O’Barry held up a sign that said “TEXT DOLPHIN TO 44144” when he and others involved in the making of ”The Cove” — a documentary about efforts to stop an annual dolphin hunt in Japan — took the stage for their Best Documentary Feature win at Sunday night’s 82nd annual Academy Awards.

Following O’Barry’s instructions signs you up for the film’s mobile campaign, connecting you to more information on the film, trailers, a petition against the hunt in Taiji, Japan, and other materials to promote “The Cove” and the cause behind it.

Some viewers watching on television might not have caught O’Barry’s message; the cameras cut away soon after he raised the sign above his head. The Academy Awards show producers, after all, are famous for trying to keep things short and on schedule — and relatively politics-free.

VOTE

Name: Stand Up Take Action (United Nations)

Nominated Category: Organization & Collaboration

URL: http://www.standagainstpoverty.org, http://www.endpoverty2015.org

Area: Advocacy, Action

About:

As part of the movement to achieve the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals to end poverty by 2015, millions of people on designated days each year have answered the “Stand Up Take Action – End Poverty Now” campaign’s call to “stand up and take action.”

Description:

Action events include rallies, teach-ins and community service days, in communities around the world. In 2008, 116 million people participating broke the Guiness World Record for largest mobilization around a single cause. And this year, between Oct. 16 and 18, more than 173 million people participated in events, details of which were coordinated via Facebook, Twitter and the Stand Up’s interactive web site.

On the site, a world map makes it easy to find events going on in your area, and the “action center” and “take action” sections have information on how to organize and register your own event, or join an existing one. There are also online actions, such as embedding a “Stand Up” widget to a blog or social network profile, and ways to “Get the Widget Out” and bring more attention to the cause on your blog; people who added the widgets were counted as part of the 173 million participants. Images of on-the-ground action events were broadcast by way of Flickr and YouTube, which you can also see in photo and video galleries on standagainstpoverty.org.

But with 2015 fast approaching, the Stand Up campaign says, no region is on track to reach its MDG targets for ending poverty and hunger, improving gender equality and making education universal. So the campaign continues to rally people around eradicating poverty and its root causes, emphasizing the MDG commitment at a time when the global financial crisis and developing climate crisis seem to have consumed most people’s mind. The campaign does so by keeping an active presence on Twitter, Facebook and Myspace, as well as YouTube and Flickr accounts. There’s a blog keeping track of action day activities around the world, as well as related news.

The Basics:

WHO: Stand Up Take Action – End Poverty Now

WHAT: A campaign where people around the world show solidarity in the movement to end poverty, as part of the United Nations’ Millennium Democratic Goals.

WHERE: Events are organized worldwide.

HOW to get involved: Follow the Stand Against Poverty campaign’s blog, or check it’s Twitter, Facebook and Myspace accounts for information on future action days.

What other people are saying:

UN Dispatch

Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report

U2 blog

The News Today (Philippines)

The Christian Post

VOTE

Name: Stand Up Take Action (United Nations)

Nominated Category: Organization & Collaboration

URL: http://www.standagainstpoverty.org, http://www.endpoverty2015.org

Area: Advocacy, Action

About:

As part of the movement to achieve the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals to end poverty by 2015, millions of people on designated days each year have answered the “Stand Up Take Action – End Poverty Now” campaign’s call to “stand up and take action.”

Description:

Action events include rallies, teach-ins and community service days, in communities around the world. In 2008, 116 million people participating broke the Guiness World Record for largest mobilization around a single cause. And this year, between Oct. 16 and 18, more than 173 million people participated in events, details of which were coordinated via Facebook, Twitter and the Stand Up’s interactive web site.

On the site, a world map makes it easy to find events going on in your area, and the “action center” and “take action” sections have information on how to organize and register your own event, or join an existing one. There are also online actions, such as embedding a “Stand Up” widget to a blog or social network profile, and ways to “Get the Widget Out” and bring more attention to the cause on your blog; people who added the widgets were counted as part of the 173 million participants. Images of on-the-ground action events were broadcast by way of Flickr and YouTube, which you can also see in photo and video galleries on standagainstpoverty.org.

