Posts by Tellus

Lockdown forced us to all hermit in our homes, spend more time with family, create our own work environment, our own routines and spend more time on our screens. It seemed when routines were broken, travelling, fitness and most importantly connection was disrupted and that’s when it felt like everything and everyone came online. Even generations that were not typically familiar with tech (and turning the camera the right way round!) were given the opportunity to become more confident accessing social media. Education overnight had to strategize online lectures, zoom calls and educational video content. Companies who relied on people passing by or travelling to them quickly had to make themselves easily accessible in the digital world.

It’s not just profiting companies that have come online, with millions upon millions of eyes and thumbs flicking through content every second, charities and humanistic projects (including us) have become inspired to engage followers in short educational films that are no more than a minute or two. A great example of this is Matilda, an 11-year old student who made a film about the basics of Fairtrade, it’s worth checking out (https://schools.fairtrade.org.uk/interview-with-a-fairtrade-film-maker/). It took time but was easily made, made by someone young and was informing the public about an important subject, and can be seen by anyone.  

This immediately speaks to me, as it heightens the possibility for more reachable education for everyone, so could we be witnessing the early stages the development SDG Goal #4 “Quality Education” for more people? This inspired me to think about the future of education, are we side-skipping the opening of a book and instead plugging our brains into one-minute videos? One of the biggest companies to emerge and thrive off the world in lockdown was TikTok, a video-sharing social networking service that averages 10-second videos before the algorithm that knows what you click and like, cleverly does its magic to line up the next video for you. It has given artists, coaches, DIY experts, teachers, performers and so many more the chance to show off their skills to the world. A friend and I were debating whether this new wave of streaming information was a good thing for our minds or not. In fact, that’s what’s inspired me to open up the conversation with you today. 

There’s no doubt that TikTok engages a wide variety of people because of the short duration of these films. This is a great thing when it comes to greater awareness of factual based content that can lead to more support and passion for important causes. Here at What Can You Do, we’ve certainly taken advantage of the opportunity by getting creative with short films about “Sustainability and the SDG’s”, which in turn has led us to more subscribers. Anybody can make a film, many of us have easy access to a camera, and apps to edit, and certainly media channels to share the content we make. This gives space for more access to self-innovative work and hopefully economic growth – SDG Goal #8 “Decent Work and Economic Growth”! When more opportunities and markets are accessible and more people can share and involve themselves online, people are on a much more equal footing socially with digital opportunities than before. Which may improve equality between genders, race and physical ability. 

However before we get excited about our shifting reality, we have to look at what we leave behind and the possible foot-traps we could find ourselves in. For a start, the shorter the film, the more likely it is to be watched, but can you get all the information over in a minute?  One of the most difficult boogie traps to get around is what I briefly mentioned before – algorithms. The TikTok algorithm is based on the system that’s ‘triggered by the velocity of the engagement it receives. Content that gets less than that a 1/10 like-to-view ratio will stop growing’. So if you’re not getting enough engagement, it may not survive long enough on the feeds for people to see it. Similar to Instagram, ‘based on specific signals, it prioritises posts, pushing the most relevant ones towards the top and giving them the most visibility.’ In many ways we could argue that this is the new competitive market and you have get creatively smarter and more strategic about your postings. But is it fair? Does it give the same opportunities to those who are starting up their business, exploring their ideas online and are working twice as hard to be seen compared to those companies and people who can afford large engagement resources? It also exposes us to digital media learning our search patterns and using our personal data, which may be alright, but if it’s only feeding you content it knows you like, how will you learn about what you don’t know? 

More importantly does it isolate those in society that aren’t as tuned in to the realm of social media? 

When it comes to more informative posts, we have to be aware of the growth of fake media and ask the question, is it “quality” education or just simply a higher influx of diluted knowledge? 

When everyone can be a filmmaker and post, it means not everything will be accurate. That means we have to become more responsible consumers of content, look at where you’re getting your information from, which creators you trust and what their sources are. 

There will always be a combat to the good sides of a changing world. Where there’s space for informative and humanistic films, there’s space for adverts for useless and wasteful products. We have to keep the balance by being more mindful and grounded in how we view media. 

Start by following companies and brands you believe in, get plugged into more information and educate yourself on subjects that matter to you. Even as I sit here to write a blog, I have posted two short videos on my social platforms. It’s easy, it’s engaging and it’s where it’s headed.

Get engaged with our new video content on our channel and let us know what you think! 

https://www.youtube.com/c/WhatCanYouDo_WCYDo/

References:

https://ranieri.agency/understanding-tiktok-algorithm/

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-launches-tiktok-like-reels-functionality-in-india/581095/ 

Take care, keep well!

Blog: Eliza Pitkin
September 2020

Do you agree?  Tell us what you think – email: tellus@whatcanyoudo.earth

“tellus” is a Latin word meaning “Earth” e.g. Tellus Mater the ancient Roman Earth Mother Goddess

Before COVID-19, out of control wildfires hit the headlines in the USA. A consequence of climate change, these charcoaled landscapes are a stark reminder that our economic system is unsustainable. 

