Can we help the poor simply by increasing the probability that a skillful independent helper or her organisation finds them?
William Easterly, the development economist and author of "The White Man's Burden" makes a famous distinction between "Planners" and "Searchers". The Planners have led most of the development efforts over the past 40 years - and failed on many occasions. We are going to make a similar distinction here in an attempt to explain how we think social media should work to support grass roots initiatives.