But with 2015 fast approaching, the Stand Up campaign says, no region is on track to reach its MDG targets for ending poverty and hunger, improving gender equality and making education universal. So the campaign continues to rally people around eradicating poverty and its root causes, emphasizing the MDG commitment at a time when the global financial crisis and developing climate crisis seem to have consumed most people’s mind. The campaign does so by keeping an active presence on Twitter, Facebook and Myspace, as well as YouTube and Flickr accounts. There’s a blog keeping track of action day activities around the world, as well as related news.

The Basics:

WHO: Stand Up Take Action – End Poverty Now

WHAT: A campaign where people around the world show solidarity in the movement to end poverty, as part of the United Nations’ Millennium Democratic Goals.

WHERE: Events are organized worldwide.

HOW to get involved: Follow the Stand Against Poverty campaign’s blog, or check it’s Twitter, Facebook and Myspace accounts for information on future action days.

What other people are saying:

UN Dispatch

Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report

U2 blog

The News Today (Philippines)

The Christian Post

VOTE

Name: Remembering Omid Reza “Let the first blogger to die in prison be the last”

Nominated Category: Individual (Omid Reza, Iranian blogger)

URL: http://www.march18.org, http://www.globalvoices.org, http://www.committeetoprotectbloggers.org

Area: Advocacy, Action, Memorial

About:

On March 18, blogger Omid Reza Mir Sayafi died in prison after being sentenced to two and a half years in prison. He had been charged with insulting religious leaders and spreading propaganda about the Islamic Republic of Iran.

There were reports of Mir Sayafi who primarily wrote about Persian music and culture being depressed, of him taking sedative pills or receiving an overdose, of being described by his also-jailed doctor as not at all fit for confinement and the prison hospital failing to provide adequate care. People spoke of how use of torture was an open secret in Iranian prisons, and how someone accused of libelous blogging could be kept near more violent criminals.

Mir Sayafi’s death under mysterious circumstances and the whys and hows of a blogger being jailed in the first place prompted outcry by members of the international community, followed by action. The March 18 movement started in part as a memorial to Mir Sayafi (with March 18 denoted as a day of remembrance), and in part to ensure that “the first blogger to die in prison be the last” as more bloggers around the world become victims of more than just government censorship.

Founded by Hamid Tehrani and Mideast Youth, an interfaith youth network, the March 18 movement seeks to expand the world’s understanding of bloggers as de facto journalists, and extend the protections normally accorded to journalists to all those who share information and stories of repression and corruption online–sometimes at risk of violence or other harm.

March18.org asks supporters to join them by following the movement on Twitter, Facebook and the movement’s blog. The blog and Twitter feed post on movement-relevant issues and news: Recent posts include news about a freed female reformist blogger and information on how to help bloggers currently being persecuted in Vietnam.

The motivations of the March 18 movement and similar initiatives are not unlike those of “Reporter Without Borders” the long-established activist organization for journalists’ rights that has spoken out about continued persecution of bloggers in Iran. Mir Sayafi’s death, and the role bloggers and active Twitter users played in the civil unrest following Iran’s presidential elections this year, has drawn attention to the bloggers rights movement, represented by sites like Global Voices and the Committee to Protect Bloggers.

The Basics:

WHO: Omid Reza Mir Sayafi and people around the world trying to ensure that what happened to him doesn’t happen to other bloggers.

WHAT: Mir Sayafi was one of a number of bloggers that have been arrested in Iran; he was reportedly the first to die in prison. Movements and memorials have sprung up in his memory, and his story — and the greater story of persecuted bloggers in Iran, and the yet greater story of bloggers under oppressive regimes around the world — has also drawn attention to bloggers rights and safety campaigns worldwide.

WHERE: Worldwide.

HOW to get involved: Follow the March 18 blog, Twitter and Facebook feeds. Become a member on the web site. Check out Global Voices, Reporters Without Borders and Committee to Protect Bloggers for new.

WHAT other people are saying:

Global Voices

Revolutionary Flowerpot blog

Zoescope blog

Read Write Web

Huffington Post

• Comment on this entry and tell us what you think. Who else should we be highlighting in this category?
• Share these initial selections with your network, through Twitter, Facebook etc

Learn more about ThinkSocial Awards here.

Thanks for your support and participation.