As our Earth runs a fever, news stories were replaced with the more immediate threat of COVID-19. 

Two natural disasters. What parallels can be drawn between them?

In this article, I compare virus activity to economic activity and ask the question: What is nature telling us? And can we learn from the nature of a virus like COVID-19, to help solve our ongoing and increasingly prevalent environmental crises? 

The nature of viruses

A virus is a tiny infectious agent, a cluster of molecules, from proteins to their coding genes. Viruses have no consciousness. No respiratory system. No nervous system. Nothing to depict them as living. 

Medical examination of the Coronavirus. Source

On infecting animal (or plant) cells, the virus uses the resources of the host to produce more viruses, often, but not always, damaging the host. 

This is the nature of the virus. 

The nature of economic activity 

Just as a virus uses the host cell’s resources, economic activity uses the Earth’s resources. In this sense, Earth is the host for us humans. 

The metaphor of the Earth as an organism was first postulated by James Lovelock in his book Gaia. To compare the nature of a virus to the nature of human economic activity, I will use this metaphor.

If the Earth is attacked – just as a cell is attacked by a virus – the Earth will fight back. Not through conscious intent, but by the nature of the Earth’s delicately balanced systems. 

For instance, the removal of natural forests to make way for crop monocultures results in pest outbreaks. Pest outbreaks destroy those crops, making way for the systems to revert back to their original diverse and rich forest ecosystems.

Source

Using the theory of Gaia, you can see how the Earth playing host to humans can be compared to a cell host of a virus.

If Earth is our host, then we and our economic activity can be similar to the virus. 

Drawing this parallel, what can we learn? If we are the virus, then what distinguishes a successful virus from an unsuccessful virus?

COVID-19 might be thought of as a successful virus because of its impact, however, our response, both bodily, behaviorally, and technologically will eliminate COVID-19 in time. COVID-19 will, in all probability, eventually become extinct; just like Smallpox and the Black Death.

The most successful viruses are the ones that co-exist with the host, causing insignificant damage or even benefiting the host. No immune response is provoked. No social distancing is enforced. No vaccine is required. 

If then, the Earth is a host to humans, for us to be successful we have to act like a successful virus. We cannot damage our host. We have to learn to co-exist.

Question: How can our economic system co-exist with the needs of our host, the Earth? 

Answer: Through the discipline of economic sustainability.

Incorporating economically sustainable practices to co-exist with our host, Earth

Economic sustainability aims to meet the needs of the economy indefinitely without compromising social and environmental needs. 

Economic sustainability is part of the wider discipline of business sustainability. Business sustainability moves away from Milton Friedman’s stakeholder theory – where a company is stated to be beholden to its stakeholders – and looks at a business in a more holistic light, taking into account environmental and social attributes. 

Source

Of most relevance to this article are the economic and environmental pillars of sustainability. By comparing the workings of a virus to human economic activity, we understand that, for success, we have to work with our host, the Earth, and its environment. 

That is, our economy must support environmental needs. 

How can a business do this?

Methods to improve business sustainability are exhaustive. A good practical approach is the Integrated Management Systems approach to sustainability. This approach involves the continual assessment and improvement of business processes, integrating sustainability into the very fabric of an organization. 

Below I have illustrated a summary of how an Integrated Management Systems approach to sustainability works.

• Plan stage 1 – Document your business processes: First you need to document your business processes.
• Plan stage 2 – Assess your business processes: Continually assess each business process, critically analyzing operations against sustainability values and needs. Guidelines such as ISO 14001 or GRI standards are vital for this step. 
• Plan stage 3 – Identify the gap: Compare your actual performance with the desired performance.
• Do – Improve your business processes: Make the alterations needed to your business processes to close the gap between sustainability needs and your actual performance. These alterations should be intertwined within your business processes taking the Integrated Management Systems approach.
• Test – Observe the success of the alterations made: Check your processes against intended outcomes. Are the changes producing the desired results? Have new problems arisen with the alterations made?
• Act – Audit and improve your processes: Identify new gaps or previous gaps that have not yet closed. Plan to address any sustainability goals not reached. Repeat the process.

To be successful, businesses must meet the needs of our host, Earth

Comparing viral impacts on the host cell to economic impacts on our planet brings forth the conclusion: For our economy to survive and flourish, we must learn to coexist with our host, Earth.

To do this, we need to prioritize the implementation of business sustainability, and design our businesses with a core aim; to continuously optimize and improve, to meet the needs of our planet.

We no longer have the luxury to solely focus on the economic needs of business – we must also consider green business solutions. And through innovation, behavioral change, adaption, and positive advancement, businesses across the globe can become more sustainable and thus truly successful.

Tellus Blog: Jane Courtnell

September 2020

Do you agree?  Tell us what you think – email: tellus@whatcanyoudo.earth

“tellus” is a Latin word meaning “Earth” e.g. Tellus Mater the ancient Roman Earth Mother Goddess