World Without Oil
Using social media to inspire change
World Without Oil was an online game that simulated the first 32 weeks of a global oil crisis. Funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the intent was to enable the public to imagine how their lives would change without access to oil, and to inspire solutions.
From the World Without Oil website, anybody could play by creating a personal story -- an email or phone call or, for advanced users, a blog post, video, photo, podcast, Twitter, etc. -- that chronicled the imagined reality of their life during the crisis.
The game launched on April 30, 2007, and concluded on June 1, 2007. During that time, more than 60,000 participants from across the globe participated, and 1,500 blog posts, online videos, voicemails and other personal chronicles were created. While the participation exceeded goals, the most interesting component is the discussion that is still occurring on the blog.
Why World Without Oil's approach was successful:
- Inspired conversation about a critical topic
- Allowed global participation
- Created an emotional appeal and fostered collaborative solutions
- Integrated offline and online social tools
