Micro Cause Update – The Son is Shining!

March 1st, 2010

We’re two weeks into GoHuman’s first micro cause and we’re very happy to report our success!

Out of our goal of $14,900, we have currently raised $999.17 to send Sunshine to an intensive autism treatment program in Massachusetts. We’re on our way, but still need to spread the word far and wide.

We seek 10,000 people to donate $1 or more. Can you help?

In addition, GoHuman will donate $1 in your name for every friend who joins GoHuman and mentions “Sunshine” through March. You could help Sunshine just by telling a few friends about GoHuman and what we’re doing to help local businesses.

Thanks!

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Go James! He won the 14th GoHuman Flip Camera

February 25th, 2010

Congrats James Wood, of Abbotsford, B.C., Canada — our latest Flip Video camera winner!

James is a local business consultant. Call him today for help finding new business opportunities!

James said, “Since being a part of GoHuman.com, it’s changed my life. I’ve met so many small business owners that have enriched the world I live in. They have inspired my own growth, they have rekindled my artistic flame within me, they have dared me to be not good..but great in what I do, each and every day.

”GoHuman.com is not a passing fad. It truly is a family of like minded individuals concerned with the communities they live in, bringing out the best in all, and realizing that we are ONE!”

James, you are truly one of a kind. Thanks for everything you’ve done to support GoHuman over the past months!

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The heart of business

February 14th, 2010

Inside every local business is a human heart, needing community support.  On Valentine’s day GoHuman.com is introducing micro-causes for the people behind the businesses in our community.

We’re starting in my backyard, Middleton, WI, (CNN/Money’s best place to live in America) where Robert and Shohreh Moldenhauer run Sunshine Sprouts to earn money to help their son, Robert Jr., known as Sunshine.

Sunshine was born with HLHS (a diseased heart) and at 2 weeks had a heart transplant, followed by immune system rejection.  At 2 years old Sunshine was diagnosed with Autism.  Robert and Shohreh need their son to be able to communicate with them about the condition of his heart, literally.

Son-Rise Therapy from the Autism Treatment Center of America has helped the Moldenhauers, but the program is expensive.  GoHuman.com is raising funds to send Sunshine to an intensive program in Massachusetts.  The total program cost is $18,400, plus travel.  The Moldenhauers borrowed a down-payment and obtained a $3,500 scholarship, but need $14,900 to participate in the program.  Learn more on Sunshine’s Website.

Place an order with Sunshine Sprouts or click here to donate.

We seek 10,000 people to contribute $1 or more and will donate $1 in your name for every friend who joins GoHuman and mentions “Sunshine” through March.

Click to donate to Sunshine's treatment fund now!

Click Sunshine's picture to donate!

Why GoHuman.com?  Sunshine is Reason #8!

Reason #1; Reason #2; Reason #3; Reason #4; Reason #5; Reason #6; Reason #7

GoHuman Grassroots

February 11th, 2010

GoHuman is all about empowering small businesses and independent professionals by connecting them with the right customers in their community to establish a more sustainable economy. We’re not the only ones with this idea, which is a great thing. We can’t do it alone, and we depend on people everywhere who believe there is a better way.

But how do we do it?

Word of mouth has proven time after time to be the single most powerful form of marketing. People trust people like themselves, who are typically people they know well like friends or family.

At this stage in GoHuman’s growth, we are connecting with as many small businesses as possible in Chicago; L.A.; Madison, WI; Knoxville, TN; and Vancouver, Canada. You might ask why we’ve chosen those particular areas and I would tell you that in a way they chose us.

We believe in involving people who share our vision for a better, more equitable world, no matter where they are. We’re looking for people to join our grassroots marketing teams, whether they are in one of our existing markets or if someone has the gumption to get a new market going. It’s happened before, and we welcome anyone who is up for the challenge and the rewards.

Businesses everywhere are hurting. People everywhere are being shut down by the powers that be. GoHuman.com represents a genuinely better way for business to work to support themselves and their community.

There is nothing more inspiring than meeting new people who want to join the cause. Some have established themselves in their community and others are just looking for a way to help make things better. Either way, it’s the fuel that moves us forward and gives us hope that our dream can work.

And guess what? People just like you are growing GoHuman.

If you’re interested in joining our team and becoming a Founding Member of GoHuman.com, just email refer@GoHuman.com for more info. We guarantee that an actual human will respond.

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Make Green, Recycle Your Talents!

January 29th, 2010

recycle-logoI was on Ted.com the other day, listening to Seth Godin talk about tribes and more specifically about the dynamics of starting a movement. In this talk he spoke about how it is important to find a group that needs something and connect them with an idea that will address their needs. During this economic recession I have been bombarded with requests to forward resumes and requests for job leads from readers of my blog and listeners of my radio show. As much as I would love to help every single one of my supporters, I simply did not have the resources to make an impact.

