As "folksonomy" is voted the most hated web 2.0 buzzword, Andrew Keen blasts the wisdom of the crowds, and a Nigerian politician launches a web 2.0 campaign site, let's add, just for fun, some new entries to our imaginary wish list of start-ups in a Development 2.0 world. After all, as we say in Italian, dreams cost nothing…
- D-projects.org: a web site that aggregates information on all development projects run by international and local NGOs, international agencies and financial institutions, and volunteer organizations. Potential donor interested in Ghana, for example, could compare projects and select the ones to give their money to. Development agencies could use the site to check out who else is working on a specific country or issue before embarking on a new project. Recommendations (Amazon style) by users could help donors make more informed choices and, thanks to word-of-mouth, smaller, but worthy, projects may get increased visibility.
- Dev-onian House.org: development sector equivalent of the Cambrian House: a decision market for development projects. Development agencies could post their project proposals. Experts from other agencies could cast their vote on whether the project is likely to succeed, and suggest improvements. Donors could choose to finance projects based on the forecasts, or the level of intra-agency collaboration.
- Dev-life.net: the ultimate individual aggregator of development news. A way for development professionals to keep up to date (think of Netvibes or Daylife). After all, aggregating data "makes us smarter."
- Smartborrow.com: a web interface that allows an emerging market company or government to compare the cost of capital between international financial institutions and the private sector. And why not? Many are already making the comparison anyway.
- D-innocenter.org: a platform for development organizations to crowdsource their research needs by tapping into communities of volunteer researchers and academics. The Innocentive concept applied to the non-profit sector.
Any more daydreamers out there? Please feel free to add your ideas below.
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