by Daniel Buckley

When talking about my work in social networking, I often find myself saying that, like more traditional networks, when you enter a well-established social networking site you are entering a well-established culture — with its own traditions and dos and don’ts. And with the network I am most often asked about these days — Twitter — I am continually impressed with its open, communal culture.
   
You’re always going to find those who tweet [post messages] constantly about their wardrobes and The Bachelor. But Twitter also includes many communities dedicated to sharing information related to their particular interest — whether that is philanthropy, food, local news, music or IT — and having real conversations on those topics.

Twitter has also proven to be a valuable awareness-raising tool. I was first convinced of this fact last March, when I took about five minutes during a day to post three messages about a Whole Foods event benefiting the Food Bank. At the time, the Food Bank had about 350 followers. But during that one day, four or five supporters retweeted [RTed; reposted] our messages to their community — helping the Food Bank reach an audience of up to 5,000 individuals! A three-minute commitment to reach 5K potential supporters? That’s pretty incredible. And now our supporters RT our messages every day (especially @lorenita327 — thanks!), spreading our messages and links throughout the Twitter community.

Because of how impressed we have been with the folks on Twitter, the Food Bank is now asking our followers to “Go Orange.” Throughout NYC Goes Orange — our biggest campaign of the year — our tweeps can add an orange crown to their photo. Plus, we will be announcing a new way to “Go Orange” on Twitter every month on our Online Toolkit through the end of the year!

For those of you looking for a good and easy way to “Go Orange” and support hunger relief in New York City — try Twitter! It’s a great way to raise awareness with just a few clicks a day.