By James Kwee

With the new wave of social networking sites splashing across the internet, it has become increasingly easier for organizations like Cheerful Givers to communicate directly with supporters and volunteers. Most notably contributing to this new relationship are the social websites Facebook and Twitter.

Originally designed for college students and then all students and finally everyone, Facebook is a social networking site that many companies and organizations have adopted to network as well-except with the intention to advertise and promote.

For the everyday individual, Facebook is used in a variety of ways. Users can post statuses proclaiming to the world what they are currently doing, did five minutes ago, or will be doing in five minutes time-anything they feel compelled to “share.”

Through Facebook, people can use a wide range of ways to communicate with others. They can post and exchange comments back and forth with each other using each other’s profile “wall.” For a more private way of conversing, users can send email-like messages to each other. And perhaps the most direct means of communication is Facebook’s built-in chat system, which acts as an instant messenger to users, allowing them to IM online friends.

Organizations like Cheerful Givers are now utilizing Facebook to keep supporters and “fans” informed and updated. Cheerful Givers maintains a profile page on Facebook, similar to individual user pages. Using methods such as statuses, links, notes, and stories, Cheerful Givers can keep fans updated by supplying the news items directly to their news feed on their home page when they log in. Now supporters can instantly and easily view news items sent out by Cheerful Givers without having to remember to regularly check the website. And if Cheerful Givers needs to notify people about important events or news, it can send out an update to all its fans, making sure it doesn’t get lost among other news feeds.

But as equally important as Cheerful Givers and organizations talking to the fans is the fans talking back. People can leave comments-words of support, suggestions, stories, comments, anything-on our wall and also contribute to the discussion forum under the “Boxes” tab.

A newer and more simplistic way of interacting with fans and supporters is Twitter. Twitter works by allowing individuals or groups to post “tweets,” short, 160-character messages bearing close resemblance to the statuses on Facebook. Twitter has become an important marketing tool for celebrities and companies. The posting of short messages and updates to followers and consumers has provided a more intimate link between celebrities, politicians, businesses, and charities. By choosing to follow a person or group on Twitter, users can receive automatic updates from them via their Twitter homepages or cell phones.

With technology like Facebook and Twitter, news is able to travel faster now than ever. Never before has it been easier for people to spread the word about Cheerful Givers. There are numerous ways people can use their Facebook and Twitter pages to help out causes like Cheerful Givers. On Facebook, you can become a “fan” of the Cheerful Givers page. After that, you can post links promoting the Cheerful Givers page and cause onto you profile-you can also post links and Cheerful Givers news in your status. You can also help in a big way by inviting your friends to join the Cheerful Givers Cause on Facebook-this is a great way to get the word out about Cheerful Givers to friends! On Twitter, the most notable thing you can do to help is “re-tweet” important updates from Cheerful Givers to all of your followers, asking them to do the same; news breaking stories have been able to spread across the world in minutes due to this method of re-posting.

To get started with contributing to the Cheerful Givers cause virally, visit Facebook and become a fan of the page and join the cause. Next, you can visit Twitter and follow Cheerful Givers.

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