Organized By Social Media, A Festival For Social Good.
September 10, 2009 :: Kenneth YeungSocial media has been a big source for those interested in helping out others. One particular tool that has been especially helpful is Twitter. Yes, this is going to be another post surrounding how 140 characters has become a big help in raising awareness and donations for a particular charity. What exactly am I talking about? Twestival – and it’s happening again in a city near you!
This is the second year that Twestival has been going on. It combines the essence of a global phenomenon with that of a typical tweetup. “What’s a tweetup?” you might be wondering. A tweetup is a meeting or an event that people have where they get to meet the people with the same common connection…in this case it’s Twitter and all in real life. Here in San Francisco, the Twestival has drawn an incredible crowd its first year, including some of the very influential people in the web industry. Just last year, the organizers of Twestival decided to support a common charity. With over 200 cities participating and throwing their own Twestivals, the charity received over $250,000 in support of its cause. The group was Charity:Water and was designed to help create drinking wells in countries where unsanitary supplies existed.
In light of the success of the first Twestival, organizers have decided to go “local” and allow any city to organize their own celebration for social good. San Francisco has decided to support a cause known as Operation Smile, whose goal is to mobilize support to help heal a child’s smile and transform lives around the globe. Basically they’re in the market to do some good by having their volunteers go out and repair childhood facial deformities including cleft lips and cleft palates. Now THAT is some real good work…helping a child feel special and have them smile once more. And people have come out to support them, including startups who have offered their services to help promote or make the event that much more enjoyable and some that have donated their services to be raffled off during a silent auction.
So are you going to a Twestival? Between September 10-13, the second annual Twestival will take place. If you want to be a part of this great event, check out the Twestival website, find your city and see how you can participate, either as a sponsor, press or just simply donate your time and money to help their respective causes. Remember, each city supports a different cause.
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