My friend Deanna Zandt and some of her colleagues recently became frustrated with the imbalance of the “Top 10 This” and “Most Powerful That” lists which invariably skew toward one demographic, albeit even if the cause is often innocent (owing to the subtle and fancily-titled phenomenon, homophily). Admirably, they wished go beyond simply whining about the issue and devised a solution: #One4One.
This challenge asks people to create their own list of “influencers” with just one constraint: the names you select must have an identity that is radically different as your own. For example, “if you’re a dude, name a woman. If you’re white, name a person of color. If you’re straight, name an LGBTQ person” etc. Voting is done by the crowds, who – if they are observing the contest to start with – are likely taking on the same degree of thoughtfulness that the challenge creators and nominators are. Continue reading →
