Bolder 2010 Year in Review

We embarked in January of 2010 with a simple idea: People's good actions should be recognized. A year later, we reflect on Bolder’s first anniversary. What progress did we make together on that idea? Does it matter? How do we take this idea to the next level in 2011? First, let us be clear: there is no way we could do any of this without YOU. Thank you, every one of you! YOU provide our inspiration.

We know that you don’t pick up litter, go for a run or help a friend just to get a reward from the businesses on Bolder. You do these things because you believe that each small action makes a difference. You are the innovators- the people pushing the envelope of change.

So, what is Bolder good at?

This year, we’ve realized Bolder works best as a platform for communities to mobilize to do something good. Not an easy lesson. It came after many mistakes, false starts, and sleepless nights:). Rather than create our own community, we focused our energies on helping mobilize the communities that all brands have assembled. There’s a good chance you heard of Bolder through your favorite brand’s Facebook page, Twitter account, or email list. Great effort has been made to assemble these online communities, and our goal is to empower them to take action.

Through Bolder, companies rewarded you for the good things you do everyday (and for the ones you’re still working on). Businesses also matched your donations to local causes.

We worked to provide creative challenges and rewards from brands and organizations you care about. Successful challenges came from small clothing companies, local non-profits, and national brands alike – and rewards included discounts, donations, and even free apples. Yum! Your actions and photographs inspired more actions, and we all witnessed the combined results.

2010 Results

Given the massive scale available on the social web, we acknowledge that Bolder is still relatively small. However, we are incredibly proud of the results from 2010!

In 2010, you completed 7972 actions, including cold loads of laundry, bike rides, high fives, homemade meals, compliments, hikes, sweaty workouts, clothing donations, carpools, visits to farmers’ markets and impossibly short showers. Highlights:

-- Nearly 300 people stepped up to take a day off from drinking bottled water in September. If these 300 people make a permanent switch to reusable water bottles, they will keep 109,000 bottles out of landfills each year. Not bad!

-- 596 people washed their clothes on the cold/cold cycle in August. This single, collective act was equivalent to taking 5,364 car miles off the road (a load of laundry on a hot/warm cycle is equal to driving about 9 miles in a car). OR look at it this way: each individual runs 392 loads of laundry a year. By flicking a simple switch you can take 3,528 miles off the road each year, greater than the distance from San Francisco to New York! All 596 people together could save 2,102,688 miles. The math gets absurd very quickly.

The point here is yes, these are still relatively small numbers, but they matter, and what's most exciting - they can scale incredibly quickly. Big change can only happen with small steps.

Real People. Real Stories.

Your stories and photographs inspired us every day. And you voted for the boldest actions, which have been featured on our blog. Some of our favorites include:

“One day while I was cooking, trying to remake a healthier breakfast omelet, it dawned on me that life is about choices.” -Nova R. [full post]

“The girl at the checkout counter at Safeway was so happy I said no to plastic that she announced it over the intercom.” -Jesse M. [full post]

“It actually takes us about twice as long to drive a car to their school as it does to bike there, so it is truly a practical solution!” -Stefan R. [full post]

Does this all matter?

This year, we also tackled the difficult questions posed by skeptics: does all of this really make a difference? We are realistic and think about this question all the time, and while we are convinced that every action matters, it's especially exciting to hear it from you.

- "Since the cold/cold challenge, every time I do my laundry, I switch to the cold/cold cycle. I had no idea that it made such a difference" - Noah

- "Before the 4 minute shower challenge, I was spending 10 minutes relaxing in the shower. Now I'm down to 4-5 minutes. I can look for my leisure time elsewhere." - Scott

So what's new for 2011?

In 2011, we will continue challenging – and rewarding – you in creative ways. We're pushing to make the Bolder experience as rich as possible:

1. Take action from outside of Bolder: We are making it easier to share your actions from different devices and locations. Meaning, you should be able to take action for a challenge where you hear about it. If you hear about a challenge on a brand's Facebook page, we want you to be able to complete the challenge there.

2. Deeper relationships: We are working to help the companies and organizations on Bolder continue to develop deeper relationships with you – and we don’t just mean giving you better rewards.

It helps us to think about the Bolder experience this way. Let's say your favorite airline is Southwest Airlines. Chances are, you have their credit card. Every time you spend money, even when you aren't traveling, you know you are earning rewards for Southwest. Awesome! Now imagine being able to earn those same rewards for your actions- all the great things you're doing in your life.

How is this different? It means getting more brands you care about and keeping them around perpetually. It means working with these brands to support more of your actions. We think these things will help build an even deeper relationship based on your actions.

We cannot do it without you. You can help by continuing to take action and sending us feedback. And if you work somewhere that thinks what we're doing is a remotely good idea, let's talk! We always welcome your thoughts, comments, and questions in the comments section below or at ideas@actbolder.com.