by saying “Fuck the Poor” and show you a short video to illustrate my point: www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBuC_0-d-9Y)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBuC_0-d-9Y



Feels familiar?

Mea culpa.

http://visitsteve.com/made/capitalism-works-for-me-truefalse/

So this is where we are currently living and it probably won’t change in the next couple of weeks. Does it work for you?

http://animalzfun.blogspot.de/2014/04/Hipster-Dog-Pictures.html

For many of us, working in a „cool“ digital agency or “disruptive” tech company or similar environment it probably does.

We love our products and care for them…

https://www.cnet.com/news/riots-suicides-and-other-issues-in-foxconns-iphone-factories/

…without caring THAT much about how they are made.

http://airbnb.de

We travel the world to stay in cute rooftop apartments in trendy areas like Berlin Kreuzberg.That’s if you happen to be a newcomer to Berlin and are labelled “Expat”, “Tourist” or “Zujezogener”.

Source: unknown

www.airbnbvsberlin.de

The purple blobs on this map denominate available AirBnB flats, the red blobs show flats available for rent on the housing market (that’s 3 in total).

https://amzn.com/B003B4XTUA

Again that’s if you happen to be a newcomer to Berlin and are labelled “Expat”, “Tourist” or “Zujezogener”.

Source: unknownIf you happen to be a newcomer to Berlin and are labelled “Refugee” that rooftop view might not be so cute and your last, desperate resort to avoid eviction or deportation.

Both rooftop views and realities are located less than a mile from each other in Berlin-Kreuzberg.

Source unknown

Feels familiar?

Seems like we are part of the problem(s).

How might we use our skills & privileges for “something good”?

My HMW challenge for a few years now.

Not discussing tonight since we’ve only got 20mins: deeper philosophical or political questions e.g. isfor profit inherently evil, are NGOs inherently good etc. It’s complicated.

Hard Easy

High

Low

Ease of implementation

Impact

Quit daytime job to join social company

Switch to an ethical bankSwitch to Green EnergyGo vegan

Help social project in spare time

Donate money on a regular basis

Consume less

Only buy ethically sound products

Donate at Christmas

Buy organic products

Raise awareness at conferences / universities

I started with thinking about what I could do to be a better person both in my private and professional life. The traffic light colours show roughly where I am right now.

Becoming a Digital Do-Gooder (in progess)

So let me take you on my personal journey to becoming a Digital Do-Gooder. This is very much in progress and a constant challenge on many levels.

Without being acomplete pain in the arse (in progess)

Another challenge is talking about doing good without sounding too pompous or full of yourself. I’m Clive not Bono (and it’s spelled arse not ass!)

http://www.dailyedge.ie/life-of-brian-quiz-2021283-Apr2015/

It’s also easy to be like those guys who you might have come across when being involved in some kind of activism.The kind of people that live in their ivory tower, love preaching and in-fighting over minute details and semantics and seem to forget what they set out to do in the first place.

Bratwurst!

Put the kettle on!

BTW: I’m Clive, son of a British (technically Cornish) father and a German mother. Born and bred “an Rhein und Ruhr”.

• 41 years on this earth• 10+ years in the industry• 6+ years in Berlin

Clive in numbers.

• Freelance UX Person

• Research, Strategy & Design

• Education & Social Good

Stuff I do for money and that I care about. Get in touch if you need UX support for interesting projects in Berlin or all over the world (happy to travel for great stuff).

• UX Mentor at Career Foundry• Co-Organiser UXcamp Europe• Co-Organiser UX Book Club

I also don’t mind a bit of UX on the side. Still working on my UX/Life balance…

Source unknown

The honest elevator pitch would sound something like this. Bit of a party pooper, really.

So what do you do as a UX Designer, Clive?

I move Sticky Notes around and draw grey boxes so rich corporations can get richer.

Super awesome!

We think a lot about HOW to design, disrupt and innovate things. But we generally do not spend too much time thinking about WHY and for WHO.

Source unknown

https://www.designdisruptors.com/

We generally seem quiet pleased with ourselves and tell each other (or anybody who can’t run away quickly enough) how much we are changing the world and solving problems with design…

http://www.firstworldproblems.biz/

… without thinking too much about what kind of problems we are actually solving.

http://www.firstworldproblems.biz/

You might be disrupting and solving some of the world’s most coolest problems - who cares about the boring UN Global Sustainability Goals Simon Stegemann just mentioned http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/ ?

http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

https://twitter.com/internetofshit

Perhaps you have also backed Kickstarter projects like these and thereby helped solving other substantial human problems.

Feels familiar?

Still seems like we are part of the problem(s). Agree?

Is it just me?

Or am I just a white, middle aged, middle class, self-hating hipster in a midlife crisis? At 41 it’s about time for that anyway, I guess.

Based on ethical reasons -have you ever…

What about you? Let’s compare your answers to a survey I sent out to UX professionals in 2014.

… had second thoughts about a client or project?

Surveymonkey survey answered by 100 UX Professionals in 2014

Quick show of hands before I show the survey results…

… designed something for a client you really hate?



… refused to work for a certain client or project?



… quit your job?



80% I Believe UX can play a role in contributing to Social Good


That’s a great result - but mind the gap…

75% I Are not involved in any activities for Social Good


Remind you of the „Fuck the poor“ video earlier on?

Not impressed.

What I learnt so faron my journey

Work in progress.

Learning 1 It’s nothing new

No surprise there.

– Theodor W. Adorno “There is no right life in the wrong one."

So is this guy right?

“A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.“

– Henry Ford

Or this guy?

