Before delving into the Digest below, we want to first remind you of two incredible events that we are hosting this week, in conjunction with the Paley Center for Media.

Crowd Computing: Hive Mind or Digital Mob?

Douglas Rushkoff sits down with RU Sirius, Sherry Turkle and Amy Bruckman to explore the promises and the perils of the digital collective.

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010
7:00 pm ET

To reserve complimentary tickets exclusively for our ThinkSocial network, email publicprograms@paleycenter.org

Faster Disasters: How a New Mix of Media Transforms Disaster Reporting & Response Efforts with CNN’s Anderson Cooper and Charlie Moore

Join us for a special Think Social at The Paley Center for Media event as we examine the evolving nature of the reporting and response to disasters.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010
6:00 pm ET

Tickets for this event are $25. You can purchase them here.

Think Social Digest

Justin Bieber, social media and the law

Last week, Ann Levene wrote about the possible legal repercussions of Twitter use — or insufficient use, in the case of the manager of tween sensation Justin Bieber, in court for failing to properly tweet the cancellation of a Bieber mall concert. Fans showed up anyway, chaos ensued and five people suffered minor injuries. In terms of organized chaos, Levene also took a look at recent “flash mobs” that have turned violent in Philadelphia, and tied this and the Bieber story to early U.S. court cases on free speech.

What can Google Buzz do for you?

We were inspired by the Mashable piece “Four Ways Non-Profits Can Use Google Buzz” to come up with our own, more in-depth look at the potential in Google’s new tool. Think Social writer and resident “digital anthropologist” Krystal D’Costa interviewed a Google open-web advocate and a strategist at a non-profit organization to find out how non-profits can best use Google Buzz for their needs.

SocialVibe’s Joe Marchese On Brand Interaction

Last fall, we’d also interviewed Joe Marchese, the founder of one of our other Think Social Award winners, SocialVibe. SocialVibe creates branded activities for good, allowing consumers to “take control” of advertising, as Marchese says, and directing part of a brand’s advertising dollars to charity. Marchese talked to us about how it works, social media strategies and other lessons learned. You can check out what he has to say, here.

Going Beyond the Bakesale: Social media as a fundraising tool

DonorsChoose is an organization that helps supporters fund school supplies to schools and education programs in need, and one we’ve written about before. Last week, Jacob Brody took a look at how the organization and its donors use Twitter, Facebook, personal blogs and other tools to fundraise in a way that would be near-impossible without social media.

Twestival Global 2010 and an Interview with Amanda Rose

So far, Twestival Global has raised already raised $300,000 from March 25th Twestival events, surpassing last year’s total, with money going to the international humanitarian organization Concern Worldwide. Nice job, all! In our way of joining Twestival proceedings, we posted this interview with Twestival founder and organizer Amanda Rose, one of our Think Social Award honorees.

Ai Wei Wei at the Paley Center: A Round-up of Event coverage

On March 15th, we live-blogged the conversation between Chinese digital activist Ai Wei Wei, ReadWriteWeb founder Richard McManus and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, at the Paley Center. Coverage of the event in the print and blogosphere focused on the possibility of a Chinese-language version Twitter; Google pulling out of China (a move McManus called “brave”); and Dorsey’s admission that he hadn’t heard until recently that Twitter was blocked in China.

Charity: water’s New Campaign: Helping Haiti in the long-term

On World Water Day, charity: water launched a new campaign to raise funds to help Haitians displaced by the earthquake earlier this year. By phone, we talked to charity: water founder Scott Harrison about being a “last responder” organization, transparency in the non-profit world, and, of course, water solutions.

Malaria No More’s Update on the “Twitter Net” Story

And for World Malaria Day, we caught up with Malaria No More CEO Scott Case about the delivery of mosquito nets raised during the now-famous Ashton Kutcher-sponsored campaign during last year’s World Malaria Day.

Like what you see? Or are there things you think are missing? Either way — write for us! Think Social is looking for enthusiastic volunteer contributors for the blog. Email kim@think-social.org on all editorial matters.

Twestival Global is happening today, March 25, in over 175 cities world wide. Twestival, a mash-up of “twitter” and “festival,” is a series of off-line charity events all organized online, via Twitter. Last year, inaugurated by social media whiz Amanda Rose, Twestival Global raised $250,000 for charity: water. This time around, all money raised will go toward the international humanitarian organization Concern Worldwide, in efforts to increase and improve schooling for the tens of millions of children worldwide not enrolled in school.

