Suppose you’re totally worked up about a cause and you want to do something. But how? A new social-networking site, launched Tuesday in beta by a Facebook cofounder, is trying to provide an answer.
Jumo is the name of the new social-networking site designed to connect volunteers and donors for cause-based organizations and charities. It was founded by Chris Hughes, whose previous credits include serving as the main digital organizer during the presidential campaign of Barack Obama and being the cofounder of Facebook. That popular social-networking site’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, was Hughes’ roommate at Harvard.
‘Together In Concert’
Hughes said Jumo means “together in concert” in the West African language of Yuroba, and he intends to bring together philanthropy, volunteering and social networking. The Omidyar Network, founded by eBay creator Pierre Omidyar, has contributed $3.5 million in grants.
A Jumo user creates a home page with news feeds from friends and groups. About 3,500 groups are currently represented, focused on a range of causes that include the environment, gay rights, education, Haiti and other areas.
Groups have their own pages, and news articles, Twitter tweets, YouTube videos, and other information can be posted on the pages, as well as user comments. As one might expect, there are also tie-ins to the Facebook ecosystem, such as following friends’ causes and projects.
Hughes has told news media that Jumo’s approach is not just about how much money is being donated to a group, but “the kind of relationship you are building with that organization,” since this will help users stay involved over a longer period of time. He hopes Jumo will do for charities and cause-based organizations “what Yelp did for restaurants.”
Hughes has said Jumo is unlike Facebook Causes, an app for that site through which users can create groups based on issues in which they’re interested….