Musk has made it very clear his intention is to champion full-fat free speech, even if that means allowing the liars, extremists, conmen, fake news wingnuts et al to let it flow on his new toy.

Musk’s move has put new heat under the long running debate that got pretty hot last year when brave Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen revealed hard evidence that Zuckerberg’s algorithms are cynically designed to spread anger, outrage, controversy and extremism.

Does this all mean that social networks just don’t work without the hate? Sex might sell, but hate keeps people glued, gets them to join in the shouting and grows the crowd watching.

Dominic O’Meara, a BAFTA award winning, former Saatchi’s ad man, has just launched ‘ as an ethical alternative to Instagram, Facebook etc to test his belief that at a growing slice of the population is actually craving good news – a positive, life-affirming, uplifting, glass-half-full outlook.

He has invested most of his accumulated personal wealth from a career in advertising that left him firstly shocked by big tech’s annexation of the sector, and then depressed by the poisonous nature of the digital space run to attract the ads.

O’Meara said, “As Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp have grown to dominate, the original hopes for our super-connected world have evaporated as big tech’s ‘profits before people’ march has led them to mine the dark side of humanity for all its worth.”

To test his belief in the power of positivity, O’Meara’s ethical alternative Supernova wears its ‘love over hate’ mission on its sleeve. It passes 60% of its revenue – like all social networks, from selling advertising – to charities in fields chosen by its users. The more you ‘like’ things on Supernova, the more money goes to the charities you care about.

O’Meara’s first objective is to grow Supernova to take a modest 1% of the social media advertising market, at which point his platform would be paying an astonishing £600 million to charity every year. If Zuckerberg had done the same last year, £51 billion would have gone to good causes, not his back pocket.

���ܱ����ԴDZ���’s second difference is more obvious to its users; a safe, friendly, secure, positive and uplifting social space, free from the hate and bile that plague the big platforms. Supernova maintains this  through human moderation.

O’Meara said, “After watching social media eat the advertising world, it was disturbing to see it focus increasingly on the dark side of human nature, building an experience that exposed everyone to content they’d find controversial, upsetting or annoying, or that fed their own darker impulses. It might have fast tracked bigger profits, but at what cost?

“I believe in the positive in people and that there is room for an enlightened social network that could help people share the uplifting moments in life, without having to swim through other people’s bile to do it. To harness the popularity I believe this will achieve, giving 60% of our revenue to charitable causes from day one completes the virtuous circle.  ���ܱ����ԴDZ���’s positive contribution to the world won’t be just in terms of happier users, it will be measured precisely and transparently in our financial contribution to charity, month by month.”

But can ���ܱ����ԴDZ���’s ‘uplifting breath of fresh air’ compete with the opinionated brawls and dark news that seems to have glued millions of people to the existing platforms?

Early signs are promising. Many advertisers would love to avoid associating their brand with the latest negative headlines coming from planet Zuckerberg and Musk. Businesses want somewhere positive, upbeat and enlightened to advertise and raise their profile, and Supernova looks promising.

Global sports brand ASICS was the first to come onboard to become a sponsor even at this early startup stage.  Fittingly, British mental health specialist MQ was the first charity to partner with Supernova, because they know how badly the big rivals fuel the problems they’re trying to tackle.

Will ���ܱ����ԴDZ���’s feel-good inspiration be the tonic the public wants? Will it be enough to pull them off Facebook et al, or at least to get them to adopt Supernova as their good news channel?

The recent $200 billion drop in Facebook/Meta’s stock following its first ever fall in user numbers was tempting as a sniff of evidence that people might have had enough of the dark side they find on Zuckerberg’s platforms. Although the numbers are not confirmed there is an exodus from Twitter, even before Musk’s changes go live. All these people could be attracted to O’Meara’s vision, if they hear about it.

Time will tell. If nothing else, Supernova will be a fascinating barometer to watch.

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We know that the online world can sometimes be filled with what feels like endless negativity. To combat this, 91̽�� wanted to shine a light on the Tech Companies that are actively trying to make the world a better place – The Top Tech for Good Companies in 2021! We wanted to showcase the amazing work these Tech for Good Companies are doing, as well as provide our readers with a feel-good break from the relentless bad news.

The Top 33 Tech for Good Companies were chosen by 91̽��’s internal team who considered a range of criteria, as outlined below. Our team would like to thank every company who applied to be in our Top 33 Tech for Good Companies of 2021!

Our Criteria

• The potential to bring about active change to better society.
• The clarity of the message being portrayed.
• The quality and usability of the products/services offered.

