Social Media for Social Change Takes Off

A Great Event

This past Friday night I had the pleasure and honor of attending an event that represented what a small grass-roots movement can accomplish with some focus and a bunch of personal connections through social media.  At the Harvard Club in Boston, a gathering of folks initiated by the social media enthusiast community in both Boston and New York gathered for an evening to benefit JaneDoeInc., a non-profit organization focused on ending sexual assault and domestic violence.  With the help of sponsors and some passionate individuals the group sm4sc, Social Media for Social Change, kicked off it’s very first event by raising over $20,000.  Sweet.

Grass Takes Root

Back in late August I wrote, “I see this as a grass roots effort that can be spread to other cities as passionate people pick up the vibe.”  Just as any effort with social media, it requires commitment to make the first event a reality.  It will also take a long term push to make the movement into a continued success.  But if a start is an indication of the potential, Friday night’s kickoff of sm4sc can be just that.  The night had all the ingredients – A great turnout, an opportunity to meet some good people (many who I had previously only known through social media tools like Twitter), a beautiful location, some cocktails, and a series of genuine and passionate speeches about the purpose.  Not to mention some late night karaoke (which I avoided clearly to ensure no streaming video of yours truly got into the hands of my project teams at the office).

In the world of philanthropy there are many options to choose from – everything from donating personally to small causes to large, established organizations.  I am grateful to Rosetta (who recently acquired Brulant), the agency I work for, for participating as a silver sponsor.  I’m grateful to the other sponsors for everything from funds to great contributions for the raffle.  (I won a great messenger bag from Timbuktu and a pass to the New Marketing Summit, which I had Matt Knell draw another winner for since I was already attending).  While many individuals contributed to making the night a success, special recognition is deserved for four people:

• Empressr 
• SocialRadi.us 
• Dell 
• E.Factor 
• Pandemic Labs 
• David Petherick, Digital Biographer 
• PR Newswire 
• Rosetta
• Brainstorm 
• Customline Wordware 
• FormSpring 
• Foggy Noggin
• GiftGirl 
• Mzinga 
• SmashingDarling 
• The Staley Foundation 
• WineLibrary.tv