Set Your Passion Free With DiveIn!
Do you remember when social media was fun? When folks jumped online to share things that they were passionate about? When ordinary people took a few minutes online to find out how to volunteer at the local homeless shelter, or find individuals who shared their passion for quilting and scrapbooking? When social platforms were truly focused on social interaction? Gone are those days of quiet, non-confrontational, visits to the likes of Facebook, Twitter, et al.! Each of us who has social accounts today is hit in the face with the insanity of temper tantrums, disrespectful comments, judgmental expressions of opinion, and rudeness nearly each and every time we log in – and those are the adults on our friends and followers lists! Are you as ready as I am for a blast from the past? A little adult conversation, passion, and respect? Well, GREAT news for us! Recently, I stumbled upon an AMAZING startup that provides a platform that connects passionate people to each other and to local nonprofits, community organizations, and worthy causes.
Founded by Andreas Carlos Freund, DiveIn started in the San Francisco Bay Area, now ready to take its next evolutionary step, DiveIn is stepping into major metropolitan areas across the United States. 
As DiveIn prepares to spread its proverbial wings and grow nationwide, I thought it would be a great opportunity to get some insight into where DiveIn came from and where they, as a company and social platform, hope to go, and what they want to accomplish moving forward – and of course share this platform with you!
The concept for DiveIn came about when Andreas was studying abroad in Berlin, Germany in 2015. This was about the time that Chancellor Angela Merkel was opening the German borders to refugees from war-torn countries like Afghanistan and Syria. The images of the refugees streaming in, and living a mere block from a refugee shelter, Andreas decided to see if he could lend a helping hand in some manner. Unfortunately for all concerned, he was turned away from the shelter under the guise of timing and logistics. More frustrating to the man who was seeking an opportunity to help others, was the fact that he was not provided any information or sense of direction as to how he may be able to put his desire to help others into action.
Lacking the tools and direction to easily volunteer for a cause that he was passionate about got Andreas thinking about what was available in America. He decided to seriously examine and analyze the landscape of social media applications, volunteer recruiting and sign up sites, event engines, and nonprofit management systems. Andreas was surprised that there was not anything anywhere in place to empower enthusiastic folks who wanted to be active in their communities in relation to causes that they were passionate about. He found a myriad of hoops that were necessary to jump through just to help neighbors.
Andreas’s discovery gave DiveIn its life’s breath – he wanted to remove barriers and help people leave the sidelines and get them engaged in the causes they cared about in their own backyards and next-door. It is doubtful that the DiveIn Team realized some of the challenges he would face in simplifying the way we get socially involved in our communities.
Challenges that quickly made their presence known include the huge hurdle of actually getting people’s attention. The fact that each of has our attention pulled in 10 plus different directions every minute we are awake, coupled with the increased use of multiple “pokes” at our attention (i.e., text combined with audio and animation) results in sensory overload and causes us to miss many things that should grab and keep our attention. In the attention-economy, focused attention is like platinum in the precious metals arena. Very rare indeed!
Andreas acknowledges the attention challenge. He says, “It is tough stuff. People are constantly bombarded so we have to do our best to stay loud, keep hustling, and find partners who will help us reach mutually beneficial goals.”
As DiveIn matured from concept to reality, Andreas realized that he was really onto something. He committed to developing a social platform focused on change and passion. It struck me as an anomalous decision for a new platform to be reaching back to a time when social media was, well, still social and not simply an extension of the Marketing Department and data mining tool. Being a bit confused and VERY excited about a platform that was striving to put the passion back into social media, I really wanted to understand exactly why DiveIn was taking a path that seemed to be a distant memory.
My curiosity was quickly satisfied when I read a blog post on the DiveIn website. The blog cites many things that have run awry over the past couple of years in our Nation. Everything from questionable election outcomes, fake news, and the lack of trust and respect for elected officials at the state and federal levels have led to contentious situations across social media and in communities across the Nation as well.
Another driving force pushing DiveIn forward is the fact that communication in the local and national political arenas has become accusatory, disrespectful, and contentious at best. One thing that DiveIn hopes to accomplish by providing this social platform is to return civility to conversations that involve opposing viewpoints – in which all involved are passionate about their respective positions. No matter how absolutely opposite viewpoints may be, there is an opportunity for constructive, respectful, two-way adult communication. While not creating any magic pill to cure the derogatory dialog currently taking place, DiveIn is unquestionably providing a unique forum for individuals to exchange opposing ideas and discuss them. By building these online communities which bring together passionate individuals on all sides of an issue or topic, DiveIn will, in the short term, encourage the open exchange of ideas and information. In the long term, and much more important, DiveIn will be directly impacting local communities in both urban and rural areas by providing a fast track to the exchange of ideas. Online groups of like-minded individuals in Chicago, Illinois and Box Elder, South Dakota will be able to quickly find one another and discuss ideas and develop next steps - at an accelerated rate. This will be true of political movements, windsurfing, or dog training.
