We get this question a lot at Every Dot Connects — “What the heck is Twitter, and how can something that sounds so goofy possibly do anything useful?”
Today, many people in Austin, Texas saw firsthand what Twitter can do with a few dedicated people and a great idea.
It was the inaugural Austin Blood Drive Tweetup, perfectly timed for July 3rd, just before an Independence Day weekend when accidents tend to happen, the need for blood is high and supplies run low.
It was launched using a variety of online tools; particularly with this Tweetup announcement post on co-organizer Michelle Greer’s blog, but also with other blog posts, lots of tweets (Twitter messages, even ones from Australia,) emails and a Facebook page.
Here’s the amazing part….
The push started on June 29th, a Sunday – a mere three days for people to find out about it, to perhaps get some time off from work during a four-day workweek, to decide to participate and for many, to face possible needle fears.
The result?
100 people signed up online for a donation timeslot to come in and give blood; the Blood Center averages around 40 a day.
The professionals who run the Blood Center said they’d never seen so many first-time donors.
As I filled out paperwork today to donate, my screener said, “Are you with that Twitter group? There are a LOT of y’all - that’s great!”
Never underestimate the power of a good idea, combined with enthusiastic, tech-savvy individuals and the exponential connections of social media tools like Twitter.
(Some blood drive photos are already up on Flickr)
July 3rd, 2008 at 9:54 pm
That is really great. I want to do a tweet up blood drive in Denver now.
July 3rd, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Thanks, Kim,
When I thought about it today, I realized that I only really started paying attention to the event on Twitter on Monday, my husband and I both decided to go yesterday, and we were there at 12:45 today. Poof!
An active, talkative community is key to success; I’m sure you have that in Denver.
July 3rd, 2008 at 11:21 pm
Kickass guys.Good showing from the great state of Texas.
-george dearing
July 4th, 2008 at 12:27 am
that’s excellent! Social networking at it’s finest.
100 people seems small in terms of numbers (when people on twitter have thousands of followers for example) but in real life that’s one hundred individuals, and individuals are connected exponentially to others.
That’s a huge turnout for a local chapter of a charity on such short notice, wow!
July 4th, 2008 at 12:29 am
Thanks for coming out. It was so incredible to see so many people come out, especially first time donors. I encourage other “Twitter peeps” to get out there and have their own blood drives. It is so much more gratifying than the standard happy hours.
Kim, get on it! I want to hear about Denver’s tweetup blood drive all the way from Austin.
July 4th, 2008 at 2:36 am
What a great way to use Twitter. See social network tools can be used for the greater good.
July 4th, 2008 at 6:40 am
Sheila, that’s awesome. Twitter is great at awareness but I’m pleased to see that it can go beyond that! Great work.
July 4th, 2008 at 7:09 am
Its great to know that these “frivolous tools” are being used to a positive effect. Just goes to show you that its not up to the tool but to the craftsman/woman to put out a good work.
July 4th, 2008 at 9:20 am
Sheila, it was great meeting you yesterday! I thought it was awesome that you and your husband made a date of it. I told my boyfriend, and he thought it was a great idea for us. Thanks for the inspiration!
July 4th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Thanks for all of the feedback! I’m glad I wrote the post before my donation-induced snooze yesterday.
July 4th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Wow! Very inspiring and a fantastic story. Congratulations. I love hearing how people are using tools like Twitter to make the world a better place.
July 4th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
Great post Sheila. This was most fun I’ve ever had giving blood. I am amazed at the power of organizing that Michelle and David demonstrated on this. It was great meeting your husband.
July 5th, 2008 at 9:30 am
Great job! I saw tweets about it perpherially, but one of my kid’s was out of care and we were juggling many things. I have to agree that amazing things can be done and coordinated using Twitter!
July 5th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
I just posted at http://austin.socialmediaclub.com The event was sponsored by the 501 Tech Club of Austin and the Austin Social Media Club.
July 7th, 2008 at 11:33 am
To those who comment that it was a great turnout for “such short notice” I personally think that the short notice was a contributing factor to its success. This may be less true for a dedicated club or charity but in the case where you have such a disparate, loosely-aligned group of people, it kept the energy and enthusiasm high as opposed to something that was scheduled, for example, a month in advance. The pseudo-spontaneity of it almost felt like a flash mob… with a purpose.
Then again, what do I know? Maybe I’m just still be a pint low.
July 8th, 2008 at 6:39 am
Sheila,
This is a great success story for social media. I’m currently involved in a media campaign for a Christmas in July/Red Kettle donation program for our local Salvation Army and I think adding some social media into the mix would be a great addition along with some traditional advertising that they’ll be doing.
So, may I ask if you and your group charged a fee to do this campaign for the Red Cross or was it pro-bono? It’s difficult to estimate the time needed to put into this as well as the return that you’ll get out of it. So that also means it is difficult to put a fee to it. Any insights and advice you could share would be very appreciated.