Written by Tehneyat Waseem
Mashable came up with the idea of that this summer should focus on the Social Good Charity Drive, launched on June 1st based on seeing the success of previous campaigns such as Tweetsgiving, Twestival and the like. The campaign is the first large scale online charitable campaign by Mashable using the power of Social Influence via social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter and the like to raise money for and promote four causes:
The Humane Society, supporting and seeking a humane and sustainable world for all animals.
LIVESTRONG, a charity set up by Lance Armstrong in support of cancer victims, and bringing cancer to a global agenda.
Oxfam America, working to eradicate hunger.
WWF, working towards a better environment and a sustainable future for the earth.
Mashable, based this campaign on the power of social media through the goodwill of people wanting to spread the word and using social media for social good, alternating and initiating a step towards the greater good, basically using their…I mean our social influence to contribute to making a difference for others. And that in itself pinpoints it: it really does come down to engaging the community we interact in, to make a difference in the rest of the world.
Why is this relevant, and does it really work? Charities, causes, supporting this and that on social media have been blooming, rocketing and hitting the skies lately. I am positive that you are at least member of one of more fan groups supporting a social cause. If not, add me on Facebook or Twitter and see how many I am a fan of! Friends of mine have joined a cause or charity after seeing that I and several of our common friends have joined a cause, and this leads to even more people joining and donating to a cause simply because it feels good to say, I support this!!
That has, the good feeling you get of doing something good, been the drive behind why Mashable had the genius and brilliant idea of using their name to support four critical causes, four charities and bring people together. On summerofsocialgood.com you can choose to tweet your support, become a fan on Facebook, or engage in blogs spreading the word. Ultimately it is about donating money.
The summer of social good ends on August 28th in a one day Social Good Conference (the name just makes me go ‘uh nice’) drawing attention to the charities and organizations mentioned above. Tickets for the conference are being sold, and 100% of the income from the tickets will be given to the above-mentioned charities. If I was in New York, or had the immediate opportunity to go, I’d go. It must be simply amazing to learn how 2 months of engaging the social media community has changed the course of four different causes. The opportunity to meet the people who actually know the value of what every single dollar means to their cause….well I love getting goose bumps and I’m positive there must be a lot of amazing people you’d have the opportunity of meeting. If you can’t be there, I’d strongly suggest you follow the conference as it will be live streamed. If you don’t have time for that, I will be back with an update of the conference for you to enjoy! ☺
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