Taking this one step further, Andreas realized a huge opportunity to actually bring people together about anything they are passionate about – swimming, hula hoops, animals, gardening, academia, travel, volunteering, absolutely anything. The opportunity to truly get neighbors talking to neighbors and making things happen at the local level is not unique to DiveIn, however, what is unique is that DiveIn is providing all of the imaginable tools to unite our communities and Nation.
Looking forward, DiveIn hopes to become a one-stop-shop for individuals who are committed to making a positive impact locally. According to Shannon McNair, Partnerships Manager at DiveIn,
“We envision a world in which anybody, no matter where they are, can easily find and share opportunities to make a difference in their own backyards, in the time it takes to order food on Postmates [or Grubhub] or a car via Uber [or Lyft].
A planned user affinity program will effectively incentivize so that they walk-the-walk and not just pay it lip service. Through the use [and development] of technology, DiveIn plans to make meaningful and constructive engagement that is the catalyst for change easier, more rewarding, and, most of all fun! With so many unanswered opportunities for community engagement and building, this seems to be a near perfect map for overcoming the challenge. Whether through volunteering, attending happy-hour fundraisers, or organizing events around important issues, DiveIn provides the platform and tools to find out quickly where the opportunities are and allow communication and support that encompasses the things folks are passionate about to beg or be taken to the next level.
I doubt that the future could be any brighter for this amazing startup. With hopes to of becoming a true social-network for change, rooted in local communities and shared values, DiveIn has no plans on becoming dependent on advertising revenues to stay afloat. From volunteering, community building, grassroots organizing, civil rights, homelessness, animal rescues, LGBT equality, and beekeeping, DiveIn provides an opportunity for those committed to their individual passions to network and build bigger, better, and stronger communities. DiveIn’s mission of making it easier to take all the caring and passionate feelings people have in relation to things that are important to them and act on them is exactly what our neighborhoods and Nation so desperately need right now! If you have any doubt about the power that DiveIn is putting in your hands today, please check their website out and sign up now.
-- As always, find your passion and run with it!
**Note to readers – there will be a follow-up to this article in mid-February that will detail my experience using DiveIn as a user, as well as from the perspective of a social media manager for a nonprofit animal rescue and as Assistant Director of King's Harvest Ministries.
As DiveIn prepares to spread its proverbial wings and grow nationwide, I thought it would be a great opportunity to get some insight into where DiveIn came from and where they, as a company and social platform, hope to go, and what they want to accomplish moving forward – and of course share this platform with you!
The concept for DiveIn came about when Andreas was studying abroad in Berlin, Germany in 2015. This was about the time that Chancellor Angela Merkel was opening the German borders to refugees from war-torn countries like Afghanistan and Syria. The images of the refugees streaming in, and living a mere block from a refugee shelter, Andreas decided to see if he could lend a helping hand in some manner. Unfortunately for all concerned, he was turned away from the shelter under the guise of timing and logistics. More frustrating to the man who was seeking an opportunity to help others, was the fact that he was not provided any information or sense of direction as to how he may be able to put his desire to help others into action.
Lacking the tools and direction to easily volunteer for a cause that he was passionate about got Andreas thinking about what was available in America. He decided to seriously examine and analyze the landscape of social media applications, volunteer recruiting and sign up sites, event engines, and nonprofit management systems. Andreas was surprised that there was not anything anywhere in place to empower enthusiastic folks who wanted to be active in their communities in relation to causes that they were passionate about. He found a myriad of hoops that were necessary to jump through just to help neighbors.
Andreas’s discovery gave DiveIn its life’s breath – he wanted to remove barriers and help people leave the sidelines and get them engaged in the causes they cared about in their own backyards and next-door. It is doubtful that the DiveIn Team realized some of the challenges he would face in simplifying the way we get socially involved in our communities.