VOTE

Name: Remembering Omid Reza “Let the first blogger to die in prison be the last”

Nominated Category: Individual (Omid Reza, Iranian blogger)

URL: http://www.march18.org, http://www.globalvoices.org, http://www.committeetoprotectbloggers.org

Area: Advocacy, Action, Memorial

About:

On March 18, blogger Omid Reza Mir Sayafi died in prison after being sentenced to two and a half years in prison. He had been charged with insulting religious leaders and spreading propaganda about the Islamic Republic of Iran.

There were reports of Mir Sayafi who primarily wrote about Persian music and culture being depressed, of him taking sedative pills or receiving an overdose, of being described by his also-jailed doctor as not at all fit for confinement and the prison hospital failing to provide adequate care. People spoke of how use of torture was an open secret in Iranian prisons, and how someone accused of libelous blogging could be kept near more violent criminals.

Mir Sayafi s death under mysterious circumstances and the whys and hows of a blogger being jailed in the first place prompted outcry by members of the international community, followed by action. The March 18 movement started in part as a memorial to Mir Sayafi (with March 18 denoted as a day of remembrance), and in part to ensure that “the first blogger to die in prison be the last” as more bloggers around the world become victims of more than just government censorship.

Founded by Hamid Tehrani and Mideast Youth, an interfaith youth network, the March 18 movement seeks to expand the world’s understanding of bloggers as de facto journalists, and extend the protections normally accorded to journalists to all those who share information and stories of repression and corruption online–sometimes at risk of violence or other harm.

March18.org asks supporters to join them by following the movement on Twitter, Facebook and the movement’s blog. The blog and Twitter feed post on movement-relevant issues and news: Recent posts include news about a freed female reformist blogger and information on how to help bloggers currently being persecuted in Vietnam.

The motivations of the March 18 movement and similar initiatives are not unlike those of “Reporter Without Borders” the long-established activist organization for journalists’ rights that has spoken out about continued persecution of bloggers in Iran. Mir Sayafi s death, and the role bloggers and active Twitter users played in the civil unrest following Iran’s presidential elections this year, has drawn attention to the bloggers rights movement, represented by sites like Global Voices and the Committee to Protect Bloggers.

The Basics:

WHO: Omid Reza Mir Sayafi and people around the world trying to ensure that what happened to him doesn’t happen to other bloggers.

WHAT: Mir Sayafi was one of a number of bloggers that have been arrested in Iran; he was reportedly the first to die in prison. Movements and memorials have sprung up in his memory, and his story — and the greater story of persecuted bloggers in Iran, and the yet greater story of bloggers under oppressive regimes around the world — has also drawn attention to bloggers’ rights and safety campaigns worldwide.

WHERE: Worldwide.

HOW to get involved: Follow the March 18 blog, Twitter and Facebook feeds. Become a member on the web site. Check out Global Voices, Reporters Without Borders and Committee to Protect Bloggers for new.

WHAT other people are saying:

Global Voices

Revolutionary Flowerpot blog

Zoescope blog

Read Write Web

Huffington Post

• Comment on this entry and tell us what you think. Who else should we be highlighting in this category?
• Share these initial selections with your network, through Twitter, Facebook etc

Learn more about ThinkSocial Awards here.

Thanks for your support and participation.

VOTE

Name: Betterplace.org

Nominated Category: Organization

URL: http://www.betterplace.org

Area: Collaboration, Advocacy, Action

About:

German foundation betterplace runs betterplace.org, a space where people who need support can connect with those who want to help.

Description:

Created in 2007 by two merged groups of people (betterplace and the former Platform.org) interested in how the Internet can further social good, what’s now known as betterplace.org forwards on 100% of donations. (Operating costs are covered by private supporters who believe in the betterplace mission.)

For individuals, organizations and corporations, better place connects those in need with donations in kind, of money, know-how and volunteering. Individuals and companies can search on the web site for local projects that they can contribute to. Individuals and organizations can request support and report on progress of projects, so their peers and supporters can keep in the loop.

To show how good a person or project is, persons and projects can vouched for by project visitors and advocates who have seen or participated in a particular project first hand. There are also local and international NGOs whether a slum-specific Indian NGO or something as big as Oxfam that are called project carriers, or trusted experts on the site. (This web of trust between helpers and those who need help is broken down handily here in the about us section on betterplace org. A feature that illustrates this web for all projects will be implemented soon.)

