Half-baked idea; call me when it’s done

More than one person has pointed me to this BoingBoing post about Actics, the self-described “ethical community for companies and individuals” that provides “a new way to live your ethical values through feedback,” so I perused the site with interest. It’s a concept with potential, but it needs work.

Granted, Actics is still in beta, but basically all you can do right now is read members’ takes on concepts like environmentalism, integrity, and charity (ho-hum statements like “Walk whenever possible,” “Pursue what matters in a meaningful way,” and “Enjoy helping others”), as well as how they support those values through their actions. You can also check out how people are rated by others in the community. Everyone starts with a neutral 50 percent; members can rate one another to nudge that number up or down, and can also give feedback on how to be more ethical.

What’s not clear to me is why Actics throws people and companies together in the same pot of stew. I’m far more interested in reading (and potentially generating) feedback and ratings on companies than individuals. And so far there are a lot more people than businesses on Actics. Then again, I suppose there’s value in knowing something about the folks who are rating and giving feedback to companies. But Actics should emphasize the people-vs.-business differentiation on its front page.

Another improvement would be the ability to search companies by business type. That way, someone looking for, say, an ethical graphic design firm could find some options and read about each one’s values to see who fits the bill.

Another question I have is whether Actics is preaching to the choir; after all, any company that joins must already think of itself as ethical to some extent. What about all the others outside the fold? Will Actics membership—and the potential to be highly rated on the network—become enough of a competitive differentiator that it will motivate less enlightened businesses to clean up their act and join?

I hope the answer is yes.

Comments

[Desirae Hill]

I was just thinking to myself...if I wanted to look for a job with an ethical company, how would I go about finding not only companies who claim to be ethical and "promote diversity" and equality blah blah blah...but also share specific examples of how they are making an impact? This is my first visit to this site but I think you are on to something. It would be nice to have a list of viable companies who have responded well to ethical dillemas, made good decisions, have good reputations, stay out of trouble and are overall ethically sound. Say yes to enlightened businesses!

[Bronwyn Ximm]

I can see Actics potentially fulfilling that function. Of course, companies that join are unlikely to list the ways in which they haven't behaved so ethically, but hopefully individual members could call them out on that.

Then there are lists of ethical companies and good corporate citizens published by magazines like Business Ethics and Ethisphere. But they can be problematic, focusing as they do on large public companies. Check out Ethisphere's list -- and more important, the outraged comments about it (http://ethisphere.com/2007-worlds-most-ethical-companies/) -- and you'll see what I mean.

[Cornelia]

Great blog - so happy to have found it!
There is a new site that launched a few weeks back called IzzitGreen.com . Starting in the Boston area, people can rate local business' eco behavior - sort of like a green Yelp.