Online Collective Activism, Andrew Mason, The Point

The Talk: The Internet has a proven ability to shift the balance of power between individuals and organizations. But for online activism to reach its full potential, we need to do more than port offline tactics to the Web. We must step back, revisit the challenges of collective action, and consider what the Web offers that can help overcome them. Andrew Mason explores what the world could look like in five years with tools like The Point.

BIO: Andrew Mason is the founder and CEO of The Point, a platform for organizing collective action based on the "tipping point" model. Andrew's first entrepreneurial venture was Bagel Express, a Saturday morning bagel delivery service he started when he was 15. Andrew graduated from Northwestern University in 2003 with a degree in music. In January 2006, Andrew joined InnerWorkings (NASDAQ: INWK) as the lead developer of their internal print procurement software. Andrew left InnerWorkings in the fall of 2006 to attend the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, where he was granted resources to develop Policy Tree (http://www.policytree.org), a policy debate visualization Web application. After receiving an investment offer in December 2006, Andrew left school to start The Point (http://www.thepoint.com).

A Web platform based on the “tipping point” principal, The Point was launched in November 2007 to help people organize fundraisers, social events, boycotts, group discounts, or any type of activity that requires certain criteria to be met before it can succeed. People promise to take action but do nothing until the stage is reached where their participation will enable or force a desired result. With the introduction of “carrot” campaigns, The Point offers users the power of positive persuasion in which they can pledge to bring business or give money once a campaign’s target agrees to certain terms.