Social media for change

In my previous blog post, I wrote about Twitter…particularly about its growth rate and how it competes with Facebook. That was not very long ago and, yet, so much has happened since. Oprah endorses the micro-blogging site; Ashton Kutcher is the first to exceed one million followers; and the Rochester community prepares to host its first local Twestival (or “Twitter + Festival”) this evening to support Foodlink.

By leveraging Twitter and other social media, organizers of the Rochester Twestival 4 Foodlink were able to coordinate the event within a short time span, as well as bring to light the hunger crisis within our own community. Tonight’s event has been organized by the same core group of volunteers, who rallied the community’s participation in the global Twestival event back in February.

This was the first event of its kind that united communities worldwide on the same day, using social media to raise money and awareness for the global water crisis. Rochester ranked 18th in overall fundraising out of the more than 200 participating communities, with $2,690 raised for the benefitting non-profit, Charity: Water.

The overarching concept behind the Twestival is “social media for change.” Twitter is not only showing explosive growth in connecting people, but is also becoming a premier technological platform to pay it forward.