'A Global eBay for Caring'

Phil Noble, leading expert in the Internet's role in civic life, has declared that PoliticsOnline, of which he is founder, will be starting a social-activism Web site called Hope Plus. The multilingual site will function as a virtual global community for those who want to reach out and do good in the world on a range of social issues, reports BBC News.

"The idea, is to create a world online Peace Corps or a global eBay for caring," Noble told the UK's E-Government Bulletin Live. With seed money from corporations secured, work has already begun on the site, which will host a social network and activism tools and will have the functionality for users to create their own new tools.

Noble has invited Barack Obama and Bill Gates to support the venture, which is scheduled to launch in December at the international climate conference in Copenhagen. He cites Obama's pioneering use of social media in his presidential campaign as a model for the Hope Plus site.

While it seems that this site might aim for a more dynamic and involved experience for online activists than other existing portals, it is unclear whether Noble realizes that many similar sites already exist. Well-established sites that connect donors with projects, such as donorschoose.org and GlobalGiving, are being joined by new ones all the time, including the recently released HopeMongers Cooperative and DoGoodr.org. A panoply of social-networking-for-social-good sites, such as TwitCause, Facebook Causes, Change.org and Network for Good, are using the power of social media to help people take action.

It remains to be seen how Hope Plus will best all of these efforts. Having the backing of Obama and Gates would certainly be a start.

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