I Believe in Using Social Media for the Greater Good

Hawaii resident John Garcia (@johngarcia) is one of ten finalists in Audi's nationwide "Progress Is" campaign. Today is the last day of the contest so many of us are doing whatever we can to help. Why? Because John is genuinely a nice guy, but more importantly, he's trying to raise money for charity. What can you do? Glad you asked! If you're on Twitter, please tag all of you tweets today with #ProgressIs and #DeskDiary (both hashtags must be included for it to be counted). If Twitter isn't your thing, you can still participate by viewing this image of John's desk diary and/or you can watch the two videos he's produced, which are embedded below. Every tweet, view, and comment is worth points. For more information, you can also check out John's Vote For Progress site. Thanks for your help :)

Why Twitter?

The conversation usually goes something like this…
Non-Twitter person: “You twit? tweeter? Whatever you call it?”
Me: “I’m on Twitter, yes.”
Non-Twitter person: “What's the point? I don’t get it.”

Despite being listed as a Hawaii Power User by Melissa Chang (@Melissa808), I do not consider myself a super user. I do, however, believe that Twitter is starting to reshape the way we communicate with each other and I would venture to say it has changed the world. Personally, I've found that the real value of Twitter is its ability to connect people. For the average person, that translates to complete and unfettered access to people, places, and events we normally wouldn't have. Case in point, I received a reply from Daniel Dae Kim (@danieldaekim) yesterday. Now, I don’t know about you, but it isn’t everyday that I interact with a celebrity. In fact, the last one I can remember was Steven Spielberg back when he was filming Jurassic Park on Kauai. Yeah, the first one! I digress…

Still not feelin’ it? Well, let me break down some of my personal experiences from 2010. We rang in the year from one of the Penthouse Suites at the Waikiki Resort Hotel (@Waikiki_Resort) because of Twitter. A few months later, I purchased Adobe's Creative Suite 4, a week shy of their CS5 announcement. I had heard that Adobe sometimes offers post-announce upgrades and called to inquire. After getting the runaround for weeks, I tweeted my frustration. Adobe Customer Care on Twitter (@Adobe_Care) responded and within 2 business days, I had my copy of CS5. In December, I won $150 worth of gift cards from Ala Moana Center (@AlaMoanaCenter), a 10-piece meal from Kentucky Fried Chicken (@KFChawaii), a CD autographed by Jack Johnson (@jackjohnson) from Kanu Hawaii (@kanuhawaii), and free music from recording artist Mike Peralta (@mikeperalta). Ricky Li (@rickyli99) of HI I Shoot Stuff (@hiishootstuff) cut us a great deal on an awesome family Christmas portrait. Lastly, I got to attend an advance screening of Little Fockers.

So that's my story. If you are already on Twitter, connect with me! If not, understand this: opportunities are out there and being on Twitter is the only way you're going to capitalize on them. I'd love to see you chronicle your own journey... in 140 character bursts.

Feeling overwhelmed? Don't know where to start? I recommend you connect with Neenz Faleafine (@NEENZ) and ask her about being A.L.I.V.E. in Social Media. She's a great resource and will definitely get you headed in the right direction.