Visit My Son's Blog, or He Will Knock On Your Door

Last week, for the benefit of two important causes, I decided to put the reputation of Web 2.0 to the test by starting a blog with my son, who would be the primary contributor of PopcornScholar.com. In all honesty, the reputation of Web 2.0 is not at stake if we raise nothing, but it's power will surely be demonstrated if we succeed. The Internet not only affords great advantages not available to offline channels, it also makes available great learning opportunities for people of all ages.

Trails-End, the organization that provides the popcorn Cub and Boy Scouts sell in order to raise money, provides on its website videos that scouts can view to learn how to sell popcorn door to door. The video hosts are very careful to address several important safety issues, such as:

1. Never go alone
2. Never go at night
3. Never accept food, drinks or invitations from strangers

These rules, while reasonable and necessary, present some challenges for aspiring fundraisers. For instance, the limited time available for scouts to solicit sales, particularly in the autumn, means that families will often be interrupted in the middle of dinner.

The Internet provides a viable alternative for parents and scouts that, when managed properly, not only renders these safety tips moot, but it also is a channel that is always on -- not subject to the confines of the earth's rotation or Mother Nature.

Also, of great importance to most families, it's inexpensive -- in most case using technology and knowledge that families already have or can easily get. All they really need is a computer, an Internet connection and an elementary understanding of HTML.

My son's blog, for instance, uses popcornscholar.com, a domain that only cost me $8/year, but with blogging software, it isn't necessary to purchase any domain. Admittedly, I did use my digital camera (which can be bought for less than $150 these days) to record a video message, but YouTube hosts that video without charging me and gives me the ability to easily blog it. Blogs are free or near free --  and even if a particular scouting region decides to not allow selling popcorn online, a $4/month Typepad account will allow bloggers to collect donations through PayPal, if there is a cause to which the scouts would like to donate, such as "Welcome Troops," the one my son's pack is donating popcorn to.

While I'm sure blogging is still something considered to mostly be the domain of "power users," parents motivated to contribute to one or several good causes while teaching their children invaluable lessons -- about technology, citizenship and critical thinking -- can make use of these inexpensive options to help prepare their children for the requirements of the 21st century.

I would say that this is a worthwhile project whether or not we raise a dime, but we've already raised a few. With your help, we can do so much better, and in so doing, demonstrate beyond a doubt the power of a motivated virtual community.

It should be noted that this process works best when used with the supervision of a parent. This is no different than supervising the traditional door-to-door solicitations, but in this case, no special technology is needed to monitor both incoming and outgoing communications from anywhere -- just common sense. If you decide to utilize the Internet in the manner described above, think of it as a useful way to spend some time with your kids.

As you can see from our blooper reel, it can be a lot of fun for everyone.

- Cam Beck