Friday, July 17, 2009

It's time for Laundry 2.0

I've been using Facebook for almost a year (I started it in connection with 23 Things on a Stick.) My non-work friends became a critical mass earlier this year, so I check in every day or so to see how people are doing. Given my circle of friends, I thought my post this week about the website recreating the Apollo 11 mission, We Choose the Moon, would stir up some interest. But no. What got people commenting this week? Laundry.

I noted that my family had been asking about laundry this weekend, since we'll be on the road soon. I said, "Who needs clean laundry?" Well, a goodly number of my friends had thoughts on laundry, whether it can be planned, how it can be done, and who should be able to do it. (I agreed with the comments on red clothes. Only once have I had something bleed significantly that wasn't red, and it was a dark green t-shirt from Wales.) Who knew that laundry would be such a hot item?

So given this flurry of interest, I propose that it's time for Laundry 2.0. Dare I paraphrase from A Librarian's 2.0 Manifesto?
  • I will recognize that the universe of cleaning culture is changing fast, and that laundry and cleaning services need to respond positively to these changes to provide what users need and want.
  • I will try to educate myself (no promises here) about cleaning culture and look for ways to incorporate what I learn into laundry services.
  • I will not be defensive about my laundry, but will look clearly at its situation and make an honest assessment about what can be accomplished.
  • I will become an active participant in moving my laundry forward. [There's got to be something about user contributions in this - hold on - yeah...]
  • I will recognize that homes and cleaning processes change slowly, and will work with my colleagues to expedite our responsiveness to change.
  • I will be courageous about proposing new cleaning processes and services, and new ways of providing cleaning services, even though some of my household will be resistant.
  • I will lobby for an open laundry room that provides personalized, interactive features that users expect in modern cleaning environments. [!]
  • I will encourage my household's administration to clean.

What do you think? Will it ever take the place of night baseball?

2 comments:

Mikey said...

What happened to your really cute avatar? Can't see it anymore... :(

Mikey said...

BTW--THANK YOU for doing laundry. :)