antti.vilpponen.net

I wrote about Kiva in December on Arctic Startup, my blog co-written with Miikka and Tomi. Kiva is a non-profit organisation which helps people people in need of financing connect with those who are able and willing to lend some money. The problem with entrepreneurs and developing countries is that they are too risky and small for bigger finance organisations to operate in. Furthermore, Kiva is a relief to those who need a microloan to expand the business a little without too much bureaucracy.

Today I decided it was time try it out so I registered and lent 25 USD to Carlos Yakisich in Paraguay. The attributes that affected my decision was of course the entrepreneur itself and the organisation who works on the local level in Paraguay. Fundaci??n Paraguaya has a default rate of 0 on their loans, which is always good.

If you’re interested in helping out entrepreneurs, please sign up and lend some money.

My friend and partner, Hannu Ripatti, has been writing a blog for sometime now, called Garbage is an analog concept. He has a lot of good entries there already, but I especially like the “Dinner in the cave“.

He writes about his blog (which I agree with 100%):

I believe that the ongoing digital revolution is going to be one of the landmark moments in history. It will not only change the way we do business and communicate. It will change every aspect of society from education to privacy and beyond. There will be many challenges, both technical and intellectual, but in the end I truly believe that we will all benefit from the revolution.

Kevin Rudd, the new PM of Australia has ratified the Kyoto Protocol just a moment ago in Bali, Indonesia. This is a major change in a fight against climate change with regards to Australia. I’m not sure Kyoto is the right agreement to stop climate change, but it sure is a big step to slow it down.

Good on ya Mr Rudd!

…well sort of. Joi has received his Visa with the World of Warcraft graphics. Philip Torrene of Make blogged about this a year ago.

It’s a smart move from Visa as these guys are subscribers and pay monthly to World of Warcraft. Furthemore, it’s not just a small geeky bunch of players – they’re 8,5 million people who subscribe on a monthly basis to WOW membership. Nice, very nice.

Sorry Roxie, but this leaves me wondering about the Americans :) Helsingin Sanomat published some results from different studies that quite honestly are shocking:

• According to the State Education Study, about 33% of Washington’s Washington D.C.’s citizens are illiterate.
• About one third of Americans are scientifically illiterate, meaning they are unable to understand simple scientific material for example from a newspaper says the US Science Academy (own translation)
• John D. Miller from the Michigan State University rightly argues that this could be the reason why most of the Americans are unable to understand evolution, DNA or global warming.
• About 20% of Americans believe that the sun revolves around Earth.

Sigh….