????有一家網(wǎng)站提供的是社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)服務(wù)，卻能夠減少孩子們在Facebook和Twitter上逗留的時(shí)間，這看似自相矛盾，卻別有一番新意。Afterschool.me是一家目錄式搜索網(wǎng)站，它提供關(guān)于文化、藝術(shù)以及體育活動(dòng)的各類信息。父母可以通過其社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)元素為自己的孩子尋找課外活動(dòng)。

????Afterschool.me是一家初創(chuàng)公司，總部設(shè)在洛杉磯（Los Angeles）。父母現(xiàn)在可以在這家網(wǎng)站上通過郵政編碼搜尋符合需求的的社區(qū)活動(dòng)。從今年秋天開始——正好趕上新學(xué)年——Afterschool.me將推出個(gè)人檔案功能（profile feature）。父母可以通過這款工具列出孩子的個(gè)人興趣，同時(shí)他們還可以標(biāo)出費(fèi)用、交通和語言等要求，以排除無效信息。Yelp曾經(jīng)為地方企業(yè)推出點(diǎn)評服務(wù)，默契網(wǎng)（Match.com）曾經(jīng)提供交友服務(wù)，而今Afterschool.me想為課外活動(dòng)提供的服務(wù)與前二者可謂殊途同歸。正如公司30歲的創(chuàng)始人兼首席執(zhí)行官埃文?費(fèi)爾德曼宣稱的那樣，這是一項(xiàng)前所未有的服務(wù)。此外，為了加強(qiáng)父母與活動(dòng)組織機(jī)構(gòu)之間的聯(lián)系，公司還打算讓Facebook和LinkedIn也參加進(jìn)來。

????費(fèi)爾德曼原來是一名律師，他曾經(jīng)為哈佛大學(xué)肯尼迪政治學(xué)院（Harvard's Kennedy School of Government）工作，專門研究公共服務(wù)私營化的問題，此后他對被自己稱為“課外危機(jī)”的問題產(chǎn)生了濃厚興趣。他還在老大哥（Big Brother）節(jié)目中擔(dān)任過6年培訓(xùn)師。2011年，他和軟件工程師Alex Riabov一道創(chuàng)立了這家網(wǎng)站，并全身心投入網(wǎng)站的建設(shè)。他們從StartEngine獲得了融資，后者也在洛杉磯，是一家創(chuàng)業(yè)加速基金（accelerator fund）。Afterschool.me雖然談不上是最炫酷的事業(yè)，但是它的影響卻不容小覷：在美國，從幼兒園到高中約有6000萬學(xué)生，其中只有區(qū)區(qū)14%左右的學(xué)生參加了課外活動(dòng)，而這些活動(dòng)卻往往能使他們遠(yuǎn)離是非、健康成長。（根據(jù)非盈利組織美國希望聯(lián)盟的報(bào)告，全美范圍內(nèi)學(xué)生的輟學(xué)率高達(dá)24.5%）

????然而，崇高的目標(biāo)并不意味著Afterschool.me是非盈利組織。“我們想證明即使沒有外來捐助，我們也能解決社會(huì)問題，在保持盈利的同時(shí)獲得可持續(xù)發(fā)展。”費(fèi)爾德曼如是說。一旦用戶量上升，公司就會(huì)推出高級排名服務(wù)（premium listings）并從某些活動(dòng)中收取部分費(fèi)用，以此來獲得現(xiàn)金收入。公司還有一個(gè)目標(biāo)，這就是建立足夠的影響力，從而推出自己的課外活動(dòng)項(xiàng)目。此外，費(fèi)爾德曼還想讓《財(cái)富》美國500強(qiáng)企業(yè)擔(dān)負(fù)起相關(guān)責(zé)任。例如，Afterschool.me有意推動(dòng)其它公司效法蘋果（Apple）與微軟（Microsoft）等巨頭，這兩家公司已經(jīng)擁有了自己的青少年活動(dòng)計(jì)劃。