So I started thinking about creating something that would be a resource for those people,  looking for that new job and after some deep thought… Latino Community Info was born. Latino Community Info is a job board that I created to address the needs of readers looking for jobs. Now so far I have heard 3 great success stories about how people connected with new employers, and more specifically those looking for bilingual candidates. It was great to hear that something we did had an impact on someone’s life but there is still many people who are either unemployed, underemployed or simply not working in a job that makes them happy. Even those who have good jobs look to work a side job that helps them either pay the bills or allow them to work in a space that is more in line with their passions and then it CLICKED…

Many people I know in the arts community have side jobs that reflects something they love to do and do well. What they normally do is find a single opportunity. I thought to myself, this is something that ANYONE can do. I was reading a great article by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D on moonlighting that suggested that the following are the reasons why people work second jobs;
Reason for Multiple Jobs Percent of all Multiple Job-Holders
Meet expenses; pay off debt 27.8
Earn extra money 35.4
Get new experience; build up a business 4.6
Enjoys work of second job 17.4
Other reasons 12.5


Do you have a side job? Do you fit into any of these categories? Do you have a talent or are you interested in learning something you are passionate about? Would you like to be in a position to utilize those talents and make some extra money or work towards some new kind of career opportunities?

If you said yes to any of these questions…there is a new community that can help you connect with people that need what you have to offer. That community is called GoHuman, a marketplace for local services that is focused on quality and excellence. It is a great place to Recycle your talents and put them to work for you.

I found out about GoHuman a while back when a friend invited me to enter a video contest telling him what I loved about being Latino. To make a long story short, I actually lost the contest (after a hell of a run) but I gained something a lot more valuable…a unique opportunity to promote myself on a website that has such a great philosophy about thinking globally but acting locally. The unique value proposition is that unlike other classified services it has a social component similar to what you would see in Linked In, where people can endorse you and share your products and services with their friends on over 30 different social networks.

Many of us have talents that can be utilized to have a viable side job that does both pay the bills and allow us to test the waters in a potential career move. I work a job in corporate America but I blog and consult in social media because it is my passion to network and connect with others. I actively seek companies and organizations that will pay me to show them what I have learned in 14 years as a webmaster / blogger / social media enthusiast.

I use GoHuman so that I can find people locally that can use my services instead of a mega classifieds “list” where there is no sense of community, nobody that can effectively endorse me to their network and where I will have to fight through hundreds of spam emails just to get a single opportunity that is viable.

This is a place where musicians can become instructors, educators can become tutors, poets can become editors, counselors can become life coaches…you get the drift? The possibilities are endless.

Are you ready to use your skills today and put them to work for you?

“A journey of a million miles begins with the first step…”

Click here to join GoHuman Today!

George Torres is a bi-lingual social media / cultural consultant and founder of Sofrito Media Group, a multimedia company that produces and develops projects in the Latino / Hispanic arts community. Follow him today on twitter @UrbanJibaro

Go Karla! She Just Won Our 13th GoHuman HD Flip Camera!

January 28th, 2010

Congrats Karla Linden, of Albuquerque, NM, the latest winner of a GoHuman HD Flip Video camera!

Karla is a medical massage expert. If you need help getting the kinks out, give her a call today at Masterpiece Medical Massage.

When I asked Karla why she liked GoHuman, she said, “I’m a massage therapist and have been in practice for over 22 years – and the internet has been a fabulous place to connect to clients for my massage practice – and I’m thrilled to have found GoHuman and happy to recommend it to friends and colleagues.”

Thanks for helping us kick off the Albuquerque market, Karla, and all the best with Masterpiece Medical Massage!

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WIN your own Flip HD video camera by posting a service you provide or need in your community!

Case Closed!

January 21st, 2010

Myth, Old Wive’s Tales, Urban Legends! With the advent of the Internet and mass-forwarded email, we’ve all experienced the arrival of some fantastic little story or anecdote that strikes a chord with some element of our experience, and tempts us to forward it on.

Is the Hallmark Postcard virus real?  Will Microsoft really pay me if I forward this?  Is the prayer request for Cindy Hogman legit?  Did the driver of a Winnebago receive $1.75M for crashing while believing “cruise control” meant auto-pilot?

Snopes.com is a gem of a site for people who want the truth on Internet spawned funmail. Snopes is a trusted “phone-a-friend” site to check the facts and make sure we are not operating under a variety of false illusions, or guilty of spreading false information.

But when it comes to finding the best local services, providers of quality of their work, who you gonna call?  GoHuman.com, of course.

Register, Post, seek endorsements, collect feedback.  If you want a Local Marketing Consultant’s help, email refer@gohuman.com

Reason #7 – Local Reputation Based Services – from Accountants to Zen Meditation experts, Plumbers to Petsitters.  Help us make the world a little bit more trustworthy and reliable.

