38
Backers
$2,742
pledged of $6,500 goal
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Funding Unsuccessful
This project reached the deadline without achieving its funding goal on March 18, 2011.
Pledge $5 or more Pledge $5 or more
Homebody: Every explorer needs a place to call home. I’ll give you props on my blog and be sure to keep you posted on my return so you know when to have the chocolate chip cookies ready.
Pledge $25 or more Pledge $25 or more
Armchair Explorer: National Geographic Channel has nothing on the stories I will bring back, so I’ll make sure you get a cool set of postcards that will show you the sights of Pakistan from the comfort of your own home. Don't worry. You'll be recognized on my blog too.
Pledge $65 or more Pledge $65 or more
Expedition Scout*: Your expedition won’t get very far without having a bit of insight about what’s coming up next. In addition to everything already mentioned, I’ll send you a special package that gives you a preview of some of the places I’ll be going and people I’ll be working with. *Bonus! If you donate $75 or more your preview packet will include a few key phrases in Urdu so you can effectively scout out the best samosa joint in your neighborhood.
Pledge $125 or more Pledge $125 or more
Desert Nomad: I’ll send you a hand drawn (and specially annotated!) map of one of my daily journeys in Pakistan. It will give you all kinds of juicy data that I have tracked so you can find your way. Yes, you’ll get all the other stuff too.
Pledge $300 or more Pledge $300 or more
Trusted Guide: Without a doubt, guides know where it’s at. Your mastery of local information and insights has come from a lifetime of asking great questions. So send me a question, and I’ll try to seek out a Pakistani who has answers. A personal response will be sent to you via Pakistani post. If you don’t have a specific question, I’ll surprise you with some insider’s tips I stumble across. All previous rewards are included.
Pledge $1,000 or more Pledge $1,000 or more
Marco Polo Rides Again! Signore Polo went all the way to China to hear a few good stories. Get yourself to New York and I’ll treat you to an afternoon in the wilderness of the Hudson river valley and share all manner of stories and insights with you live and in person. Of course, all of the previous rewards too!
Project By
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I’m a designer and am fascinated by the ways people interact with information. I love storytelling and the ways it can empower people to generate and connect with new ideas and perspectives. I spend most days working feverishly towards my MFA in Interaction Design at the School of Visual Arts.
Erin: Your self-appointed role as "Design Ambassador" is more of what we need...People who are willing to make the time -- even take the risk -- of getting out, exploring and sharing the lives & perspectives of others beyond our ken, and beyond the very limited melodrama that international journalism offers us. Please continue to make the case for why this is important.
Congratulations on your efforts, XCD supports!! Let's get the word out, 13 Days To Go!
Hi Cole-
I whole heartedly agree. If you have $1000 and a passport and the time to go visit Conrad in China, I will be the first to tell you to go for it. Unfortunately, not everyone is as fortunate. Currently, only 30% of Americans have passports - which essentially means that 2 out of every 3 of us can’t even get to Canada - much less China or Pakistan.
It seems clear to me that design and technology, used as tools to communicate and help people experience their world, has already become the way that most people connect with places that they might not ever have a chance to see or visit. Yet, there are few designers and few design organizations who are actively going out into the world, understanding it's multiple contexts in order to come back and share their findings with others.
The purpose of my project is not, as you would suggest, to make a YouTube video. It is not to take a vacation, or to simply benefit myself through the interactions I have with other peoples or cultures, as Conrad suggests I do.
The purpose of my project is to provide access to relevant information about people and ways of life in parts of the world that are hard to reach. For designers, my hope is that this information can be used as a starting point to further inspire and influence future projects that lie at the intersection of design, technology and social entrepreneurship.
For everyone else, I hope that my efforts will get them excited about exploring and encourage them to investigate and ask questions about the world they live in. That, in and of itself, is a really exciting idea.
Thanks for your thoughts.
This comment was originally posted regarding a article that was written by Erin Moore (the creator of this project) on Core77, but I felt it was appropriate to voice my opinion here also. The original article can be found here: http://www.core77.com/blog/education/what_if_designers_were_better_explorers_by_erin_moore_18571.asp
"I don't really get what point your trying to make? Obviously the primary motivation for writing this article is to promote your digital panhandling over on that Kickstart site, but I don't think you've created a very convincing argument for people to give you their hard earned money.
In fact, your entire stance seems very hypocritical. You implore people to "move between people and environments" and state that you "learned the most when I put down my books, shut off my internet, got out into the world and listened to the stories and experiences of the people who live in it" and yet your asking people to GIVE you money so that you can make a VIDEO about Pakistan and post it on the INTERNET so "others can connect with and learn from [the Pakistanis].
I'm not saying I disagree with you that learning and exploring a unknown country or culture can be an enlightening experience, I'm just saying that your a hypocrite. The entire premise of your project is that people should actually go and explore places to learn about them, and yet the supposed purpose of your trip is to make a Youtube video? What?
I think you of all people, Erin, would agree that anyone considering giving you money to fund your "project" would be much better off saving it and putting it towards a trip to some place they are interested in learning about. As tempting as getting to hang out with you in the Hudson river valley is, I think I'll use my $1000 to buy plane tickets to China and visit Conrad."