In the New York city area? Please join us at NYC Twestival. (And in full disclosure, Think Social’s Toby Daniels organized last year’s New  York Twestival.) If you’re elsewhere, check out Twestival.com to search for the events nearest you (or see this shortcut of “Five Ways to Get Involved ...” on Mashable.) We’ll have some blog coverage of tonight’s live music performance / photo exhibition / prize auction event in New York, but please share with us what you’re doing for Twestival — via tweets, email or comments.

Last fall, Amanda Rose earned a special commendation at the Think Social Awards for her work with Twestival. At the time, we interviewed her about ways to harness social media, how Twestival got its start and more. Want to hear about her masters thesis on Twitter and social theory? Read on for the yet-unpublished profile, after the jump.

Name:

Amanda Rose, Twestival Global founder and organizer

About the work:

Great social technology is one thing, but being able to harness it is another. Twestival—a series of offline events for charity, organized by volunteers in cities around the world via Twitter—is the brainchild of Amanda Rose, Canadian social entrepreneur and social media consultant.

The first official Twestival Global, which took place February of this year with 200-plus cities participating in different events, raised more than $250,000 for charity: water. The first official Twestival Local, which took place September of this year with 130 participating cities, translated the approach to single cities and their local causes, raising $460,000 for local charities and at specific fundraising targets.

Twestival Global and Twestival Local grew out of an idea of Rose and her friends’ last fall. Connecting with 250 people over Twitter in the course of two weeks, they then met in Trafalgar Square to gather food and money donations for the homeless.

Rose is a student of social media, in the most literal sense: She wrote her masters dissertation about Twitter, exploring Jürgen Habermas’ idea of the coffee shop as a public space. It’s the hypothesis of “Twitter being a bar where you can have multiple conversations going on. It worked out that it’s not the perfect situation for Habermas’ theory … But it gave me the opportunity to meet a lot of people, see how they use Twitter, and how they see it moving.”

Accomplishments:

- More than $250,000 raised for charity: water, from Twestival Global, with 200-plus cities participating.

- $460,000 raised for local charities around the world, from Twestival Local, with 130 cities participating.

- 100% of money raised went to charity.

- “We got probably 50 charities from Twestival Local onto Twitter and Facebook and things like that,” says Rose, where previously they weren’t active on those platforms or networks. “We’re trying to dip their toes in where once they were afraid.”

What tools and utilities did you use? Why?

“The main way we were organizing [Twestival] was using Twitter,” Rose says. “We did this in a couple of ways: to generate buzz and excitement about what was happening, and to generally get the word out and crowd-sourcing or reaching out to people to get involved and actually volunteer.”

Twestival organizers also used other social media tools and networks, including Google resources like Google Groups, Skype, Facebook and a Word Press-powered Twestival.com site.

“When you’ve got over 115,000 volunteers, people are just going to use what they’re going to use” or what platform they know best, says Rose of her experience organizing Twestival Global.

Strategic points from social media strategy and lessons learned:

“A lot of people thought charity: water organized [Twestival]; I didn’t sort of mind. It gave us sort of the [feeling] of, ‘Wow, we really used their brand really well.’ But we were independent of charity: water,” Rose says. She advises other individuals and organizations in a similar situation to “be really careful of how your communication is used.”

Because Twestival Global took place in very different regions around the word, it was important, “not to think that what you’re doing will work in every city,” Rose says. “We were only able to do so many things [in the one-month of planning leading up to Twestival Global]. … In Singapore, it takes three months to get approval to host any charity event. Dubai is not as restrictive, but there are also governmental restrictions on charity [events].” Working internationally requires listening to problems in other cities and remembering that each—not just those in the U.S. and U.K.—have a voice.

“Also, apart from the fundraising that Twestival does,” Rose says, “by bringing people together offline in their communities and their network, people are inspired to keep doing things in their communities. It starts a positive habit.”

And because of the scale of Twestival Global, it put a the spotlight on an organization and cause that then wasn’t getting a lot of attention—the fact that one billion people in the world do not have access to clean drinking water. “We were able to put charity: water on the map globally and get the message out,” Rose says.

VOTE

Name: Amanda Rose

Nominated Category: Individual

URL: http://www.twestival.com

Area: Organizing, Fundraising

About:

Twestival – concurrent series of offline events for charity, organized by volunteers in cities around the world via Twitter – is the brainchild of Amanda Rose, Canadian social entrepreneur and social media consultant.

Description:

Amanda is the creator of both Twestival Global and Local. The first official Twestival Global, which took place February of this year with 200-plus cities participating, raised $250,000 for Charity: water. Twestival Local translates the same approach to single cities, raising money for local causes and specific fundraising targets.

