Good Interaction Design

It's no secret that I have a pretty expansive view of what interaction design is, that it is more about connecting people than it is about technology. Many people are surprised by this and wonder how it is I can say that. Hell, sometimes I even question it myself. Then I discover interaction design like this:

Kiva is an organization that lets people make small loans (as low as $25) to people starting businesses around the world. For $1000, say, you can fund Monyrort Chin's butcher shop in Cambodia. What is he using the money for? Buying a cow. You see the power of microloans in action to change individual people's lives.

Number of defaults on loans: 0. Success stories like a widow in Uganda who is now able to, thanks to a $500 loan, "take my children to school, buy two cows and five goats, and open a savings account."

Wow. What an amazing piece of good (in all senses of the word) interaction design.

Originally posted at Tuesday, July 25, 2006 | Comments (2)