What is Tech for Good?

The Tech for Good Movement and Framework has been gaining momentum over recent years. Tech for Good uses digital technology to put people at the heart of a business across all sectors of the UK economy. Some of the world’s toughest challenges are being addressed by companies set on making social change. Tech for Good can impact all cross-sections of society, with companies establishing outcomes for the environment, communities, transport, education, accessibility, and, amongst others, health.

See the 91̽�� Top 33 Tech for Good Companies in 2021:

Top 33 >>

Top 20 >>

Top 10 >>

Do You Have Any Questions or Comments?

Please Contact Us Here

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Website: https://facedonate.org/

Founder(s): Alberto De Biasio & Alexandr Kulakov

About Face Donate

Imagine a world where you make a donation to tackle poverty and the impact of that donation is direct, immediate, and traceable to the penny. This is Face Donate. This is what our technology brings to the table: a revolution in the way goodwill is deployed. A better way to manage and spend the money donated to tackle today’s most pressing issues.

If current solutions were effective, food and housing poverty, and job insecurity would not be on the rise. Before the pandemic, an estimated 2.2 million people in the UK – and over 100 million across Europe – didn’t know where their next meal would be coming from. To make things worse, the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed many who were ‘just managing’ into food poverty.

Face Donate is a simple online platform with a solution. We use machine learning and computer vision to revolutionise the way people give, and donors can choose who they donate to and trace the impact of each contribution. Using the existing technology, fresh food can be made available directly to referred individuals and households, with donations forming credits for them to spend as they shop in participating retailers. This is a critical breakthrough to enable those living in food poverty to be part of a local economy and community, not separate from it.

Our cost-effective approach benefits and aligns donors, charities, community groups, and small businesses to work in partnership to achieve sustainable societal change. We are currently running 11 pilots in 4 countries, with the support of 9 charities, and we encourage anyone who wants to know more to get in touch, whether they are a charity, food-bank, shelter, or retailer.

When we are asked to give, why do we say no? Is it because we don’t want to help, or are we so far removed from the impact of giving that we no longer believe in charity? At Face Donate we value simplicity, transparency and dignity, and we used these values to develop a new way to give and receive help, creating connections and trust by showing the impact of giving.

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Website: https://nationbetter.uk/

Founder(s): Larisa Budaeva

About Nation.better

Nation.better is a Tech for Good legaltech UK start-up that have been developing the first UK digital platform to help democratise immigration services. Through automation, AI and Machine Learning, they streamline and optimise immigration processes, while significantly reducing immigration advisory cost (by 70%), disrupting existing traditional manual, expensive and highly administrative processes and making immigration support truly digital, sustainable and innovative.

Nation.better is funded by Bethnal Green Ventures (social impact VC fund) and several UK and US social impact angel investors. The company was awarded an Innovate UK grant for the development of an end-to-end Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution to become a one-digital-place for all immigration needs.

A recent report by Mckinsey shows that over 87% of UK companies will experience a skills gap in the next coming months due to effects of Brexit and Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, it is expected that many businesses will be recruiting skilled talent from overseas to overcome skills shortages on the local labour market. To provide an international employee with a work visa is not a one-off event, duties are extensive, and require additional time, effort, and resources. Typically, smaller organisations don’t have in-house skills, which leads to added costs and complexity to their operations.

In July 2021 the first Nation.better automated sponsorship SaaS compliance platform was launched. It digitises and automates routine, manual and time-consuming activities that have traditionally been associated with maintaining Home Office compliance. Companies can proactively manage Home Office compliance, monitor and track reporting and record-keeping duties, store documents securely and speed up candidates’ onboarding. They hope to empower UK employers to recruit from a wider pool of talent around the globe, support sustainable business growth and improve diversity in the workplace, while the admin aspects of immigration are put on auto-pilot, especially after damaging effects of Brexit and Covid-19.

The wellbeing and comfort of the international employees being one of their top priorities, they also provide support, guidance, and educational content to speed up integration and help them feel more at home – all while reducing stress and the risk of immigration non-compliance.

“After Brexit the way how UK businesses approach recruitment of the best talent has changed. Many, however, are fearful of how much additional effort and cost it will take to maintain compliance with the Home Office, so avoid it altogether. We want to change the perception of the sponsorship of skilled employees – from being an admin heavy burden, to an automated, easily manageable process with less effort at lower cost. We encourage as many companies as possible to try our solution by offering a free 6-month subscription plan.” Larisa Budaeva, CEO and Founder at Nation.better.

