Twit101

The Questions

How many links do you send every day on a site like Twitter or Facebook?

How many emails with animals dressed in ridiculous outfits or even people getting hit in the nuts?

Okay.

How many emails and tweets have you sent to support a cause? Sure you may have joined a group on Facebook, but how active are you with that cause?

The Rant

Between the numerous recent posts about sick and homeless veterans and some of the research I am doing on nonprofit organizations, I came to realize how many ways people need help.

If you look back a few decades, people were very outspoken and shouted from the rooftops, staged marches and held rallies for their causes. Now it seems like people have forgotten how to do this.

We are in a unique time in history when it is easier than ever to express your opinion to hundreds or even thousands of people. You have so many tools to spread the word; making a video, sending a tweet or writing a blog post allows thousands of people see it and spread the word even more.

Why do we feel the need to spread pictures of a randomly placed squirrel when we could pass along something that might make you think or take action?

Call To Action

If you are following celebrities, people who tweet about the newest gadgets or someone you barely talked to in high school,  add a charity into your mix. Make friends with people who tweet about going green. Take time to subscribe to a site where people are trying to make a difference and actually join in the conversation. Post a comment, ask a question, GET INVOLVED.

If you worry what your friends will think because you post a link on your Facebook page about helping people find shelter this winter or a retweet something about saving energy, you seriously need new friends.

If you don’t feel like you have the time to read and be active, look at how you spend your time. Then you can surely brown bag your lunch for a day and give the $10 for lunch and coffee to someone who needs it. Don’t just do it once… make it a habit.

Here are a few groups and lists I found on Twitter:

Nonprofits – Mashable

@Network4Good

#nonprofit

Produce to the People on Facebook

http://twitter.com/invisiblepeople

http://twitter.com/the_daily_green

What are you going to do?

intro image Arty Smokes