I loan because: I want to be active in the world

[flexagon]

As a followup to my last post, I think I'll post about something that hardly ever draws comments -- Kiva. :) (I do have some new friends, though, so hey, new friends: Kiva.org is where microfinance meets match.com. You can pick your favorite third world entrepreneur and lend them $25 (or more), and then track their progress and get your $25 back when the loan is repaid. I basically think it is the bomb.)

I'm excited because Kiva now has lender pages.¹ Here's mine:

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=lender&action=view&name=lemming&rdr

As you can see, my first loan to Yesenia the fishmonger is almost paid back. When she's done I'll probably withdraw that money to my bank account, as final proof that the whole thing isn't a scam; then I'll re-lend it. Squee. :)

Kiva is now looking for volunteer translators and editors, and, sadly, a volunteer software developer. So much for me going to work for them. I can't blame them for asking, when the TIME Person of the Year was "you" and half the magazine was about crowdsourcing... someone just might say yes. Won't be me though. It's that whole problem with having to work for a living.

¹I poked around a little bit... I found a guy my age who, even if all his loans are the minimum amount of $25, has $3200 in the Kiva system right now. Yet his myspace profile makes him look like someone I wouldn't care to meet in a million years. Really now... "lick me where I pee"? People, oh, people, you are so obstreperously complicated.

Comments

[bluechromis.livejournal.com]

Oh, that is awesome. I've been psyched about kiva since you first brought it up but haven't had $$. The profile pages add another layer of community to the concept, I love it.

Also, I totally want to meet that guy (in a friends way of course). I didn't find his myspace repulsive, more it seemed to be mocking myspace and focused on irony, which is kind of like mine. I mean, I did, after all, say that my college minor was drinking myself into a stupor and fucking anything that moved.

[flexagon]

Yeah, I was sorta wondering if it was meant to be ironic. But I didn't have the energy to see whether he was saying intelligent things somewhere else on myspace or whatever. I guess I'm just not that into him, aside from his kiva involvement. :)

P.S. am I a horrible person for noticing, just noticing, that my $100-not-$25-per-loan ways make it look like I'm not as involved as I am?