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Website: https://www.paragonone.com/

Founder(s): Matt Wilkerson & Byron Hsu

About Paragon One

Paragon One is on a mission to democratise access to work experiences so that underserved and underrepresented students, who are traditionally left out of hiring processes, can build exposure to leading brands and industries.

By partnering with top companies in different industries, like Hewlett-Packard, Facebook, and National Geographic, Paragon One turns interesting business projects into flexible, part-time Remote Externships that enable students to build their resumes during the year and on their own schedules. Historically, internships have served as the bridge between college and the workforce for students. But the old internship model is antiquated and inaccessible for many students from underserved backgrounds.

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Website: https://www.hullo.org/

Founder(s): Lewis Alexander Baxter & Matty Hall

About Hullo

Aiming to give anyone and everyone access to conversation, Hullo provides a free call line that is open 9am to 9pm every day of the year. Hullo exists to unlock the power of conversation and create an inclusive, safe and non-judgmental space for people to chat and connect with others.

While social isolation and loneliness has been a long-standing issue, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these issues. There is a significant lack of conversations and social connection in our society, with 1 in 3 people having fewer than two conversations per week (Hullo, 2020). Hullo’s call line and social media presence act as a stage of early-intervention. Through addressing such issues, Hullo aims to positively impact people who are socially isolated. With conversation at its heart, Hullo creates a sense of community for its callers and volunteers alike.

Founded in March 2020, Hullo was created by two friends, Lewis and Matty, as they looked for a way to keep busy in the first lockdown. Observing a space in the industry, they decided to create an organisation that gave individuals access to casual conversation. Hullo found its feet and immediately turned to technology to facilitate its service that spans the UK. Lewis and Matty, and their team of volunteers and board members, have taken great leaps in creating and growing the organisation. They continue to demonstrate the power of empathy and determination, taking steps to achieve their vision – a world where everyone has someone to chat to.

In their first 17 months alone, Hullo has built a community of over 60 volunteers who manage to chat to over 500 people a month through their call line. One service user said “I called a Hullo volunteer. They didn’t judge me. They listened. They cared.”

Having expanded rapidly, Hullo are working towards the transition from grassroots, start-up project to becoming a registered charity. As they do so, Hullo is ever embracing newer technologies to ensure that they are increasingly accessible and inclusive to its callers, volunteers and wider community. They are constantly pushing to find new uses for technology in their goal to match callers and volunteers.

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Website: https://www.xyzreality.com/

Founder(s): David Mitchell, Umar Ahmed & Murray Hendrikson

About XYZ Reality

London-based construction technology startup XYZ Reality is pioneering an engineering-grade AR helmet that projects detailed holograms of 3D building schematics. XYZ Reality and UCL are embarking on a new project to look at how AR can help with UK hospital construction.

The project will explore how advanced AR technology can be used to ensure complex hospital building projects are completed on time and to budget. The grant for this project has been awarded by UKRI through an Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP).

In 2019, the government announced its plans to build 40 new hospitals in the next five years, to meet the changing demands facing the NHS. It’s an ambitious goal, and one that will require new technologies to help with the design and build of so many complex buildings.

XYZ Reality has come up with a new advanced AR system that could prove instrumental in reducing costly delays in hospital projects. Its technology uniquely enables users to view hyperscale models on-site, in real-time and to millimetre accuracy. The solution has particular benefits for projects with complex MEP services, such as hospitals or data centres.

The project is being delivered as a knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) with UCL’s world-leading Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction and Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA). The partnership between UCL and XYZ Reality was set up with support and input from UCL Innovation & Enterprise.

The KTP scheme links up businesses with academic know-how and funding to tackle complex problems. UCL is the top university in London for KTPs, working with small and large organisations in a range of sectors across the UK, including construction, software development and healthcare.

XYZ Reality has raised £20m in Series A funding as part of its efforts to radically transform the construction sector through the use of AR.

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Website: https://odin-vision.com/

CEO: Peter Mountney

About Odin Vision

Odin Vision, founded by a team of UCL clinicians, medical imaging and artificial intelligence (AI) experts, is developing the next generation of AI enabled applications for endoscopic procedures

In the UK, there are approximately 42,000 new cases of colorectal cancer (CRC) and 16,000 deaths per year. These numbers make it the second highest cause of cancer deaths in the UK. Further afield, globally there are an estimated 1.3 million new cases and 700,000 related deaths.  

