TL;DR: Connected Worldwide is an initiative that aims to connect people to help develop a purpose economy. We are launching our web platform next month. This platform will allow community members to showcase their projects and publish any offers and needs they wish to connect around. Events that promote social entrepreneurship and encourage a location independent lifestyle are coming soon. Our roadmap also includes an impact driven NFT marketplace, and we'll release a mobile app that will make creating an impact more efficient and enjoyable. If you think it's time to switch from an attention economy to a purpose economy, and you believe web3 can play a role in the transformation, we invite you to join and support us by collecting this article as a NFT.
Social media ad spending was $155 Billion in 2021, and it's expected to grow 50% in the next two years. Clicks, likes, emojis, and hashtags are all designed to keep people's attention, inevitably increasing the amount of revenue spent. There is nothing inherently wrong with capturing attention. Whether it’s a topic, a product, a person, people naturally give their attention to the things they care about. The problem begins when we build an economic model with the sole purpose of selling this attention to the highest bidder.
There are several issues here. First is attention fatigue. The more intensely someone tries to capture our attention, the more desensitized people become. This shortens the attention span. As a result, shorter and more outrageous outperforms other types of content. The second issue is losing the sense of purpose. A sense of purpose has evolved in humans to provide them with a direction. More precisely, it gives us the ability to focus our energy. When attention seeking becomes the solo goal of our interactions, our collective energy goes down the drain.
What is a purpose economy?
In a purpose economy, creating a positive impact is incentivized. The purpose economy is not charity. Transitioning to the purpose economy will not destroy the companies nor stop technological advancement. It is not a utopia either. Simply put, it's an economic model where the value is created by establishing purpose for employees and customers. In this model, companies and people that create a positive net benefit or outcome for other people, nature, and the economy are rewarded.
How flexible work arrangements benefit us?
The flexible work arrangement (FWA) describes alternative work methods to the traditional 9-to-5, 40-hour workweeks spent physically in the office. FWAs don't intend to end the traditional work arrangement permanently, but provide alternative methods that can be selected by the employees and employers depending on the changing needs. This concept is an important component of the purpose economy because it allows more productive and impactful types of work arrangements to emerge.
As the workforce becomes more mobile, people find more opportunities to give their attention to the things that are meaningful to them. As an example, if you enjoy gardening, a FWA may enable you to move to a location for an extended period that offers community gardens. Imagine yourself spending your free time doing something you enjoy. Not only do you enjoy it, but the community benefits from your effort too.
But it doesn't end there. Now imagine the company you work for incentivizes you to contribute to your community because they also benefit from the same mechanism that rewards your effort. Too good to be true? It's not. The purpose economy creates win-win solutions.
Location independent lifestyle and the purpose economy
Today, there are around 30 million people in the world who describe themselves as digital nomads. Almost half of them are located in the U.S. The biggest industry for digital nomadism is in IT (12%), followed by education and training (11%), and consulting and coaching (11%). Digital nomadism is a very popular lifestyle for Millennials. 42% of all digital nomads are between the ages of 25 and 40. This means there are many mobile professionals who are young, well-educated, and capable of contributing to their chosen destinations. On the other hand, you can find many blog posts talking about how over tourism is harming the world. The problem arises when people are not conscious of the impact they have on the places they visit. Like most of our contemporary challenges, the issue lies in established mechanisms. When people don't have access to the tools that help them make informed choices, the road they take becomes less purposeful. One question is how to enable digital nomads to make a positive impact and use their expertise to address some of the global challenges we face today.
The purpose of Connected Worldwide
Connected Worldwide is an initiative that aims to connect people to help develop a purpose economy. We believe the emergence of new tools and services that make creating positive impact incentives easier will speed up the paradigm change. Our goal is not only to develop solutions, but to bring pioneers together.
To achieve this, we are launching a platform where community members can showcase their projects and publish any offers and needs they wish to connect around. There will be events that promote social entrepreneurship and encourage a location independent lifestyle. Our roadmap also includes an impact driven NFT marketplace, and we'll release a mobile app that will make creating an impact more efficient and enjoyable.
How can you help?
We are looking to collaborate with volunteers, thought leaders, artists, entrepreneurs and other impact based organizations. Please use the following link to get in touch with us and request early access to our platform: https://connectedworldwide.net/contact