Roy McCartney

Luis Rodrigo Bravo Sigüenza                       

"When YouTube Gets Boring”

One of the first things Internet-fans do when they open their web browser is to get into YouTube. It is just like an instinct. They pour themselves onto the computer, watching videos for hours at a time. Those who everyday enjoy the tons of fun YouTube brings might not remember how Internet entertainment was before it, or may not know what's outside this huge video-sharing portal. I must admit I was a YouTube addict, but once I fell sick in bed and had to spend my days watching hundreds of videos. It turned really frustrating when I did not know what to look for anymore! Fortunately, with a little help from Google search, now it's easy to find different kind of sites in which people can escape for a while from boredom. In this way, someone can spend time learning, discussing, drawing, knowing people, making music and several activities more.

Every so often is hard to find on-line activities that combine fun with philanthropic goals. Thanks to my English teacher now I know about site that allows us to mix both of these factors in a pretty admirable way.

This non-profit website is called FreeRice, in which people play to battle against world hunger and at the same time they extend their vocabulary. This is an idea developed by the United Nations in 2007 and supported by numerous sponsors.

The way to play FreeRice is really simple. The main page shows by default the English Grammar subject and the user must chose the correct answer for every question given. The difficulty of these questions changes depending on the level we are playing in, so as player responds correctly, the level increases. If someone wishes to change the level, there’s an option below the “game screen” to do it. When the answer is incorrect, the level is decreased by one point, and the same question is repeated in order to learn it correctly.

There are 13 different subjects included in FreeRice classified in six main areas: Art, Chemistry, English, Geography, Language Learning and Math. Whatever the subject is, the method is the same. Each correct answer means 10 grains of rice donated to poor people. A wrong answer does not reduce the number of grains donated but allows continuing where the count was.

I’m sure people will ask if donating grain by grain is worth the effort. Looking at the numbers, from October 7, 2007 to August 2009, 787,320,460 grains of rice have been donated. According to the Rice Association, one pound of rice contains 29,000 grains. That means 27,145 pounds donated in less than two years. It is an important quantity from this point of view.

Helping others and having fun at the same time is a very noble way to spend time in the Internet. Now, as their slogan say: “Give free rice to hungry people by playing a simple game that increases your knowledge”.

Sources:

www.FreeRice.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FreeRice

http://www.riceassociation.org.uk/factsandfigures. htm