Entrecard

February 6, 2008 · Filed Under Blogging · 2 Comments

I don’t know if you have noticed, but I recently added a small widget down on the right hand side of the blog. You con recognize it becuase of the ‘E’, which stands for Entrecard and next to this letter there is a picture with some text and this links to other blogs who are ‘advertising’ on my blog. The payment I receive is in the form of credits, which I can then use to buy ads on other blogs.

At first, I was a little sceptical about the Entrecard system, mainly because it means I have to go clicking around the www to amass enough credits to be able to pay for an ad. This clicking is akin to leaving your business card, (Mine is on the left) which is the way the Entrecard site puts it. I have to say that as a result of clicking I’ve come across some very nice blogs. And far from being a chore, this clicking is more a voyage of exploration. Yes, there is some dubious stuff out there, but there is lots of interesting material too.

In fact, this system is not a bad way to reveal your hidden gem of a blog to the reading world. So, go on, create a wee blog business card and sign up. You might just find it quite a lot of fun. Entrecard is totally free, and, in theory you can even sell your credits to others. Even if money does not bother you, it may not be such a bad way to donate money to a good cause you would like to support.

Any criticisms? A few, but nothing serious. First of all, this system can really eat up your time. And second, I have not come across any new blogs dealing with Italy and things Italian, not just yet, anyway.

And before anyone brings up the point, no, nobody has asked me to write this, I just thought I’d spread the word and, maybe, encourage a few others to read and or, even better, to set up blogs.

Tags: ad, ads, advertising, blog, criticism, donate, Entrecard, good, good cause, interesting, Italian, Italy, sign up, site

Don’t throw it way. Eat it!

October 5, 2007 · Filed Under Thoughts · 2 Comments

My friend and student, Gaetano Salvo, showed me an article in one of Milan’s free newspapers, City, about an organisation run by one Andrea Sergrè, who happens to be the head of the agriculture faculty at one of world’s oldest universities, the University of Bologna.

Mr Segrè has set up a very worthwhile organisation known as Last Minute Market. What is Last Minute Market, and why do I think it is worthwhile? Read on and judge for yourselves.

Well, basically, Last Minute Market is an organisation which collects edible goods that are past their sell-by dates from a number of supermarkets around Italy and then distributes this food to Italy’s poor and needy.

You might be thinking that giving old and mouldy food to people is not such a wonderful idea, but then, as most people know, just because something is past its sell-by date does not mean it becomes instantly inedible. Far from it, according to the article, a yoghurt can still be safely consumed up to 48 hours after its sell-by date. And there are plenty of other products which can be safely eaten despite having, on paper, come to the ends of their shelf-lives. The thing is that in the past, before Mr Segrè and Last Minute Market came along, all this expired food was simply thrown away, or fed to pigs, which seems to be a terrible waste, especially with all the famine that exists in this world. Darfur, for example.

Although Mr Segrè is not attempting to set up his scheme on a worldwide scale just yet, he is presently attempting to encourage supermarkets in and around Milan to participate in the scheme.

Why stop at Milan? What would be even better would be for all the supermarkets in the world to become involved in such a project, then simply (!) throw in the services of a few friendly airlines with empty baggage holds, and you could end up with a system that would go along way towards alleviating famine throughout the world.

Another effect, which could also be magnified on a worldwide basis, of Mr Segrè’s innovative system, has been to reduce business waste disposal costs by up to 39% in the areas in which companies participate in the food re-distribution scheme. At least this is what is reported in the article I have in front of me. That is quite an appreciable ancillary benefit, and should in itself, in today’s budget driven world, encourage everyone to take up this approach to dealing with food products that con no longer be sold. And reduction in waste disposal levels that should result will also lead to lower pollution levels. You can read more about this in a .pdf file produced in English Last Minute Market. This scheme is not only socially beneficial, but also environmentally friendly. Who could ask for more?

What would be good would be if Mr Segrè’s initiative managed to catch the attention of certain worldwide charity movers and shakers, such as Bono of U2. Now I doubt whether Bono will read my little blog from Italy, but at least by writing this, someone may come across this post and start balls rolling. Hope springs eternal!

Tags: Andrea Sergrè, Bologna University, bono, charity, distribute, do this, donate, eat, famine, giving, good cause, Italian Food, Italy, last minute market, make the world better, project, sell by date, u2, University of Bologna