Detection and diagnosis play a critical role in all forms of healthcare. In the UK, we perform 1.8 million colonoscopies and sigmoidoscopies a year. Early detection has survival rates of over 90% with the treatment cost as low as a few hundred pounds, with minimal impact on patients’ lives. However, late detection can have devastating results. The challenge Odin Vision is responding to is the need for better tools to support clinicians in their decision making when it comes to making successful early detection and diagnoses.

Odin Vision CADDIE AI solution is a cloud based clinical support tool to help doctors improve the quality of endoscopy. It plugs seamlessly into the existing endoscopic equipment and analyses the live video during procedures. 

CADDIE acts like a second pair of eyes. It supports the doctor to detect polyps and characterises the polyps to help the doctor in optical diagnosis. The system is positioned on the endoscopy stack under the monitor and streams video to the cloud where it’s securely processed. The results (polyp location or characterisation information) are streamed to the hospital and overlaid on the image.

CADDIE is a CE Marked clinical decision support tool. It is intended to be used by clinicians as an accompaniment to video endoscopy for the purpose of drawing attention to regions with visual characteristics consistent with mucosal abnormalities such as polyps. 

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Website: https://www.givevision.net/

Founder(s): Elodie Draperi, Stan Karpenko & Piotr Imielski

About GiveVision

GiveVision uses augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to improve the vision of people with severe sight loss. The medtech company aims to revolutionise the lives of millions of blind and visually impaired people. Experts from the Global Innovation team, part of UCL Innovation & Enterprise, have supported GiveVision since 2018. Their mission is to create a world where everyone can see.

Founded in 2014, the startup has created a wearable device that uses AR and VR to enhance vision. The device, called SightPlus, enables wearers to go about their daily activities with greater independence. SightPlus is a clinically validated medical device that restores sight for patients who are diagnosed with untreatable sight loss. The low vision aid helps visually impaired people to see clearly, up close and at a distance. SightPlus has just a few buttons, so regardless of your technical ability, it just takes moments to set it up and familiarise yourself with its features.

As one in nine people over the age of 65 will be diagnosed with macular degeneration, �Ҿ�����վ������Dz�’s innovations promise major benefits for society. Current R&D projects include developing more compact glasses and an eye monitoring programme.

The business relationship began when the UCL Global Innovation team selected GiveVision to attend VivaTech in 2018, Europe’s biggest startup and tech event in Paris. It was here that GiveVision formed collaborations and accessed the French market. Helped by UCL Innovation & Enterprise, GiveVision has since opened a subsidiary in France. 

Jonathan Grinbaud, an Innovation Adviser in the Global Innovation team, has assisted the business throughout its entrepreneurial journey. He identified and helped with applications for R&D grants. One recent application resulted in GiveVision securing nearly £350,000 in funding from Eureka for a collaborative R&D project with a French SME. Jonathan has also made introductions to investors and recommended relevant training and workshops. 

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Website: www.6bythree.com

Founder(s): Jon Faulkner

About 6bythree

6bythree, a new digital transformation agency with a strong social ethos has launched, aiming to provide “design with purpose” to help bring about change for good in the higher education sector.

Headed up by Jon Faulkner, together with a team of experienced experts and associates, the former Managing Director of digital change agency Domain7 UK and ex-CIO of The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine will work with universities and further education colleges, using digital change techniques to help enhance opportunities to provide education, employability and wellbeing for student and staff communities.

Jon Faulkner says:

“Over the last few years, I have worked closely either in or with colleagues in the higher education sector and I truly believe that there has never been a better opportunity to use digital transformation techniques to bring about positive change in the sector.  The world of higher education has been turned on its head in the last year and the sector needs to reset its priorities.  By using a design thinking approach to digital change projects and a move away from the old legacy systems and websites, we can help create to new platforms that really resonate with student and staff communities.

Since the pandemic hit in March 2020, the young have been impacted particularly hard, not only in terms of their education but also job prospects and in building work experience as well as in their mental health.  I believe there is a role here for higher education bodies to use their reach to bring about some positive change and to help young people flourish. We want to encourage and challenge our partners to provide improved accessible education at all levels, nurturing their employability skills and capabilities and prioritising wellbeing by weaving it into every activity and service they provide.”

Jon and his team will be focusing on collaborating with higher education clients on projects using a range of digital change techniques including strategy and consulting, service design, user experience research and design, capability and capacity development, technical solutions and digital marketing to create new pathways and platforms that will provide a more rounded digital experience for students and staff alike.

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