Global is what local does

The basic saying goes "Think Global. Act Local." Built into these words is the very positive notion that somehow, all of us can take action to affect things. But isn't it a bit limiting to think that the best or meaningful way of affecting things is "local".

A lot of the time, we mock people trying to make a difference by saying "ok, sure, but let's not try to solve world hunger" as if it had no solution and were bigger than any combined effort could overcome.

Jeffrey Sachs, perhaps the most effective economist in history at creating dramatic change toward ending poverty, suggests that global poverty is solvable and in his book "The End of Poverty" lays out a perfectly doable plan.

With the rise of online social networks and mass collaboration, I really believe we are on the edge of an incredible wave of possibility. We see an explosion of people rising through Web 2.0, participating in online social networks and causes. Some of my favourites: takingitglobal.org, one.org, data.org, socialedge.org , and Kiva.org.

The big difference that we see in these platforms is that they drive organization, align power and focus resources on solving local problems on a global scale. In essence, this is what the new world is all about - "Think Local, Act Global." (Izumi Aizu).

We do have a chance. We do have a say. And we can act locally for global impact.