“There are more ideas on earth than intellectuals imagine. And these ideas are more active, stronger, more resistant, more passionate than politicians think. We have to be there at the birth of ideas, the bursting outward of their force: not in books expressing them, but in events manifesting this force, in struggles carried on around ideas, for or against them. Ideas do not rule the world. But it is because the world has ideas… that it is not passively ruled by those who are its leaders or those who would like to teach it, once and for all, what it must think.” — French philosopher Michel Foucalt

BUILT To Last by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, one of the most popular business books, speaks about the need to come up with a BHAG — a big, hairy, audacious goal — and then work towards it.

The authors say the following: “A BHAG engages people — it reaches out and grabs them in the gut. It is tangible, energising, highly focused. People ‘get it’ right away; it takes little or no explanation.”

This BHAG is to launch a website that can help change Jamaica for the better.

Some people would call that hubris instead, but most likely they are not from my generation that has watched Mark Zuckerberg, someone younger than me, launch a website that changed the world. When you grow up around the stories of Google, Amazon, YouTube, Facebook, Kiva.org and so many other websites that have changed the world in their own way, you cannot help but feel that you should ignore the naysayers and push forward. Now, if I thought I was the next Zuckerberg, then that would be hubris.

I recently bought a domain name in an attempt to realise a dream I have talked and thought about for far too long. I have been on the Jamaican Diaspora Advisory Board for almost three years as the Future Leaders Representative for the USA and been involved in the Jamaican Diaspora in the southeast region of the USA for more than six years, but despite all the great ideas I have come across at conferences, the various fora, community events and individual discussions around the USA and in Jamaica, there has never been a central place to find them and share them. If I came across such great ideas with so little contact, what else is out there?

For some time now I have been thinking about a crowdsourcing website where people could post their own ideas, others could vote on them and we as a country could benefit from old and new ideas from all corners of Jamaica and the Jamaican Diaspora (“crowdsourcing” is the term used to describe outsourcing to a crowd or community and has been used by companies like American Express, Dell, Best Buy and Starbucks, as well as the Barack Obama administration). Every presentation I make to clients and conferences about digital marketing includes a few slides on crowdsourcing, so it was time that I leveraged this knowledge to help Jamaica and not just businesses.

This month I finally launched ChangeJamaica.org.

It is one thing for ideas to be discussed on Facebook, Twitter, at conferences, on message boards and in the comments section of the major newspapers, but none of that helps make it easy for a large group of people to find them and be impacted by them. It also doesn’t make it easier for organisations, funders and government, the elements that can actually implement these ideas, to find them when they are so scattered.

A central website where the ideas get votes and bubble to the top theoretically makes it easier for a larger number of people to be influenced by good ideas and exposes visitors to a wide variety of ideas they may never have come across before.

The site is not pro- or anti-government, neither is it to be used to support any political party in Jamaica, nor is it connected to any non-profit at this time. It is simply a place where ideas come to garner exposure and hopefully it will have a positive effect on the people in positions of power. More importantly, I believe that many ideas will be implemented by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and individuals while the smart NGOs will post some of their own projects as “ideas” and generate more interest that leads to donations.

Some people ask a question which I find odd: “How do you prevent someone from stealing an idea?” I find it very odd because firstly, you cannot patent or trademark an idea, so once you actually implement it, it’s fair game. Secondly, and more importantly, the point of the website is to share ideas about ways to change Jamaica, to get buy-in and hopefully get them implemented. It does not matter who gets the credit as long as it gets done because we are doing this in the interest of Jamaica, not any individual (I would hope the original idea poster would still get some credit as deserved). Howard Aiken also said, “Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good you’ll have to ram them down people’s throats.”

If you think you have an idea about a way to improve Jamaica and you don’t share it, then in my book you are being selfish and putting yourself before the country. It should be country first (yes, that goes for the politicians as well). Interestingly enough, it was Earl Jarrett of Jamaica National, one of my former bosses, who really drilled home the importance of sharing ideas with a view to benefiting others instead of first seeking to profit or get credit.

I have also been inspired by the videos from TED events (Technology, Entertainment, Design) that focus on “ideas worth spreading” and have made it their mission to spread ideas because they “believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world.”

A more important and valid question I have been asked is, what is the point of an idea if it does not get implemented? My response is that ideas may not be implemented right away but by sharing them you greatly increase the chance of implementation because the right person will eventually come across one they want to implement. Also, an idea will definitely be posted that is already being implemented by someone else and thus increase awareness about that project, leading to greater support.

Emile Spence, another former boss at Jamaica National and a mentor, constantly refers to me as an “ideas man” and that label has never been more appropriate than now.

This column is called Interactive Dialogue because I leverage technology to interact with people and include their opinions and ideas. ChangeJamaica.org takes that to a whole new level and I look forward to helping to expose the great ideas that will be posted.

I believe that we each can help to change Jamaica for the better. I believe that there are many great ideas amongst resident and overseas Jamaicans. I believe that the ideas can and will have a positive impact just by being shared and that many will be implemented. I believe that change is required and the status quo must not continue.

If you believe what I believe, then let us take this journey together.

“The soft-minded man always fears change. He feels security in the status quo, and he has an almost morbid fear of the new. For him, the greatest pain is the pain of a new idea.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

David Mullings is the Future Leaders Representative for the USA on the Jamaican Diaspora Advisory Board. He is on Twitter at twitter.com/davidmullings and Facebook at facebook.com/InteractiveDialogue