“The problem with internet quotes is that you can’t always depend on their accuracy.“

– Abraham Lincoln

He is definitely right.

quickmeme.com

Thinking about your professional ethics has been around for thousands of years…

https://www.aiga.org

… and has been considered by „traditional“ design associations, too.

IXDA Manifesto

http://www.ixda.org/about/ixda-mission

Even an organisation called the IxDA (you might know it) has it in its mission statement - check out the last bullet point.

Learning 2 There’s no good excuse not to do something.

Especially in Berlin

Although there are of course many distractions - especially in Berlin.

www.youvo.org

Perhaps you feel like this?

Find your cause

www.xxx.xxxx

https://www.betterplace.org/en/volunteering/map

Good starting point: find your cause and match your skills on a platform like betterplace.org.

https://www.betterplace.org/en/volunteering/map

https://youtu.be/SB_GDF-mKTE

Get inspired

https://uxlx.23video.com/video/10734908/how-designers-destroyed-the-world

Watch inspiring talks by thought leaders who have all been there before.

Get inspired

http://thechanger.org/job-mit-sinn-karriere-ratgeber.pdf https://www.wickedproblems.com/

It may sound crazy: but you could read a book, too.

www.startupeuropesummit.com/hackathon/

Get out of the building

http://susjamberlin.strikingly.com/

FeaturingClive

Take part in Hackathons (quite techie but UX input is highly appreciated) or Design Jams…

http://thechanger.org/events/changer-hangout-berlin-immobilien-scout


http://www.labtogether.org/

… or upcoming Meetups and conferences in Berlin (there’s usually free drinks, too).

https://berlin.impacthub.net


berlin.socialimpactlab.eu/

Why not visit these social start up and co-working hubs (or check out their regular events) and check out the companies being hosted there for inspiration.

https://challenges.openideo.com/challenge

Donate your skills globally or locally

https://www.goodgym.org/

You can e.g. create global impact online or local impact by organising online and literally working out socially…

www.youvo.org

Donate your skills (or money)

https://www.betterplace.org

… and use use online platforms like Youvo (aimed at more Junior Designers) or betterplace.org to donate your skills.

http://place.org

Make it a Win-Win

+ 600 EUR - 11 kg

https://www.betterplace.org/de/fundraising-events/16204-aktion-speckgurtel-reloaded http://www.akinda-berlin.org/

Learnt Squarespace basics

Raised 600 € & lost 11 kg

Two projects I was involved in supporting http://akinda-berlin.org: fundraiser and new website.

http://akinda-berlin.org

http://bcorporation.eu/

Change your career

http://thechanger.org/

Check out companies that support and sponsor social good events and activities or are a certified B Corp (“B Corps […] aspire to use the power of markets to solve social and environmental problems.”)

https://wigwam.im/

Change your career

firebellydesign.com

Design agencies with a focus on social good.

http://www.ac4d.com/

Each one teach one

https://www.cooper.com/training/ux-boot-camp

Get them while they are young and raise awareness in the industry.

http://www.redi-school.org/ Watch intro video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TN4II0iAck

Each one teach one

I aim to be involved in teaching students at ReDi School for Digital Integration. Check out their great approach to the so-called refugee crisis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TN4II0iAck - they always need support if this appeals to you or your company.

http://www.redi-school.org/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TN4II0iAck



Service Experience Camp Berlin

Spread the gospel

Hyper Island Manchester

Talk about it with your peers and colleagues at events; raise awareness with young designers starting out in the business at design schools and universities.

There are tons of individual efforts but not one go to place or website (AFAIK) and often very similar initiatives don’t know of each other. Seems like a lot of missed collaboration opportunities - a lot of dots to be connected…

Learning 3 Look for the right keywords

Google better to do good.

#socialimpact #purpose-driven #socialenterprise#SocEnt #socialgood #socialstartup

I started googling terms like „UX for Social Good“ or „Design for Social Good“ - I found some stuff but this strategy seems to narrow and thinking in silos (which as we always preach is bad).

Broader terms you can see on the slide yield more interesting results.

https://blog.dogbuddy.com/expert-marketing-tips-dog-sitting-business/

Learning 4 No Do-Gooder is an island

Suprise, surprise…

http://officialhuskylovers.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/dogwalker.jpg

Don’t try to do it all: find a cause you really care about and team up with others, ideally with complementary skills.

A lot of NGOs / social organisations are like startups i.e. ever changing contact persons, chaos and lack of structure so be prepared for that and maybe that you have to take the lead.

I set up this LinkedIn Group to connect like-minded people - it does feel a lot like me talking to myself most of the time so the future of it is a bit unclear. Perhaps a public Twitter or Product Hunt list is more effective.

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8206434

Learning 5 Focus & Commitment

Surprise, surprise…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Basset_Hound_600.jpg

When you team up with others ensure there is a reliable commitment from every team member - otherwise be prepared for frustration and low project moral.

If you don’t treat a side project like a “proper” commercial project it’s destined to fail and feel more like a burden than something you really want to do.

What’s next?

Next steps before we all turn into totally awesome, disruptive Digital Do-Gooder unicorns:

I’ll upload this presentation to Slideshare (and perhaps Speakerdeck) and am aiming to curate some related Twitter lists since I have collected so much more example material and URLs.

This presentation might also turn into a Medium article but don’t hold your breath.

@cklavery

Lets try to connect the dots in our local design and tech community, perhaps a regular MeetUp or one-off Jam might come out of this.

I any case hit me up and let us share ideas and beers.

Hope you’re feeling good again.

Thank you! 🐶

Next slide: How to get in touch.

@cklavery

I’m @cklavery on most of the internet. I trust you to find me :) And of course feel free to get in touch if you need UX support for interesting projects in Berlin or all over the world (happy to travel for great stuff).