????這無疑是一個(gè)艱巨的任務(wù)。首先，這家網(wǎng)站規(guī)模還比較小。（例如，如果輸入舊金山灣區(qū)周邊的區(qū)號，在其方圓10英里內(nèi)都不會(huì)有任何活動(dòng)的信息反饋。）此外某些涉及兒童的服務(wù)項(xiàng)目容易引起爭議——即使父母參與也無濟(jì)于事。當(dāng)然，要說服公司與學(xué)校董事會(huì)就兒童教育進(jìn)行合作也不是一件容易事，眾所周知，在這一領(lǐng)域校企合作歷來遲緩。

????盡管如此，費(fèi)爾德曼很善于和逆境作斗爭。在約翰?克里議員參加總統(tǒng)競選時(shí)，他曾經(jīng)為其擔(dān)當(dāng)過現(xiàn)場指揮，當(dāng)時(shí)他才22歲。2004年競選當(dāng)晚，他在俄亥俄州（Ohio）首府哥倫布市（Columbus）的一座教堂前堅(jiān)守了一夜——俄亥俄屬于關(guān)鍵的戰(zhàn)場州——當(dāng)時(shí)已是深夜11點(diǎn)，天降大雨，對于克里陣營不利的消息接踵而至，然而費(fèi)爾德曼卻呼吁己方選民要堅(jiān)守到底。他說：“我們當(dāng)時(shí)希望民眾保持斗志。”如今情形并無不同。

????譯者：王駿

????It's cleverly counterintuitive: a social networking service to help kids spend less time on Facebook and Twitter.Afterschool.me, an online directory of educational, artistic and athletic programs, uses social networking elements to help parents find extracurricular activities for their children.

????The Los Angeles-based startup currently allows parents to search for activities by zip code. Starting this fall -- in time for the upcoming school year -- Afterschool.me will launch a profile feature where parents can list their children's' specific interests and set other filters such as cost, transportation requirements, and language. What Yelp (YELP) has done for local businesses and Match.com (IACI) for relationships, Afterschool.me wants to do for after school programs. There was no such service, says founder and CEO Evan Fieldman, 30. The company is also planning Facebook (FB) and LinkedIn (LNKD) integrations to better connect parents and organizations.

????Fieldman, a lawyer, became interested with what he calls the "afterschool crisis" after working for Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, researching the privatization of public services. He's also been a Big Brother mentor for six years. In 2011, he founded the company as a full-time gig with software engineer Alex Riabov, and received funding from StartEngine, an accelerator fund in LA. It hasn't been the glitziest cause, but the stakes are high: Out of the 60 million students in the United States from kindergarten to high school seniors, only about 14% participate in after school activities that often keep students out of trouble. (By contrast, the national drop out rate is 24.5%, according to nonprofit America's Promise Alliance.)

????But lofty goals don't mean Afterschool.me is non-profit. "We wanted to prove it is possible to address a societal challenge, generate revenue and be sustainable without relying on donations," Fieldman says. Once usership grows, the company plans to monetize through premium listings and by taking a percentage of revenue from certain programs. The goal is also to become a major enough presence that Afterschool.me creates extracurricular activity opportunities as well. Fieldman wants to put the onus on Fortune 500 companies. For example, the company would like to goad companies to follow the leads of giants like Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT), whoalready have youth programs of their own.

????That will almost certainly be a difficult task. For one, the site is still small. (For example, a search for a suburban Bay Area zip code didn't return any programs within 10 miles.) And there are sensitivities around services that involve children -- even if parents are involved. Of course, it may also take a lot of work to convince organizations and school boards to cooperate in a field where adoption is notoriously slow.

????Still, Fieldman is used to fighting through dire circumstances. At 22, he was a field operations manager for Senator John Kerry's presidential campaign. On election night 2004, he spent the evening in front of a church in Columbus, Ohio -- a key battleground state -- encouraging voters to stay in line at 11 p.m. despite the pouring rain, even when grim returns were coming in for Kerry's camp. "We wanted people to remain inspired," he says. Same as it ever was.