Gort cloud
Encyclopedia
The gort cloud is "a vast, largely invisible and growing (environmentally-aware) 'community
' that sieves, measures and exchanges information on environmental (green)
products and services." "The community includes NGOs, government agencies, certifying groups, academics, eco-tech specialists, business alliances, green media including green business news, sustainable designers, foundations, other social networks, conferences, trade shows, events, competitions, green blogs, special interest groups, and trendspotters—to name just a few." The book examines the marketing and brand-building experiences of sustainable business
es in America and discusses the gort cloud concept. It was critically reviewed by TreeHugger in December 2008.
The gort cloud is analogous to a social network
: "A social network is a social structure made of nodes (which are generally individuals or organizations) that are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as values, visions, ideas, financial exchange, friendship, kinship, dislike, conflict or trade." In this case, the shared values of the gort cloud are a concern for the environment and the desire for more sustainable
products and services.
The gort cloud can thus be thought of as a particular type of social network with inherent social value. According to Robert Putnam, "social networks have value. Just as a screwdriver (physical capital) or a college education (human capital) can increase productivity (both individual and collective), so too social contacts affect the productivity of individuals and groups". In this case, the group goal is the increased production of sustainable and socially responsible goods and services, and the decreased use of unsustainable or socially irresponsible goods and services. The gort cloud is not limited to social networks; it contains green social networks.
or MySpace
that "focus on building online communities of people who share interests and activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others", nobody created the gort cloud, and no person or organization controls it. "The gort cloud is simply an interconnected group of people with a common cause: the health and preservation of our planet. But unlike consciously created social networks, no one dreamed up the gort cloud or organized it for a specific purpose. In fact, it's not organized. It just exists as a fluid community."
An example of the use of the gort cloud can be seen in the marketing of the book, The Green Collar Economy
, written by Van Jones
. Jones used outreach to the green community (gort cloud) and to other special interest communities to push his book up and onto the New York Times bestseller list. "Using a Web-based, viral marketing
strategy, Jones and Green For All
, an environmental organization he recently founded, worked to get the word out about his book far and wide. The result was a place—number 12 to be exact—on the New York Times Best Seller list
in the book's first week."
. Once a new green product is introduced, the 'community' will analyze it and judge it. Both experts and non-experts may investigate claims and check facts. "All this is made possible, of course, by the Internet
— although the gort cloud is not simply a collection of websites. It is not an aspect of the Internet at all. It uses email
and the Internet as well as book publishers, magazines, radio, television, trade shows and green events to communicate. The gort cloud is ultimately people and their organizations."
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
' that sieves, measures and exchanges information on environmental (green)
Green politics
Green politics is a political ideology that aims for the creation of an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, social liberalism, and grassroots democracy...
products and services." "The community includes NGOs, government agencies, certifying groups, academics, eco-tech specialists, business alliances, green media including green business news, sustainable designers, foundations, other social networks, conferences, trade shows, events, competitions, green blogs, special interest groups, and trendspotters—to name just a few." The book examines the marketing and brand-building experiences of sustainable business
Sustainable business
Sustainable business, or green business, is enterprise that has no negative impact on the global or local environment, community, society, or economy—a business that strives to meet the triple bottom line. Often, sustainable businesses have progressive environmental and human rights policies...
es in America and discusses the gort cloud concept. It was critically reviewed by TreeHugger in December 2008.
The gort cloud is analogous to a social network
Social network
A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...
: "A social network is a social structure made of nodes (which are generally individuals or organizations) that are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as values, visions, ideas, financial exchange, friendship, kinship, dislike, conflict or trade." In this case, the shared values of the gort cloud are a concern for the environment and the desire for more sustainable
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
products and services.
The gort cloud can thus be thought of as a particular type of social network with inherent social value. According to Robert Putnam, "social networks have value. Just as a screwdriver (physical capital) or a college education (human capital) can increase productivity (both individual and collective), so too social contacts affect the productivity of individuals and groups". In this case, the group goal is the increased production of sustainable and socially responsible goods and services, and the decreased use of unsustainable or socially irresponsible goods and services. The gort cloud is not limited to social networks; it contains green social networks.
Function
Unlike social network services like FacebookFacebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
or MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
that "focus on building online communities of people who share interests and activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others", nobody created the gort cloud, and no person or organization controls it. "The gort cloud is simply an interconnected group of people with a common cause: the health and preservation of our planet. But unlike consciously created social networks, no one dreamed up the gort cloud or organized it for a specific purpose. In fact, it's not organized. It just exists as a fluid community."
An example of the use of the gort cloud can be seen in the marketing of the book, The Green Collar Economy
The Green Collar Economy
The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems is a 2008 book by Van Jones. It outlines a plan for simultaneously solving socioeconomic inequality and environmental problems. The book has received favorable reviews from Al Gore, Nancy Pelosi, Laurie David, Paul Hawken,...
, written by Van Jones
Van Jones
Anthony Kapel "Van" Jones is an American environmental advocate, civil rights activist, and attorney. Jones is a co-founder of three non-profit organizations. In 1996, he founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, a California non-governmental organization working for alternatives to violence...
. Jones used outreach to the green community (gort cloud) and to other special interest communities to push his book up and onto the New York Times bestseller list. "Using a Web-based, viral marketing
Viral marketing
Viral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses...
strategy, Jones and Green For All
Green For All
Green for All is an NGO in the United States "working to build an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty." Based in Oakland, California, Green For All advocates for a clean energy economy as a solution to both environmental and economic problems. Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins...
, an environmental organization he recently founded, worked to get the word out about his book far and wide. The result was a place—number 12 to be exact—on the New York Times Best Seller list
New York Times Best Seller list
The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times and as a stand-alone publication...
in the book's first week."
How the gort cloud vets individual products and services
The gort cloud vets green products and services in a process similar to academic peer reviewPeer review
Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
. Once a new green product is introduced, the 'community' will analyze it and judge it. Both experts and non-experts may investigate claims and check facts. "All this is made possible, of course, by the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
— although the gort cloud is not simply a collection of websites. It is not an aspect of the Internet at all. It uses email
Email
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
and the Internet as well as book publishers, magazines, radio, television, trade shows and green events to communicate. The gort cloud is ultimately people and their organizations."
Origin of the term "gort cloud"
According to the book, "The Gort Cloud", the author created the name:
The inspiration for that moniker lies in the Oort cloudOort cloudThe Oort cloud , or the Öpik–Oort cloud , is a hypothesized spherical cloud of comets which may lie roughly 50,000 AU, or nearly a light-year, from the Sun. This places the cloud at nearly a quarter of the distance to Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to the Sun...
, named after the astronomer Jan Hendrik OortJan OortJan Hendrik Oort was a Dutch astronomer. He was a pioneer in the field of radio astronomy. The Oort cloud of comets bears his name....
. The Oort cloud is a vast field of stellar debris that orbits the Solar SystemSolar SystemThe Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
. We can only detect it electronically and view its effects, mostly in the form of the occasional cometCometA comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...
it tosses back into our neighborhood. This seems to perfectly describe the gort cloud, a vast green network made up of untidy bits that is most easily detected through electronic means and that has a huge effect on the evolution of green business.