Jonathan Stark’s feel-good social experiment mutated after entrepreneur Sam Odio repurposed $625 from Jonathan’s Card onto a Starbucks Card of his own that he’s selling in the name of charity.
Odio, fielding both criticism and support from commenters on Mashable, Hacker News and other sites, is now offering to return the money if Stark believes his actions constitute theft.
“It was my impression that Jonathan was interested in seeing how the card was used, regardless of the purpose,” Odio tells Mashable. “If Jonathan believes I stole money off his card I’d gladly return it — after all, it’s his property. However I’d then consider this social experiment over.”
Odio made a similar statement, directed at Stark, on Twitter. Stark did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Stark launched Jonathan’s Card on July 14 as a social adaption of the “take a penny, leave a penny” concept. The card has since taken on a life of its own. Earlier Friday, Odio revealed that he had created a script to transfer donated money off Jonathan’s Card and on to other cards.
Odio then listed a $625 Starbucks Card on eBay with the intention of donating proceeds from the auction to charity. The listing was later removed by eBay because it exceeded the maximum limit of $500 for a gift card. Odio now plans to list two separate cards to meet eBay’s criteria.
There’s one more odd twist to the saga. Odio’s older brother Daniel, also an entrepreneur, has been donating to Jonathan’s Card since August 7 — the same date Sam started repurposing funds. Daniel has added back exactly $625 over the past few days; he shared a
Odio, fielding both criticism and support from commenters on Mashable, Hacker News and other sites, is now offering to return the money if Stark believes his actions constitute theft.
“It was my impression that Jonathan was interested in seeing how the card was used, regardless of the purpose,” Odio tells Mashable. “If Jonathan believes I stole money off his card I’d gladly return it — after all, it’s his property. However I’d then consider this social experiment over.”
Odio made a similar statement, directed at Stark, on Twitter. Stark did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Stark launched Jonathan’s Card on July 14 as a social adaption of the “take a penny, leave a penny” concept. The card has since taken on a life of its own. Earlier Friday, Odio revealed that he had created a script to transfer donated money off Jonathan’s Card and on to other cards.
Odio then listed a $625 Starbucks Card on eBay with the intention of donating proceeds from the auction to charity. The listing was later removed by eBay because it exceeded the maximum limit of $500 for a gift card. Odio now plans to list two separate cards to meet eBay’s criteria.
There’s one more odd twist to the saga. Odio’s older brother Daniel, also an entrepreneur, has been donating to Jonathan’s Card since August 7 — the same date Sam started repurposing funds. Daniel has added back exactly $625 over the past few days; he shared a