Jumo is, as the New York Times said, is a site designed to “connect save-the-world types.”

Chris Hughes, the 26-year-old co-founder of Facebook and director of online organizing for Obama’s 2008 campaign, has decided to create an online one-stop shop for the philanthropically minded. Around a year ago, he joined the venture capitalist firm General Catalyst as an entrepreneur-in-residence. Jumo seems to be the byproduct (or brainchild) of his time there. As yet, little is know about Jumo. But Hughes has posted a brief intro and mission statement online:

“There are no magic solutions to the challenges our world faces. But there are millions of people around the globe who work each day to improve the lives of others. Unfortunately, there are millions more who don’t know how to meaningfully help.
Jumo brings together everyday individuals and organizations to speed the pace of global change. We connect people to the issues, organizations, and individuals relevant to them to foster lasting relationships and meaningful action.”

Jumo is scheduled to come out in September or October of this year. Only three jobs have been posted so far, but the following job description has been posted widely for its scent of idealism: “Your professional experience is less important to us than your skills and passion for this kind of work.” This resembles, in spirit at least, Google’s decision to allow its employees one day each week to pursue their own creative projects. It also resembles my employee’s abilities to take as much or as little vacation time as they like. As long as their obligations are met.

In general, Jumo carries the same sense of youthful idealism that the Obama campaign carried. Which is not to say Chris Hughes is under any illusions; the guy clearly knows what he’s doing. As Hughes works to launch the site, he will also continue overseeing aspects of Facebook part-time.

Jumo is supposed to be the answer to organizations like Causes, which functions as applications of social networking sites. There already are freestanding sites, of course, like Kickstarter.org, DoSomething.org, and DonorsChoose.org. But these lack the major social interconnectivity of something like Facebook. Jumo will exist as a separate but affiliated entity of Facebook catering to more of a niche audience. Facebook proved that communities do form across long distances—a belief that was long disputed until the Internet came along. Maybe when the next major disaster strikes, the next Haiti earthquake, people will visit Jumo instead of Twitter to decide how much and where to send their $10 contribution.

It is expected that, once Jumo lands on the web, hundreds of organizations will sign up to be listed. You can expect that hundreds of thousands of people will follow. At this point, who knows what will become of site. Maybe it’ll evolve as a place to broadcast your benevolence to potential mates—a kind of philanthropic dating service! Or maybe it’ll encourage more people to get involved in volunteer work and donating. But connecting people according to their deeper, philanthropic interests—as opposed to their favorite music or what school they went to—seems like an inevitable, and very good, idea. I like it.

To happy giving and connecting,

Jay Kubassek

Twitter will unveil on Tuesday a much-anticipated plan for making money from advertising, finally answering the question of how the company expects to turn its exponential growth into revenue.

Read full article here: http://www.nytimes.com

Standing in line? Lame.

We all despise it to some degree right? How many times have you been excited for your favorite yogurt place restaurant or movie, only to have your excitement instantaneously deflated when you’re ushered with a smile (hopefully, but not always) towards a 30-minute line to wait. We as a society despise waiting so much we invented a way to wait in line in private. They call it Drive-thru!

I have a favorite coffee spot in the city. Actually, I admittedly have a few favorites, but today I was in the area of one near our old office in the East Village. The tender dark aroma of this place has a scent you can catch a half a block away, and thankfully, because of how tiny it is, the line is never too bad. Today as I rounded the corner towards the shop, something else was distinctly in the air. Another smell, not quite as savory, but something edible. It floated amongst the smell of fresh roasted beans, mixed with honeysuckle from the newly blossomed trees that line Avenue A. Being a farm boy and sucker for curious smells, I decided to follow my nose for just a second and investigate this peculiar but pleasant scent. What I found around the corner was not a early afternoon barbeque, or a farmer’s market cookout, it was the Salvation Army food truck and the line was devastating.

Like a slow moving infantry, the homeless lined the edge of Tompkins Square park in the warm sun. Every item they owned; collected trash, bottles and cans, cardboard, blankets and push carts clinked and clanked as the crowd moved in what felt like one slow unified crusade towards the food. Volunteers moved vigorously to serve the plates; a warmth on their faces that I knew only masked the sadness of such a scene. Just north of the line, less than a stone’s throw, the cruel irony of this scene is completed by a glowing, technicolor of a playground for children. Just a mere 30 yards away; laughter and innocence, snacks and handi-wipes.

I sat across the street for a moment, struck by the contrast. I thought to myself: everyone in this line was once like these children. A child full of perpetual hope and promise; with no worry about their next meal, only the next swing set. Now, it does me no good to try and contemplate why such things happen. It is beyond my knowledge, and will probably continue to be. But what I can contemplate is how grateful I can be for still having that hope and promise fill my everyday life. I can be grateful that I needn’t worry about where my next meal is coming from. I can be grateful to be in a position to give and not just receive.

I wrote the donation number down on the side of the truck and made my way back towards the coffee shop. A feeling of gratitude beaming inside of me somehow. As I turned the corner I saw, of course, there was a line. I stepped right in with a smile on my face, thankful simply for the choice to do so.

Stay grateful. Stay thankful. Stay humble.
All my best,

Jay Kubassek

More about 99%: www.jaykubassek.com/99percent

How can you not love this kid Shaun White? Despite winning three consecutive gold medals in the coolest Winter Olympic sport (the half-pipe competition), raking in over $9 million last year alone in endorsement earnings, and appearing what seems weekly on the cover of dozens of national magazines—he’s apparently perfectly stable, and hasn’t lost his mind or morals, yet. He seems somehow above all the usual pratfalls of celebrity. What exactly is this guy doing right?

The recent profile of White in Rolling Stone, (in which he shirtless torches his snowboard in homage to Mr. Hendrix) he conveys some incredibly strong principles, and he’s had them from the beginning. The kid was sponsored and in the public image since nine, but has avoided the standard rowdy, pot-smoking, booze-swigging snowboarding culture. White was too young to get into any of the post-competition bars as a young pro, and has learned to celebrate in moderation. While the supplemental pastimes are “chillin”, listening to music and videogames—not exactly intellectual pursuits, but still less likely to get you a front page writeup (or “write-down” I should say) on TMZ.

Despite the blissed-out rock star image, mostly formulated by his sponsors, White is a true athlete, wildly competitive and full of ambition. He tells Rolling Stone: “I just can’t relax…I’ve been competing since I was seven years old, so when I have time off, I can’t handle it.” Undoubtedly a gifted athlete, White’s work ethic is at the core of his success.

Regardless of what we choose to do with our careers, or the path we choose; a willingness to stand against the grain and remain an individual, will always serve to build and then sustain our success. Oh yeah, doesn’t hurt to be able to do six backflips on snowboard going 30 miles an hour too.

All my best,