BORROWING FROM THOSE WHO CARE

One of the findings we’re starting to uncover from our Making a Living survey on what support young people access the most and that they value the most is that it’s their family that they go to first for practical support.This extends beyond providing somewhere to stay while they’re looking for a job (or even one that means they can afford a place of their own) to even supporting them to start their own projects. More on that very soon, but this correlates with experiences of @edgeryders too.That’s why it’s insightful that @hellomerci_fr have started a new platform which styles itself as being able to “empruntez a des gens qui vous veulent du bien” (or “borrow from those who care”) with user stories (through @rue89) such as “Jonathan has already funded a new violin bow, while Héloïse will finish her master’s thesis in Jordan.”

Not crowdfunding for a million-pound gaming platform, but for practical support that either help people finance the development of their skills. It clearly is targeted at reassuring people who are scared of going to pay day lenders with the threat of bailiffs knocking their door down and the polite snub from their local but very distant bank manager.

In effect, it builds on the informal behaviours that exist in social networks, which from personal experience seems to be one of the most effective ways for any digital platform to work.