Programmer Jonathan Stark, vice president of Mobiquity, has begun a truly cool experiment: sharing his Starbucks card with the world. While researching ways one can pay-by-mobile, Stark took an interesting perspective on Starbucks’ system. He realized there was (at the time) no app for Android users, so he simply took a picture of his card and posted it online. He loaded it with $30 and then encouraged others to use it — and reload it, if they see fit. Not surprisingly, people took him up on it.
Since those $30, the card has seen over $9,000 worth of anonymous donations. Stark says that “every time the balance gets really high, it brings out the worst in people: Someone goes down to Starbucks and makes a huge purchase. I don’t know if they are buying coffee beans or mugs, or transferring money to their own card or what. But as long as the balance stays low, say $20 to $30, it seems like it manages itself. I haven’t put any money on it in a while. All the money going through the card right now is the kindness of strangers.”
Stark has been accused of having some sort of marketing partnership with Starbucks, but most do not believe it to be the case. My view is this: Starbucks had a convenient payment system set up and there are Starbuckses on every corner, meaning anyone can participate — this would not work as well, or even at all, with a small local cafe (no matter how awesome those places can be); using Starbucks means that people from all over the world can participate. Yes, it means they have to be at least somewhat well-off and have access to a computer and printer at the very least, but that is simply the target population of this particular experiment. Truly, I see only good — and at worst curiosity — at the heart of this one.
Stark encourages people to limit their purchases to three dollars, which still leaves one with plenty of choices and enough room for that fuzzy feeling that comes with a free something — and a quick and easy, anonymous donation if one can. Julius Motal over at Geek.com has an interesting tidbit: “In Italian cafés, customers can pay for two coffees, but only receive one. The second coffee paid for is on hold for whoever comes in and might be short of cash. The other person would come in and ask if there are any prepaid coffees. If there are, that person would enjoy a cup of coffee courtesy of a benevolent stranger.” Whether Stark came up with his version independently or was influenced by a trip to the beautiful country is irrelevant: we should totally have that here, too.
Stark is realizing how quick and easy it is for today’s phone and internet users to make these quick, anonymous donations. It seems that people truly enjoy making someone else’s day, even — or especially, perhaps — if they don’t know them. Stark even predicts that consumers won’t have any problems switching from credit cards if companies provide the infrastructure.
Overall, the ratio of people taking versus giving is 2-1. Stark has a truly grand vision: “It’s literally giving people hope. Ultimately the goal is for more people to do this kind of thing. I admit it seems a little frivolous to give away coffee to people with iPhones. But imagine if you had a CVS card and you could give someone $10 for their Alzheimer’s medication. The concept of frictionless social giving is very attractive. And this is just the beginning of that.” It’s easy enough to text a number to make a donation during times of disaster, and many do it, but the concern may still exist over “where” the money is going; systems with re-loadable cards are straightforward and in some way more transparent (after all, the users probably have their own, personal, cards), serving to spur people into donating even more. I say let’s expand this — I cannot wait to see it act elsewhere — some sort of school card, perhaps?
Download the full-sized card here; before you go, check the balance on Twitter — updated every couple of minutes, Stark wrote the program himself. “Like” Jonathan’s Starbucks Card on Facebook to spread the word; and when you want to donate, simply log on to the Starbucks website and reload card number 6061006913522430.
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Featured image: JonathanStark via TheStar
