Wiser.org

Wiser.org was a web-based community and directory for the international social and environmental movement. It began as WiserEarth.org on Earth Day, 22 April 2007, and was created around Paul Hawken's effort to document the large and dispersed population of organizations working on environmental protection, social justice, human rights, peace, poverty reduction, conservation, water, hunger, and other public-interest concerns. The project was associated with WiserEarth, a nonprofit initiative intended to map and make visible work that was often fragmented across countries, sectors, and issue areas. The platform's initial purpose was directory-based. It grew from a collection of information related to more than 100,000 organizations discussed or represented in connection with Hawken's book Blessed Unrest. Hawken had encountered thousands of organizations through accumulated business contacts and argued that no sufficiently comprehensive global directory existed for groups working in the social justice and environmental fields. Wiser.org sought to address that gap by providing a searchable online index rather than a conventional corporate or media brand. Over time, Wiser.org added social-network functions. Registered users could create profiles, post status updates, interact through walls and likes, join or form groups, and exchange messages. The directory was also broadened beyond nonprofit organizations to include businesses, government agencies, groups, and individuals involved in relevant activities. This combination of structured listings and community participation positioned the service as both a knowledge resource and a coordination layer for civil-society networks. The platform covered a wide range of topics, including climate change, the environment, poverty, peace, water, hunger, social justice, conservation, and human rights. Reference material reported that by 15 September 2012 the site contained more than 114,000 organization listings, over 71,900 registered members, and more than 2,800 groups. Its information architecture divided issues into 47 broad areas and 381 sub-issue areas, reflecting an attempt to represent the breadth of the global social and environmental movement. Wiser.org's development also illustrates the practical difficulty of sustaining a large, mission-driven online community. In January 2014, Executive Director Peggy Duvette wrote to members about operational changes and the possibility that the service would be archived. On 17 March 2014, the organization announced that Wiser.org would be archived and shut down on 10 April 2014. The closure ended the active community platform, although archival preservation was discussed in connection with the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. The original Wiser.org therefore became a defunct online service rather than an active commercial brand. The domain later acquired a different use. In 2017, WISER.org was described as the website of the Workie Institute for Social and Educational Research, a nonprofit concerned with social exclusion, bullying, and systemic barriers to participation in society. That later organization should not be treated as the continuation of the original Wiser.org community unless separately documented. The historical Wiser.org brand is best understood as a nonprofit-oriented global directory and social network that attempted to map the infrastructure of social and environmental change.

Wiser.org originated as WiserEarth.org and launched on 22 April 2007, Earth Day. Its conceptual basis was Paul Hawken's effort to identify and organize the many nonprofit and civic organizations working on environmental and social issues. Hawken's research and contacts, including material connected with Blessed Unrest, highlighted the scale and diversity of a movement that lacked a single comprehensive directory. WiserEarth was designed to make those organizations easier to find and to show relationships among their activities. The service initially emphasized an online directory containing information about more than 100,000 organizations. It subsequently expanded beyond a static catalog. Wiser.org incorporated social-network functions, allowing members to maintain profiles, publish updates, interact with other users, join groups, and exchange messages. Listings also expanded to include for-profit businesses and government agencies, in addition to nonprofit organizations and informal groups. The result was a hybrid platform combining reference information, networking, and community participation. Its subject coverage was deliberately broad. The platform addressed climate change, environmental protection, poverty, peace, water, hunger, conservation, human rights, and social justice, among other issues. By September 2012, reported scale indicators included more than 114,000 organizations, over 71,900 registered members, and more than 2,800 groups. The site organized its content into 47 issue areas and 381 sub-issue areas, reflecting its ambition to serve as a global map of social and environmental action. The platform did not remain active indefinitely. In January 2014, Executive Director Peggy Duvette informed members that the organization was considering substantial changes and that the website might be archived through the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. On 17 March 2014, Wiser.org formally announced that the service would be archived and closed on 10 April 2014. This decision ended the original site's operation as a participatory community and directory. A later reference identified WISER.org as the website of the Workie Institute for Social and Educational Research in 2017. The institute addressed social exclusion, bullying, and structural barriers to participation, drawing on the work of the late Dr. Abaineh Workie. Available material does not establish that this later site was the same operating organization as the original Wiser.org. Accordingly, the original platform is classified as defunct, while the later domain use is recorded only as a separate subsequent development.

• 2017

  Later domain association with the Workie Institute

  [1]Wiser.orgen.wikipedia.org

  The WISER.org domain was later described as the website of the Workie Institute for Social and Educational Research, a separate nonprofit-oriented initiative.

• 2014

  Closure and archiving announced

  [1]Wiser.orgen.wikipedia.org

  After member communications about organizational changes, Wiser.org announced on 17 March that it would be archived and shut down on 10 April.

• 2012

  Reported expansion of the global network

  [1]Wiser.orgen.wikipedia.org

  By 15 September 2012, the platform was reported to contain more than 114,000 organizations, over 71,900 registered members, and more than 2,800 groups.

• 2007

  Launch as WiserEarth.org

  [1]Wiser.orgen.wikipedia.org

  WiserEarth.org launched on 22 April 2007, Earth Day, as an online directory intended to map organizations involved in social justice and environmental work.

A global digital infrastructure project for discovering, mapping, and connecting organizations and individuals engaged in social justice, environmental sustainability, and related public-interest work.

• Online directory · 2007

  Wiser.org organization directory

  The core service was a searchable directory of organizations working across social justice, environmental, humanitarian, and public-interest fields. It began with a focus on nonprofits and later incorporated listings for businesses, government agencies, groups, and individuals. The directory was intended to reveal the scale and distribution of activity that was otherwise scattered across many local and national networks.

• Social networking service

  Wiser.org community platform

  Wiser.org added participatory tools to its directory model, including member profiles, status updates, likes, walls, groups, and email messaging. These functions enabled people and organizations to share information, form issue-based communities, and maintain relationships across geographic and sectoral boundaries. The platform was aimed at movement participants rather than general-purpose social networking users.

• Knowledge and issue taxonomy

  Issue and resource mapping

  The site organized social and environmental activity into broad issue areas and detailed sub-issue areas. Reported coverage included 47 issue areas and 381 sub-issue areas, spanning climate change, poverty, water, hunger, peace, conservation, human rights, and social justice. This taxonomy helped users locate organizations and information by cause as well as by organizational identity.

• 2014

  Archive and discontinue the Wiser.org platformStrategy

  Background

  In January 2014, Executive Director Peggy Duvette told members that the service required changes and that archiving the website was being considered.

  Action taken

  Wiser.org announced on 17 March 2014 that the site would be archived and shut down on 10 April 2014, with possible preservation through the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.

  Aftermath

  The decision ended Wiser.org as an active online community and directory. A later use of the domain by the Workie Institute was documented, but is not established as a continuation of the original platform.

  Source

1. 1Wiser.orgen.wikipedia.org