This may sound like a lot, but really all one needs to get a project on betterplace.org is a committed individual that will describe it on the web site and will report project progress on its project blog. Over time advocates, visitors, organisations, companies and supporters can form around the project, betterplace.org says. The more meaningful a project appears to people, the faster this web of trust will form and the more support you will get.

On the web site, when you scan through the different listed projects, you can see star ratings on each, as well as graphs that show fundraising progress. You can look at different projects as categorized by region (South America, Oceania, Africa, etc), by categories (education, health, food security, among others) and by fiscal type (non-tax deductible, or tax-deductible for German donors). You can also search members of the betterplace.org community to find particular individuals or organizations, and track what they’re doing through the dialogue section part of the web site where you can find the latest news and blogs posts on projects.

The Basics:

WHO: Betterplace Foundation

WHAT: Betterplace.org, a social collaboration space where people who need help and people who want to help can meet and keep track of projects for social good.

WHERE: Based in Germany, but with opportunities around the world and participants worldwide.

HOW to get involved: Sign up it s free. Then either submit a project or look for one. Follow updates on the betterplace blog.

WHAT other people are saying:

Business4good

Culture Matters

Die Zeit

20something investor

VOTE

Name: Amazee

Nominated Category: Organization

URL: http://www.amazee.com

Area: Action, Social-networking, Fundraising

About:

Swiss start-up Amazee’s eponymous social collaboration service enables individuals and organizations to promote their ideas (or “projects,” in Amazee lingo) and find supporters and donations. Featured projects include one to revive an old village in Kyrgyzstan and a “Friends of Obama” initiative on health care reform.

Description:

What’s a bit different about this global action network from others is that each project has a online publication—a “magazine” with blogging, photo-sharing and event-planning widgets, so you can showcase your project as a published package. Amazee also has interfaces for other platforms, so you can embed your project on your Facebook page, for example. And now there’s also an Amazee app for iPhone, so iPhone users can now find the biggest, most viewed and most active projects and follow up with news updates mobilely, as you can usually do directly through the Amazee web site.

On the main page, you can see featured projects as recognized by the Amazee team and news updates, which include interviews with the Amazee team and users as well as notes on updated technology (Amazee is running in beta, but a new version is coming soon). A little ticker on the bottom of the of the page keeps track of how many ongoing projects there are (currently, 1,287) and alliances (87).

There’s even a project that has to do with Amazee itself: It’s currently under fire from e-tailer giant Amazon, who is asking that Amazee change its “too similar to Amazon” name.

The Basics:

WHO: Zurich-based start-up Amazee

WHAT: An action network where people and organizations can create and join projects.

WHERE: Swiss-made, internationally active.

HOW to get involved: Join Amazee and create or join a project. Follow Amazee happenings on the blog and through news updates, or via Twitter and Facebook feeds.

What other people are saying:

CNET

TechCrunch

Mashable

VOTE

Name: Care2

Nominated Category: Organization

URL: http://www.care2.com

Area: Online Community, Advocacy, Action

About:

Care2, started by Randy Paynter, calls itself the largest online community for people involved and interested in green living, human rights and animal welfare.

Description:

Care2.com gives folks a chance to stay on top of worthwhile causes and news, search for tips on anything form how to be a more conscious consumer to farmers’ market recipes, and connect with the community’s 11 million members. How the site functions is dependent on the community. The Care2 News Network, for example, dubbed C2NN, depends on members posting news stories, videos or podcasts elsewhere online and uploading them to C2NN; other members can then vote or “note” stories they particularly like. Well “noted” stories get pushed to C2NN’s “front page.”

For immediate action — if you’re looking to better more than yourself, but perhaps those in need of aid on the other side of the world — Care2 has a “take action” section where members can sign petitions or start petitions for various causes, blog, and start or join Care2 community groups. There are also charitable actions tied to web site’s free e-cards. Sending different e-cards benefits different charities; with one in particular, Care2 promises to purchase one square foot of rainforest for each e-card sent.

Started in 1998, out of founder Paynter’s apartment, Care2 is now a certified “benefit corporation,” with 12 million members and 400 non-profit partner organizations.

