| Does panhandling work better through the web? A Houston father and son team thinks so. They gave a homeless man named Timothy Dale Edwards a sign to hold while panhandling; it directed passersby to his website, PimpThisBum.com. In less than two months, the site has garnered $50,000 in pledges and donations. The project’s creators believe its success has to do with the sign’s humor and the faux-tactless domain name. We’d like to suggest another reason: appeals for money encouraging credit card use are far more effective than appeals calling for cash, according to a a recent study. Somebody please notify Gay Talese. [%comments]
PimpThisBum.com
TAGS: charity, incentives
and 
. You can also watch it on 
this “bum,” (person and site) much like karyn, is pathetic.
So this bum asked me to give him some money for his internet bill..
“Oh no,” I said, “You’ll just spend it on food, booze and drugs!”
The bum pulled out a wad of hundred dollar bills and waved it in my face, “I got my food, booze and drug money already!”, he said, “I just need to pay for my WiFi internet connection.”
@Ben: Because there are programs that specifically subsidize phones for the homeless. It’s impossible to get a job or work for a temp agency if you don’t have one.
I’ll be honest. I would have most likely donated because of the funny sign than if Timothy Dale Edwards came up to me and asked for money (cash). The idea of helping homeless out is great, but, the money (according to the website) is spent according to the people raising the money. So, wouldn’t this be inefficient? Because Timothy Dale Edwards is not consuming what he wants? But, i guess this does help him get off the streets. The idea is certainly socially and morally respected/positive.
Only if you could find a way to raise 50,000 in two months that easily for your own use….
Ungh.
This is why I don’t pay the homeless.
They make more per hour than I do.
um… in the UK this website would be regarded as having an obscene name & ‘soliciting money for immoral purposes’.
I hope these guys don’t get a lot of unwanted traffic from overseas.
@Ben: A prepay cell phone costs 20$, and then about .10 a minute for calls. Cheap. Plus, can you come up with any way to get a decent job without a phone number? So, really its an inexpensive necessity now.
$50,000 in pledges and donations. I’d like to see a breakdown. I’d hazard a guess that a lot of those pledges don’t ever translate into real money.