Google has finally opened voting for Project 10100. Unfortunately, this isn't the Project 10100 that was initially announced last September.
Google has abandoned its initial plan in favor of a more closed, less ambitious plan. Instead of allowing us to choose among 100 concrete ideas submitted by individuals, Google presents only 16 broad categories for which to vote:
- Build real-time, user-reported news service
- Drive innovation in public transport
- Make educational content available online for free
- Create more efficient landmine removal programs
- Help social entrepreneurs drive change
- Make government more transparent
- Provide quality education to African students
- Create real-time natural crisis tracking system
- Promote health monitoring and data analysis
- Enhance science and engineering education
- Create real-world issue reporting system
- Create genocide monitoring and alert system
- Work toward socially conscious tax policies
- Build better banking tools for everyone
- Collect and organize the world's urban data
- Encourage positive media depictions of engineers and scientists
Although Google lists below each category the more concrete ideas that inspired it, they never commit to a specific implementation for any category. In fact, the only commitment Google makes is to dispense $10 million to up to five organizations chosen by its advisory board; it doesn't even promise that the board will choose the five most popular categories.
Project 10100 had a great deal of potential, but Google has turned the project into just another token charity gift by a major corporation. Thousands of people with world-changing ideas have essentially been told "Look elsewhere for your funding; we don't think your idea can make a difference." I know I'm not the only one who's disappointed.
