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Source: Twitchange.com

INTRODUCTION The social media boom has created a world of new opportunities and ideas. While sites like twitter, facebook, and youtube making communicating with friends and storing pictures easier and more fun they also have much more serious applications in contemporary society. The interconnectedness of what has grown to be billions of user accounts on these various platforms can generate massive trends of awareness for different causes. Combine this fact with the increased celebrity publicity on these sites and the possibility to not only quickly achieve support but also to raise funds is unmatched by any other medium. This concept has been strategically and ethically taken advantage of by the creator of Twit For Change who is using celebrity appeal to quickly raise funds for various causes affecting the global community.

THE CAUSES OF TWIT FOR CHANGE:
TwitforChange is a revolutionary idea about using social media to promote charitable causes. According to their website, they are “a movement to bring celebrities and fans together in a loud, fun way on Twitter to bring awareness and financial support to charitable causes that change the world.” The creator decided to found this movement after the earthquake in Haiti. They saw the media attention dissipating and saw this idea as a way to refocus attention on an area that still desperately needed help. Now they promote four to six charities a year using a combination of Twitter promotion and Ebay auction to raise money for important causes. They have raised money for Haiti, and recently launched a campaign to benefit soliders with Operation Once in a Lifetime. This unique combination of social media and celebrity power is making strides for change around the world.

TwitChange has already raised close to a $1,000,000 for these causes:
 * A Home In Haiti- Movement to provide Shelter for those effected by the Haitian earthquake
 * Operation Once in a Lifetime- Organization aiming to provide unbiased supported to U.S. military members and families
 * CARE- Organization combating global poverty with emphasis on empowering women

METHODS OF CHANGE:

This movement is very unique in that it uses Twitter and celebrities to raise money for causes via auction. The way it works is as follows:
 * 1) A cause is chosen- for example building a school in Haiti for children with special needs.
 * 2) Celebrities volunteer to retweet and follow people who bid for it on twitter. “Most celebrities offer four kinds of auctions on the site. People can donate to be followed on Twitter by the celeb, to get one of their messages "re-tweeted" by them, get mentioned in a post by the star or all three. Many celebrities are offering bonuses like phone calls, autographs, merchandise and other gifts for their top bidders.”
 * 3) Fans bid to donate for these often intangible items, giving money to the cause while hoping to get some personal feedback from their favorite celebrity.

Hundreds of different celebrities have been a part of these auctions, ranging from Eva Longoria to Kim Kardashian to Justin Bieber. The auction typically lasts about 10 days, on Ebay, and then at the end the winners are chosen and the tweeting begins.

These auctions are promoted on Twitter, as well as through videos like this on Youtube: Twit For Change Promotion They have a personal Twitter account that gives information about the current auction as well as shows people supporting and retweeting the cause:Twit For Change Twitter



RESULTS: The result of this effort has been tremendous. Hundreds of celebrities have volunteered their time and tweets to this cause. The campaign for Haiti raised over $500,000, with some people bidding over $15,000 for the Twitter mega packages. They are raising money and raising awareness in amazingly short spans of time, helping causes through the power of celebrity and social media.

EVALUATION: This is the innovative way of charity in the future. It was founded by a pastor who truly cared about the plight of the people of Haiti and wanted a way to gain more national coverage for these people. He used a creative mix of social media, celebrity culture, and Ebay auctions to raise money for important causes. It has been a successful effort thus far, and truly appears the celebrities and founder care about the issues that they are promoting. This effort does not appear that it would backfire, as people are only donating, bidding, and tweeting of their own volition, and making progress for important causes in the meantime.

CONCLUSION

Twit For Change is but one excellent example of how the advantages of social media are being leveraged to make the world a better place. Using services like facebook and twitter, organizations are finding the ability to reach fundraising goals in a fraction of the time previously experienced through conventional methods. The enhanced connection of the global community will only increase as the technology and application of social media is further enhanced. With all the benefits that have been created in only the first decade of social media existence it will be interesting to see how the global community can improve our world over the coming decades.

R e fe r e n c e s : Carr, A. (2010, September 21). How Much Would You Pay For A Celebrity Retweet?. //FastCompany//. Retrieved June 25, 2011, from www.fastcompany.com/1690350/haiti-charity-auction-how-much-are-celebrity-twitter-followers-worth

Ehrilch, B. (2010, September 15). Score a Celebrity Twitter Follower by Donating to Charity. //Social Media News and Web Tips â€“ Mashable â€“ The Social Media Guide//. Retrieved June 25, 2011, from http://mashable.com/2010/09/15/celebrity-twitter-charity/

Gross, D., & CNN. (2010, September 6). Pay for celebs to tweet for you (and charity) - CNN. //Featured Articles from CNN//. Retrieved June 25, 2011, from http://articles.cnn.com/2010-09-16/tech/twitchange.haiti_1_twitter-auctions-skype?_s=PM:TECH

TwitChange 3.0: Educating Girls In Poverty Worldwide with CARE and Eva Longoria. (n.d.). //TwitChange: Changing The World One Tweet At A Time//. Retrieved June 25, 2011, from http://twitchange.com


 * THIS WIKI WAS CREATED BY: STEFANIE SHER AND MARTIN REINMAN**