Detective Conan

Detective Conan

Reason #1; Reason #2; Reason #3; Reason #4; Reason #5; Reason #6; Next – The best little town in America

Google: out of the circus and over the wall

January 18th, 2010

In October I wrote an entry (“Google no evil”) about Google’s 10100 initiative. I praised Google for trying to change the world by gathering the ideas, and committing $10 Million funding. I also wondered if Google would prefer those ideas which would bring them profit; perhaps not those which could change the world.

You can check progress on their Project 10100 website. Or, I can just summarize it here … “Not a lot. In fact, nothing.”

Oh well, good intentions and all that! It’s just a shame that some of the 150,000 plus ideas which might now be helping change the world have been gathering virtual dust on Google’s cybershelves. Might I suggest that Google could at least have released those ideas they know they aren’t going to promote, so that others can? Maybe they have somewhere, but I haven’t seen it – so if any readers have, please let me know. There are plenty of others eager to be changing the world with those ideas right now.

But that’s enough sniping at Google, they meant well after all, didn’t they?

Let’s move on to the current moral high ground they have established, with their threat to shut down operations in China if they can’t reach agreement with the Chinese authorities regarding hacking of personal details, which could be as soon as next month.

We here at GoHuman firmly believe that civil liberties and human rights are worth standing up for – as followers of this blog will know! We’re all for reducing government (as well as corporate) power to the level where the government serves the people (and the corporation serves the customers). So, despite any reservations, my first instinct is to praise Google for this stance.

Let’s not forget others who are joining in: Yahoo and the United States Government are now involved.

And, in my personal hall of shame in this regard: Although Microsoft’s Internet Explorer was part of the problem in these specific crimes, Microsoft has made no statement against the Chinese activities – even though backlash against Internet Explorer has come from the highest levels. The German Government is ceasing the use of IE and has issued warnings against its use.

So, just like my previous blog about Google – I’ll raise a glass to their action, and try not to question their motives!

If you’ve read this far, you should join us at GoHuman. Sign up and start posting your services or requirements today! It only takes a few minutes, costs you nothing, and puts you on the track to finding reputable customers and service-providers in your community. You can take it further if you like, and even end up with you being a part-owner of GoHuman!

Google departs from China

How Do You Build Credibility?

January 14th, 2010

We all have different means and methods for building credibility, but one thing on which most people can agree is that reputation drives a customer’s decision to buy a product or service more than anything else.

Trust is at the root of choice. People want to feel like they’re selecting the best quality at the best price. If you’ve used a product or service for a long time, you have first-hand experience with it and can determine your own level of trust based on that experience.

But life is full of change, and as you move from place to place or start needing new things to support your life, you’ll need to know who to trust. Usually you won’t have years of testing products and providers to figure this out at the time you need to make the decision.

So who do you trust?

GoHuman’s unique reputation model doesn’t just limit you to a sea of 5-star ratings to read through guessing who might be the best fit. We’re expanding our proven model to include reviews from reputable sources as well as online feedback.

In addition to celebrating quality service providers, GoHuman rewards professionals who demonstrate a good attitude to make it right when things go wrong. We’re all human and we all make mistakes, but those who hold themselves accountable deserve to succeed. Attitude is an important part of trust, and it’s one neglected by most local directories out there.

Trust your next leap to GoHuman.com, and you’ll see the difference we’re making together.

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What are you hungry for?

January 9th, 2010

I’ve been cooking up this blog since I lived in Germany in the early 90s.  I read “Food 2000″, a coffee-table book, touting “food miracles” – scientists solving world hunger and such.  It was sponsored propaganda against Alliance 90/The Greens.  I was horrified by what I saw.

I was just beginning to recover from an “incurable” auto-immune-related condition little understood by Medical Science, using dietary and other natural methods.  I told myself I would help change the system of systems.

Now Agribusiness is moving from propaganda to sinister control.  Scientific American, explains how Bio-engineering companies own articles published about their seed. Cropchoice.com explains how farmers using seed infected by patented seed are guilty of stealing.  Food Inc. is eating up the conscience of consumers.  Watch it, and take a symbolic stand, however small.

Yesterday Forbes arrived, with Monsanto on the cover as Company of the year.  Forbes’ arrogance since the economic meltdown has shocked this longtime reader.  The Frankenstein monster of business is  running rampant.  Our food supply is controlled by companies bio-engineered for greed.

Greg Brown sings “I watched my country turn into a coast-to-coast strip mall and I cried out in a song: if we could do all that in thirty years, then please tell me you all – why does good change take so long?”  Join us and speed up change.

Why GoHuman.com? reason #6?  Local Food

agribusiness

Fight for your right to control your own food!

Next Time: All Hail Snopes!

Reason #1; Reason #2; Reason #3; Reason #4; Reason #5;

Reason #7