April 7 is #PSATuesday - Win my money for your favorite cause!

There is an awful lot of talk on social media and not a lot of doing. Go ahead and argue the point but I assure you, the doing part pales in comparison to the talking part.

I'm not complaining about pointless tweets. Heck, occasionally I post a photo of my dog or a funny sign. But what I am concerned about is with all the power Twitter (and other social media tools) has, with its ability to join so many in so many ways (for example, my students use it to share information other students in class might also find interesting/beneficial) I find all we are really scratching the surface of its true value - change.

What if we harnessed all this connectivity and power for something good? What if we could help others and, in the process of using Twitter, make a difference in our communities and across the world. Would you join me in this effort?

We have all seen how #FollowFriday works. You enjoy someone's tweets and encourage those who follow you to also follow the person you are recommending. Those of us really interested in seeing who all is recommended can even research, collectively, by location, etc. who all was recommended. What if, instead of recommending other people to follow we recommended causes we believe in? Or recommended organizations to support and did so as strategically as we do those to follow. Surely our followers would rise to the occasion and suppot your cause, if they agree, just as they have in helping tweeters build their followers.

The birth of #PSATUESDAY (please note, if this is already being done please point me in the right direction. I have looked and can't find anything like it)

Okay, here is how it should go down:

Phase 1, #PSATuesday – Every Tuesday consider those causes important to you, tweet it with the hashtag #PSATuesday (PSA refers to Public Service Announcements) and let the world, or at least your followers know. If there is a particular organization affiliated with it then post a link with your message. Surely there is a cause out there which is worthy of as much promotion as your favorite tweeter. It can be local, regional, national or even international. It just has to be a cause which benefits society.

Your tweet might look like this, "don't forget to spay and neuter your pet. visit SpayOK.org for more info http://bit.ly/4D53sJ #PSATuesday" Easy enough?

Phase 2 is where the genius lies. Twitter is free, but how much would you pay for it? For me, at least a few hundred bucks a year with a student discount for anyone using it to benefit their education (#jb4520, I got your back). What if you took that money and donated it, on behalf of your favorite tweeter. You don't have to donate it all at one time, maybe just a few bucks here and there throughout the year. But if you really value a person's tweets/wisdom and they use their #PSATuesday tweet to support Spay Oklahoma would you be willing to make a small donation to show your appreciation?

So let's make this work. Next Tuesday, April 7, 2009 is #PSATuesday. To sweeten the pot, I will personally donate up to $250 of my own money to an organization or organizations which those tweeters I follow support and will do so giving the tweeter full credit. Will it make a difference? It will to the groups which get my money. And, if a few million tweeters engage in this it will make a huge difference. Talk about ROI!

By the way, if this works, #peacetweet24 is next. I will hold off on sharing how this will work but when I shared it with a friend he told me I was kicked off the island. Not sure if that is good or bad.