TED Community » Rangsarn Chanyavanich

More About Me

I'm passionate about

healthcare IT, green economy, human performance, self-actualization, importing the next big idea to bangkok/thailand, health, food made with love, happiness, peace, transforming, rural development

An idea worth spreading

Businesses should consider having a flip-side to their business; businesses should consider having an NGO-like side that is synergistic with the profit-seeking side. The business face makes money, and sustains its NGO side. Doing business AND doing good. Every time customers patronize the business, they are directly sustaining a worthy cause, a social cause. In this way, all businesses become a kind of social business.

Talk to me about

rural development, IT for Development, bottom of the pyramid empowerment, village self-sustainability, village self-sufficiency, closing the gap

Comments

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  A comment on Conversation: To what extent has social media contributed to the spreading of the People's revolutions and call for Freedom in Tunisia & Egypt?

  Feb 15 2011: First, there were only rare beautifully written handwritten texts on scrolls, papyrus, and bamboo sticks. And how many people could get access and have opportunity to share their thoughts that way? Then, jump to the birth of the Gutenberg printing press and books, and we have democratization of ideas (ideas got cheaper to make/express/share, therefore it spread). Now, come to recent history and you see the telephone, fax, pagers (ha!), mobile phones, PC+email+internet, and BAM....the world is connected, we get globalization. FINALLY, communication devices got so mobile and affordable and ubiquitous and standardized in communication, that its fusion with the internet+social media led to real-time, everywhere, anytime, global interconnected communication. In my country (Thailand), even the fruit monger pushing fruit on a cart selling food by the street can afford a mobile phone. Once again, communication is pushed to even cheaper and more affordable (and continues to become more powerful along the way), but now add instant photos+audio+video shared automagically by facebook+twitter, catalyzed and picked up by major broadcasters (aljazeera).... this TRULY is a powerful tool, and one that is in the hands of the regular individual, even a fruit monger. Tunisia is connected. Egypt is connected. I think these factors uniquely catalyzed/enabled what the People were feeling inside, and they expressed it. Just think for a moment if this could have been achieve by faxes,email,pagers alone? Maybe not as quickly or as nimbly, maybe not at all (couldn't be afforded by as many people). Which country is next to utilize this? The one whose people are connected, and oppressed/dissatisfied. I absolutely think the communication technology of our day is EMPOWERING the little guy, so institutions beware. The so-called "non-state actors", yes even the LONE individual, can start something now. They just have to feel, decide, express, connect, and act in crowds... hopefully for the good