Constitutional Law

Tough economic times put a new spin on the Beanstockd Game

By Sandra Ekong

It's official: the US economy is in recession.

The reality of our current economic crisis has hit corporations hard and is now starting to affect the American consumer. Reports on this year's Black Friday show that the annual post-Thanksgiving shopper has a new attitude, one that is cautious about what and how much is bought. According to an article in the New York Times friday&st=cse, "this year there were more shoppers than shopping bags. Even many die-hard Black Friday shoppers -- the ones who camp out on sidewalks overnight to be first through the doors -- said they were cutting back."

It's clear that Americans are cutting back on spending and on consumption in general. Households are looking to find new ways to save on travel, food, utilities and other expenses. Likewise, companies large and small are reducing costs by cutting jobs or slashing marketing budgets. Everyone is preparing for hard times ahead.

Today's big news (recession!) made us contemplate the potential effect of the economic downturn on the budding green sector of our economy, on media, on new tech ventures, and of course, on Beanstockd.

In the past two years, social responsibility has become an increasingly important issue to both major institutions and individuals, and we launched Beanstockd to promote the cause by taking a new approach to motivating environmentally-conscious behavior through our media and application. Yet the urgency of this economic crisis could very well divert attention away from social responsibility, making it less of a priority when it comes to making crucial lifestyle and operational decisions. We wondered, could this situation diminish the relevance of the Beanstockd application?

The answer is: probably not. Financial pressure will inevitably drive Americans to change the way they live their lives. The very stimulus that pushed us to change our daily habits while abroad in Paris - consciously reducing waste and consumption in order to save on bills - is now a serious consideration for all Americans.

The Beanstockd concept is exceptionally relevant now as our world moves into an era of economic distress. In the United States and across the globe, individuals, households and corporations are acutely aware of the need to eliminate unnecessary consumption--now more than ever these cost-cutting tactics are a necessity for survival.

Environmentally conscious action not only catalyzes the reduction of waste and but also encourages responsible consumption, on the individual level and the enterprise level. The Beanstockd application provides a venue for individuals, households and companies to track their daily consumption and to review and change their lifestyles and operations through monitoring the choices they make every day.

Beanstockd stimulates and supports this shift in lifestyle and mentality - in a world that now requires it of us.

Full post as published by MediaShift Idea Lab on November 30, 2008 (boomark / email).