Whatever happened to Google Project 10 to the 100?

Google announced in September 2008, as part of their tenth year birthday celebrations that they would give $10 million towards 5 of the best ideas that would help the most people in the world. Many 30-second videos were created to express many hopefuls ideas and uploaded to YouTube in the run up to the deadline for entries on the 20th October 2008, including one from myself which looking back is quite dire - never mind. Google were then to review all the entries, select a hundred of the best and publish this list on their site on January 27th.

A process of having the public vote from these and shorten the list to 20 of the very best ideas from then the semi-finalists. An advisory panel would then meet with a set of criteria to choose the final 5.

In my opinion a fantastic and heartwarming idea that really showed that maybe Google was one of the most positive, open minded, generous and forward thinking companies in the world.

Imagine that, calling upon the whole world and selecting the best ideas that we could think of to help each other and then acting on them, actually providing resources for them to be carried out and helping the most people in the world.

The problem was, the world responded...

On 26th January 2009, Andy Berndt, the Managing Director of Google Creative Lab posted up an apology on Googles Blog - there was going to be a delay.

Apparently Googlers all around the world had been overwhelmed by the sheer number of entrants - in 25 languages there had been over 150,000 proposals put forward. March 17th had been given as the date which all of this would be sorted out and announced on their Project 10 to the 100 site.

On the 17th March appeared an update on the blog, it has overwhelmed them and it will take a while longer...

Three months later, now 10th June, there has been no announcement and no news posted upon the site. So whatever happened to the Google Project 10 to the 100?...

Why didn't they just open the doors and published the whole lot? 149,900 ideas would never be seen except for Google themselves, surely that isn't of much use - is it?

Thinking back on my own reaction to Google doing this in September, I thought it was in itself one of the most refreshing ideas that I have heard from a company in many years. But now I remember, well, it is a company - there are managers, shareholders, directors who have a cut in the operation and assets of Google. It is not completely open and for its own existence to continue it cannot be and any effort by its staff has to be aligned to meet its corporate needs.

I must remember now that it was not Google that produced this idea...
It was one or more individuals within it that created it, unnamed persons, who should have the praise and not the company. It is them who have this idea inside them and the desire to help as many people as possible. It is also most of the submitters of these ideas that have this within them.

This kind of idea has to be completely open, transparent and collaborated upon by anyone who has the desire to. In fact this idea should continue, even without the possibility of corporate funding to be developed, thought about, discussed and worked on to make the core ideas within them shine. I'll bet easily that most of the ideas are similar in concept, that they show the same desire, the same principles just in slighly different application and using the increasing possibilities and technologies to enable them.

But these ideas are something more again...

They are the best that can be produced within the moment, the timescale and the visibility of those that responded. Imagine if that possibility always exists. Not belonging to a small group of people but to everyone - accessible by all virtually in one place so that they can always be found.

These ideas should be opened for all, always...

For now, I do hope those who have put the effort in to create Project 10 to the 100 succeed and fulfil their mission.

But the core ideas behind this need to take place, thought through and acted on. Imagine how different the world would be if it were possible.