The Basics:

WHO: Randy Payner (founder)

WHAT: The Care2 site provides tools for people to live a greener, more socially and environmentally sound life — whether those resources be articles and advice, or online petitions.

WHERE: U.S. based, but with causes all over the world.

HOW to get involved: Become a member, sign a petition, support a cause, etc.

What other people are saying:

Ode magazine on founder Randy Payner

Column that mentions Care2

Times (UK) piece on how stray dog gets to the U.S. from Iraq thanks to a Care2 petition

Current TV video

VOTE

Name: Care2

Nominated Category: Organization

URL: http://www.care2.com

Area: Online Community, Advocacy, Action

About:

Care2, started by Randy Paynter, calls itself the largest online community for people involved and interested in green living, human rights and animal welfare.

Description:

Care2.com gives folks a chance to stay on top of worthwhile causes and news, search for tips on anything form how to be a more conscious consumer to farmers’ market recipes, and connect with the community’s 11 million members. How the site functions is dependent on the community. The Care2 News Network, for example, dubbed C2NN, depends on members posting news stories, videos or podcasts elsewhere online and uploading them to C2NN; other members can then vote or “note” stories they particularly like. Well “noted” stories get pushed to C2NN’s “front page.”

For immediate action — if you’re looking to better more than yourself, but perhaps those in need of aid on the other side of the world — Care2 has a “take action” section where members can sign petitions or start petitions for various causes, blog, and start or join Care2 community groups. There are also charitable actions tied to web site’s free e-cards. Sending different e-cards benefits different charities; with one in particular, Care2 promises to purchase one square foot of rainforest for each e-card sent.

Started in 1998, out of founder Paynter’s apartment, Care2 is now a certified “benefit corporation,” with 12 million members and 400 non-profit partner organizations.

The Basics:

WHO: Randy Payner (founder)

WHAT: The Care2 site provides tools for people to live a greener, more socially and environmentally sound life — whether those resources be articles and advice, or online petitions.

WHERE: U.S. based, but with causes all over the world.

HOW to get involved: Become a member, sign a petition, support a cause, etc.

What other people are saying:

Ode magazine on founder Randy Payner

Column that mentions Care2

Times (UK) piece on how stray dog gets to the U.S. from Iraq thanks to a Care2 petition

Current TV video

VOTE

Name: GetUp! Action for Australia

Nominated Category: Organization

URL: http://www.getup.org

Area: Action, Advocacy, Civic Participation

About:

GetUp.org calls itself a movement to build a progressive Australia. Built on a platform that’s part social network, part advocacy organization, the non-profit GetUp encourages Australian citizens to engage in the political progress and get involved with social issues.

Description:

Founded in 2005, GetUp is independent and does not receive any funding from political parties; it runs primarily on donations from members. These members currently a 300,000-strong community receive email updates or check the web site for information on new campaigns and different ways to create change. This includes emailing a member of parliament, engaging with the media, attending events, and signing petitions.

Current campaigns include calling on the government to invest in a clean-energy economy and asking the government to drop plans for internet censorship. Causes are suggested by GetUP members you can suggest an idea for a campaign to campaigns@getup.org.au. According to the GetUp website, community members have taken a million actions in more than 70 campaigns as of the end of last year.

This fall, GetUp’s Censordyne campaign against the government’s internet filtering program ran full-age ads in newspaper The Australia declaring the thousands of people that had signed its petition, and broadcast on TV and online a series of parody videos. And the attention the campaign has drawn may be influencing the right people–earlier last week, it was announced that there would be a public consultation on the issue before the government proceeds, and the prime minister will be addressing it in a web chat.

Through the GetUp web site/online community, members can also find offline GetTogethers in their area (such as events for 350.org’s International Day of Climate Action, Oct. 24). Besides email updates, GetUp also posts news about ongoing campaigns on their blogs, and links to media mentions of GetUp efforts on their media page.

The Basics:

WHO: GetUp! Action for Australia

WHAT: An independent, non-profit action network for Australians.

WHERE: Based in Australia, for Australians

HOW to get involved: Sign up for updates and check the site for ways to take action. Through forms on the site it’s also possible to directly donate to the GetUp and spread word to friends.

What other people are saying:

The Age

The Australian

Sydney Morning Herald

ABC News

The Age