Challenges that quickly made their presence known include the huge hurdle of actually getting people’s attention. The fact that each of has our attention pulled in 10 plus different directions every minute we are awake, coupled with the increased use of multiple “pokes” at our attention (i.e., text combined with audio and animation) results in sensory overload and causes us to miss many things that should grab and keep our attention. In the attention-economy, focused attention is like platinum in the precious metals arena. Very rare indeed!
Andreas acknowledges the attention challenge. He says, “It is tough stuff. People are constantly bombarded so we have to do our best to stay loud, keep hustling, and find partners who will help us reach mutually beneficial goals.”
As DiveIn matured from concept to reality, Andreas realized that he was really onto something. He committed to developing a social platform focused on change and passion. It struck me as an anomalous decision for a new platform to be reaching back to a time when social media was, well, still social and not simply an extension of the Marketing Department and data mining tool. Being a bit confused and VERY excited about a platform that was striving to put the passion back into social media, I really wanted to understand exactly why DiveIn was taking a path that seemed to be a distant memory.
My curiosity was quickly satisfied when I read a blog post on the DiveIn website. The blog cites many things that have run awry over the past couple of years in our Nation. Everything from questionable election outcomes, fake news, and the lack of trust and respect for elected officials at the state and federal levels have led to contentious situations across social media and in communities across the Nation as well.
Another driving force pushing DiveIn forward is the fact that communication in the local and national political arenas has become accusatory, disrespectful, and contentious at best. One thing that DiveIn hopes to accomplish by providing this social platform is to return civility to conversations that involve opposing viewpoints – in which all involved are passionate about their respective positions. No matter how absolutely opposite viewpoints may be, there is an opportunity for constructive, respectful, two-way adult communication. While not creating any magic pill to cure the derogatory dialog currently taking place, DiveIn is unquestionably providing a unique forum for individuals to exchange opposing ideas and discuss them. By building these online communities which bring together passionate individuals on all sides of an issue or topic, DiveIn will, in the short term, encourage the open exchange of ideas and information. In the long term, and much more important, DiveIn will be directly impacting local communities in both urban and rural areas by providing a fast track to the exchange of ideas. Online groups of like-minded individuals in Chicago, Illinois and Box Elder, South Dakota will be able to quickly find one another and discuss ideas and develop next steps - at an accelerated rate. This will be true of political movements, windsurfing, or dog training.
Taking this one step further, Andreas realized a huge opportunity to actually bring people together about anything they are passionate about – swimming, hula hoops, animals, gardening, academia, travel, volunteering, absolutely anything. The opportunity to truly get neighbors talking to neighbors and making things happen at the local level is not unique to DiveIn, however, what is unique is that DiveIn is providing all of the imaginable tools to unite our communities and Nation.
Looking forward, DiveIn hopes to become a one-stop-shop for individuals who are committed to making a positive impact locally. According to Shannon McNair, Partnerships Manager at DiveIn,
“We envision a world in which anybody, no matter where they are, can easily find and share opportunities to make a difference in their own backyards, in the time it takes to order food on Postmates [or Grubhub] or a car via Uber [or Lyft].
A planned user affinity program will effectively incentivize so that they walk-the-walk and not just pay it lip service. Through the use [and development] of technology, DiveIn plans to make meaningful and constructive engagement that is the catalyst for change easier, more rewarding, and, most of all fun! With so many unanswered opportunities for community engagement and building, this seems to be a near perfect map for overcoming the challenge. Whether through volunteering, attending happy-hour fundraisers, or organizing events around important issues, DiveIn provides the platform and tools to find out quickly where the opportunities are and allow communication and support that encompasses the things folks are passionate about to beg or be taken to the next level.
I doubt that the future could be any brighter for this amazing startup. With hopes to of becoming a true social-network for change, rooted in local communities and shared values, DiveIn has no plans on becoming dependent on advertising revenues to stay afloat. From volunteering, community building, grassroots organizing, civil rights, homelessness, animal rescues, LGBT equality, and beekeeping, DiveIn provides an opportunity for those committed to their individual passions to network and build bigger, better, and stronger communities. DiveIn’s mission of making it easier to take all the caring and passionate feelings people have in relation to things that are important to them and act on them is exactly what our neighborhoods and Nation so desperately need right now! If you have any doubt about the power that DiveIn is putting in your hands today, please check their website out and sign up now.
-- As always, find your passion and run with it!
**Note to readers – there will be a follow-up to this article in mid-February that will detail my experience using DiveIn as a user, as well as from the perspective of a social media manager for a nonprofit animal rescue and as Assistant Director of King's Harvest Ministries.
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