In the wake of the earthquake that devastated Haiti on January 12, social media is proving once again to be a powerful tool for sharing information and raising funds in times of crisis.  Check out these stats:

• Three days after the earthquake, 3% of all blog posts were related to Haiti’s earthquake.
• By January 15, the American Red Cross’ Twitter account had gained more than 10,000 followers.
• By January 22, 42% of Facebook users in the United States had donated money or goods to aid Haiti relief  -  23% of these donors did so via text message.  
• More than $25 million has been raised for the American Red Cross’ relief effort in Haiti through $10-donations made by simply texting HAITI to 90999.

These figures help reinforce the belief that people turn to social media not just to consume information, but also to connect and engage in meaningful ways with organizations and each other.

While Twitter is hoping to find a way to monetize its operation in 2010, many people have already discovered how to use the microblogging site to raise funds for worthy causes.

Back in November, I blogged about a movement that used Twitter, Facebook and mustaches to raise awareness and money for men’s health.   Today, I stumbled upon another fantastic fundraising campaign: BlameDrewsCancer.

The story: When Drew Olanoff was diagnosed with cancer last summer, he created the Twitter hashtag #blamedrewscancer and vowed that for every tweet blaming something on his cancer, he would raise one dollar for the Lance Armstrong Foundation LIVESTRONG.  Using this hashtag, Tweeters gave Drew’s cancer credit for closed coffee shops, working on holidays and global warming…and in the process, raised more than $15,000.

But Drew didn’t stop there.  With Twitter’s permission, he put his Twitter name, or “handle,”(@Drew) up for auction and caught the eye of Drew Carey (@DrewFromTV).  The Price Is Right host has since promised to donate one dollar for every person who follows him or @Livestrong, up to $1 million.  Pretty cool, huh?

Do you know of other organizations that are successfully using Twitter or other forms of social media to raise money and awareness?  Please leave your examples in a comment below!  And the next time you feel like complaining on Twitter, don’t forget to #blamedrewscancer.

Did you know that a man is 35% more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than a woman is to be diagnosed with breast cancer?   And while most of us know that October goes pink for breast cancer awareness, did you know that November grows mustaches for men’s health?

That’s right – November is now Movember (with “mo” being slang for mustache, of course).  
Here’s a quick synopsis from  the Movember Foundation:

The Movember Foundation challenges men to start Movember 1st (November 1st) clean shaven, then grow and groom their moustache for 30 days to raise awareness and funds to find a cure for prostate and testicular cancers.

I absolutely love this campaign!  What better way to get guys talking about their health than by pitting them in a friendly competition, doing something as “manly” as growing a ‘stache?! 

I first heard about Movember via Twitter a few weeks ago, and it has quickly blown up in the socialsphere:  A Facebook search for “movember” this morning yielded 77 Pages and about 4,200 Groups.  As this blog is posted, the MovemberUSA Facebook Page alone has 3,958 fans and counting, a gain of more than 350 members since Friday afternoon.  Men participating in Movember, or “Mo Bros” as they are called, are posting photos of their facial follicles on their “Mo Spaces,” and “Mo Sistas” are getting in on the act by recruiting more Mo Bros and helping raise funds, which will benefit the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Lance Armstrong Foundation Livestrong.

Over the years, Susan G. Komen’s Race of the Cure, Pink October and many other events seeking to bring awareness to breast cancer have empowered the female population;  I hope Movember will do the same for our brothers, fathers, sons, boyfriends, and husbands, and succeed in its mission to “change the face of men’s health.”

Recently, brands like Sharpie, Volkswagon and Tropicana have created their own social-networking sites to complement their marketing efforts on mainstream sites such as Facebook and Twitter.  While I understand why companies would prefer social interaction on a more controlled, branded site, I have a hard time believing these sites will achieve much success after the initial glow wears off.  Personally, I would much rather interact with my favorite brands on a site where I have an established identity and a clear understanding of how the site operates (Facebook) than create an entirely new identity on a site I know little about.  Yes, Facebook Connect could make these third-party sites more appealing, but I’d prefer to interact with brands who come to me (in a non-pushy manner, of course) where I spend my time.  See how Adobe successfully engaged Facebookers in their “natural environment.”  I hope to see more brands take Adobe’s lead in the future.

I have a dumbphone.  I’m not trying to be insulting;  I’m just saying my cell is not what they call “smart.”  That is, I have a plain, ol’ run-of-the-mill cell phone that lets me call and text…and that’s about it.  Which is fine, I guess.  I mean, do I really need to have access to my Facebook account 24/7?  Do I really need to be able to Google something anytime I want?  Do I really need to tweet a photo of what I’m doing while I’m doing it?  The answer is yes.  Yes, I do.  I really, really do. 

Why?  Because having on-the-go, hand-held access to the Internet (and thus social networking sites) has quickly become the best way to maintain one’s online presence.  In addition to being able to interact with online communities at a moment’s notice, mobile social networkers are able to update their accounts more often with more relevant/timely content than those with “stationary” access.  And it’s this constant stream of rich, fresh content that makes these sites all the more useful, informative and fun – for the user and for his/her friends and followers.  Simply put, mobile access takes social networking to the next level.

Which is why I wasn’t surprised to see a new study that found that more than half of U.S. wireless customers access content on their mobile phones, and of those people, most spend more time on social networking sites than, say, looking up news and weather.  So as people like me start shopping around to replace their dumbphones with smarter ones, the number of mobile social networkers will only increase…which will improve the quality of content on social networks….therefore making social networks all the more popular.  So for those of you hoping sites like Facebook are just a fad, think again.  Mobile access is just pushing these sites to new heights.

A couple questions for all you smartphone users:  What content do you access via your phone?  And what smartphones do you find cater to social networks the best?  (I have my eye on the new Palm Pre…)

Just came across a nice analysis of Twitter from our friend and Lotus Rock Star, Rob Novak. In “Three weeks of tweets for a Domino guy,” Rob likens Twitter to going to a cocktail party …

 Twitter and other social media are like going to a cocktail party … I expect to talk to lots of people, care about what some of them have to say, filter a lot of personal stuff that doesn’t affect me while looking interested (how rude!), and come away – if not inebriated – with a few nuggets of great information, some great new contacts, and an idea or two out of the social interaction we have in a group that size. This dynamic – and EVERY networking event you’ve ever attended – is very similar to consistent use of social media in a targeted fashion. Assuming you accept the premise that the cocktail party is like using Twitter…would you skip the cocktail party with your colleagues and new people you don’t know, because some of what you might hear is irrelevant to you? Aren’t the pieces of good information, “intel”, and new contacts worth the filtering you have to do? I personally believe it is, so will choose to close this blog entry and go tweet about it.

Great analogy, Rob. Now I’m gonna go Tweet about it. Wait, I’m not Tweeting yet. Is the @twitterrockstar name still available?