March 5, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
Six Degrees, the social networking Web site created by the actor Kevin Bacon, may have raised more than $2.5-million so far for causes championed by its users, but it has thus far failed to impress Dana Variano, who writes this week about the site on the PhilanthroMedia blog.
The actor, who is the subject of a popular game called “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon,” in which players try to connect him to other actors in six or fewer personal connections, started the site two years ago
with the nonprofit Network for Good. Like other social-networking sites, it allows people to create a profile and add connections, and also to announce their support of specific charitable causes.
“Despite the impressive monetary results, I’m a little skeptical of this approach to fund raising,” writes Ms. Variano. “It seems a little incomplete: the site only deals with monetary donations. What about volunteer work? I’d say Bacon’s site is a clever one (though very reminiscent of Facebook’s Causes), and certainly has done a large amount of good, but it could learn a thing or two from other socially-conscious social networking sites, such as Youth Noise.
What do you think of Six Degrees and similar efforts by social networks to raise support for charities? Click on the “comments” link below to join the discussion.
