"How to Change the World" Author Takes the Stories Online

When I wrote my "Top Moments of the Decade in Social Entrepreneurship" post a few months ago, the one thing I knew had to be there was the publishing of David Bornstein's "How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas." With the launch of his new publication Dowser, David is bringing his passion for telling the story of social entrepreneurship to the web.

"How to Change the World" captured the attention of so many of my peers because it was a collection of the stories that made this big new idea of using business and markets for good immediate, real, and plausible. Rather than getting caught up in wonky conversations of definitions and metrics, the book was like an aspirational gateway drug for would-be changemakers.

Every time I've heard David explain his passion for telling these stories, he mentions that he is driven by his sense that what people believe to be possible determines the boundaries of what they attempt. For him, telling the stories of social entrepreneurs is not about a heroic glorification of superhuman individuals. It is, instead, a way to demonstrate the possibility rather than the impossibility of their acts, and inspire others to follow in their footsteps.

Given this, it is perhaps unsurprising that David's new project Dowser is largely driven by these narratives. Rather than solely functioning as a social entrepreneurship news publication, the site already features a cornucopia of interviews with innovators like Kiva's Matt Flannery, as well as audio slideshows and mini case studies.

I think this site could fill an important space in the social entrepreneurship blogosphere. Sites like Social Earth do a good job covering the news in the field; Social Edge provides a platform for social entrepreneurs to speak in their own words; I like to think that this blog acts as both a critical eye for the field, as well as a space that explores how social entrepreneurship is intersecting with and being influenced by an array of related fields.

What none of these sites do well, in my opinion, is interviews. Interviewing well takes time, skill, and diligence -- it is suprisingly distinct from "blogging." I hope to see not only more interviews on Dowser, but real, tough, nail-biting interviews. I like what I've seen so far, but think they can and should build a brand around cutting through the basics and getting to the meat of the good, bad, and ugly of the field.

Welcome to the blogosphere David and the whole Dowser team!

Photo credit: Dowser.org screenshot