We recently came across a blog article about all of the ways to support charity through social media. Being our social media loving selves, we promptly posted this link to twitter. But then, on second thought, we realized the purpose of this blog was not to talk about social media, but to explain how to harness the power of social media to promote charities.

One of the local charities that we are excited about is NextAid, a charity dedicated to helping children in Africa affected by AIDS. ABCey Events organized a fundraiser called “A Night for Nextaid” at Vessel here in San Francisco back in July of 2007. We also helped spread the word for another fundraiser called “Reflections” at Levende Lounge in March of 2008. They are a great organization and always happy to help support them!

Cafe Cocomo is hosting their 5th annual event to support NextAid on July 26th from 12:00 pm to 2:00 am. In addition to supporting a great charity, come listen to some great music by some of SF’s hottest DJ’s. The ticket price is $10 ahead, and goes up to $15 at the door. You’ll also receive a raffle ticket upon entry before 3pm. Click here to learn more about NextAid.

Here is the facebook page for the event.

So hop to it! Tweet, Retweet, blog, update your facebook status about this charity or any other you are passionate about.a

I’ve recently been really inspired by two pretty well known superstars here in the SF Bay Area- Guy Kawasaki and Tony Robbins. I have to admit that I really wasn’t super exposed to either of them until I recently started following them on Twitter. I had heard of them, but now I’ve gotten to know them -virtually at least;) And I still think I might be 10 years behind the bandwagon, but for those who are behind me, I hope this is an inspiration for you to get to know them too.

1.Guy Kawasaki:
If technology entrepreneurs have a guru, it surely must be Guy Kawasaki. For about two decades, Guy’s been advising entrepreneurs in one way or another. First as an evangelist for Apple, he courted software entrepreneurs and developers to write code for the Macintosh. Guy later tried his own hand at entrepreneurship, and eventually returned to Cupertino as an Apple Fellow. In the late 90’s, Guy jumped ship from Apple again to launch Garage Technology Ventures. Garage went through several incarnations before turning into the venture capital fund that it is today. Guy spreads his vision of entrepreneurship though books including The Art of the Start, speaking engagements, investing and blogging.

If you are an entrepeneur, this GUY should be a household name…

I am still fascinated by the recent hacking of his twitter page and how it was used in an attempt to distribute malware to his almost 140,000 followers.

All things guy-

http://www.tonyrobbins.com/

http://twitter.com/tonyrobbins

http://www.tonyrobbinsblog.com/

2. Tony Robbins
Anthony Robbins (Tony Robbins) is a best selling self help author, motivational speaker, and advisor to many world leaders, sports professionals and business people. He is an internationally recognized personality and has appeared on countless infomercials, television interviews, talk shows, radio programs, and has even appeared as himself in the romantic comedy “Shallow Hal” starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black.

I’m going to his 4 day seminar in a few weeks! Conquer Today’s Challenges. Take Control Now.
July 30th- August 2nd, 2009 San Jose, CA

http://www.tonyrobbins.com/UpwEvents/Default.aspx?AID=10431277&PID=3199377

NBC has also picked up eight episodes of a new reality series starring our famed life strategist Tony Robbins. The as-yet untitled show (tentative title: “Breakthrough with Tony Robbins”) will follow Robbins as he takes participants and helps them face personal challenges; the pilot, for example, focused on someone who was a lifelong stutterer — and who, by the end of the episode, was speaking in front of a public audience.

All things Tony-

http://www.tonyrobbins.com/

http://twitter.com/tonyrobbins

http://www.tonyrobbinsblog.com/

How he inspired a Pimp:

Why now, more than ever, we need to remember the value of real life meetings.

I might be just a little biased being an event planner, but I’d like to stress the importance of meetings and events as they are a crucial business practice. We need to keep meeting! In a social media frenzied world, it’s easy to lose yourself in online conferencing, chatting and communication.

The idea of reality has become so blurred that some may have forgotten the true benefits of meeting in person. Now don’t get us wrong, we are all for using social media to further your business, but when it comes down to it, there is no real substitute for face time. Corporate meetings enhance employee and partner performance, fuel company growth and profitability, support the needs of local communities and aid the American economy as a whole.

Check this video out…Ben Stein talks about the importance of business meetings.

Watch CBS Videos Online

Image via www.citehr.com

Keep America Meeting’s petition gained more than 22,000 signature in support of the events industry that the USTA delivered to the Senate Commerce Committee in May. TBA Global’s new whitepaper “The Value of Meetings” shows the perception issue facing the meetings industry and how companies can make their meetings more appropriate and effective during these times.

http://www.keepamericameeting.org

Here are some of the reasons why face-to-face meetings are still important:

Numbers Don’t Lie
While its hard to exactly quantify the importance of face-to-face meetings, it is clear that many people still believe they are an integral part to successful business practice. In an article by Richard Arvey, a professor in organizational behavioral phycology, he discusses a research project conducted by Hilton Hotels. In their findings, they showed that 85% of people believe that face-to-face meetings are “more likely to result in breakthrough thinking” and 82% believe that “meetings bring out the best in people”. (asiaone.com)

Conference Calls Just Don’t Cut It
Think a conference call might be a substitute for meetings? Think again. Conference calls allow for people to become easily distracted and unfocused. Look at these further findings from Hilton Hotels to really understand the ineffectiveness of a conference call:
During a conference call:
81% Admit to checking their email,
75% Admit to having sideline conversations with colleagues, and
35% Admit to going to the restroom!
(asiaone.com)

Efficiency
There is no doubt that in person meetings are the most time efficient. You can give and receive feedback in the moment, and will probably arrive at the same page more quickly than back and forth emailing.