“This type of global, grassroots events series could never have happened even two years ago,” Rose said in a Blog Herald interview after the first Twestival Global. “The immediacy of communication and the ability to tie communities together via Twitter has been crucial.”

Technology’s one thing, but being able to harness it is another. Twestival Global and Twestival Local grew out of an idea of Rose and her friends’ last fall. Connecting with 250 people over Twitter in the course of two weeks, they then all met in Trafalgar Square to gather food and money donations for the homeless.

When not organizing multi-city fundraising events, Rose works in consulting and strategic advising, specializing in—of course—social media and communications for her clients. Among other things, she works with start-up Bright One, a company that matches non-profit organizations who can’t afford PR consulting with PR students, on its branding and direction.

The Basics:

WHO: Amanda Rose, social media entrepreneur

WHAT: Organizer behind Twestival Global and Twestival Local

WHERE: Born in Canada, based in UK, fundraising all over the world

HOW to get involved: Check out Twestival.com to see events near you. The next Twestival Global is February 2010.

What other people are saying:

Blog Herald

New York Times BITS blog

Social Brite

Telegraph (UK)

VOTE

Name: Amanda Rose

Nominated Category: Individual

URL: http://www.twestival.com

Area: Organizing, Fundraising

About:

Twestival – concurrent series of offline events for charity, organized by volunteers in cities around the world via Twitter – is the brainchild of Amanda Rose, Canadian social entrepreneur and social media consultant.

Description:

Amanda is the creator of both Twestival Global and Local. The first official Twestival Global, which took place February of this year with 200-plus cities participating, raised $250,000 for Charity: water. Twestival Local translates the same approach to single cities, raising money for local causes and specific fundraising targets.

“This type of global, grassroots events series could never have happened even two years ago,” Rose said in a Blog Herald interview after the first Twestival Global. “The immediacy of communication and the ability to tie communities together via Twitter has been crucial.”

Technology’s one thing, but being able to harness it is another. Twestival Global and Twestival Local grew out of an idea of Rose and her friends’ last fall. Connecting with 250 people over Twitter in the course of two weeks, they then all met in Trafalgar Square to gather food and money donations for the homeless.

When not organizing multi-city fundraising events, Rose works in consulting and strategic advising, specializing in—of course—social media and communications for her clients. Among other things, she works with start-up Bright One, a company that matches non-profit organizations who can’t afford PR consulting with PR students, on its branding and direction.

The Basics:

WHO: Amanda Rose, social media entrepreneur

WHAT: Organizer behind Twestival Global and Twestival Local

WHERE: Born in Canada, based in UK, fundraising all over the world

HOW to get involved: Check out Twestival.com to see events near you. The next Twestival Global is February 2010.

What other people are saying:

Blog Herald

New York Times BITS blog

Social Brite

Telegraph (UK)

Way back in February, the Web’s elite were all abuzz over the “Twestivals,” a series of events around the world that were organized online to benefit Charity Water, an otherwise small nonprofit organization that funds the construction of wells in developing countries. They ranged from small in-home gatherings to massive nightclub bashes, but there was one general, common hook: spread the word, donate, and tweet about it.

Months later, with Twitter practically bursting at the seams, is this strategy still sustainable?

One part fundraiser and one part publicity blitz, the big-picture hook of “Twestival” was that social-media tools like Twitter and Facebook–with their unprecedented capability to spread the word–could potentially change the face of the nonprofit world. In challenging economic times, the inexpensive use of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other social outlets to solicit small donations from the masses rather than relying on a few deep pockets has drawn extra buzz for Charity Water and its founder, former New York nightlife promoter Scott Harrison.

“We really maintain a presence on about ten of the social media platforms,” Harrison said to CNET News on Tuesday. “We’re sort of everywhere we need to be, because it’s as simple as a sign-up.”

“Leveraging social media is absolutely the right way to go,” commented Toby Daniels, director of the Think Social initiative at New York’s Paley Center for Media, a research project dedicated to applying the past few years’ social-networking craze to real-world problems. “The message travels at lightning speed through Twitter, through Facebook, through any of these different channels. People love to share (it) because it’s part of their social identity–things that look good, things that make them look good. Everyone is motivated to increase their social capital, and they do that by donating money, by visibly supporting a cause, by donating their time, by recommending other people to donate.”

Read the full post.

Way back in February, the Web’s elite were all abuzz over the “Twestivals,” a series of events around the world that were organized online to benefit Charity Water, an otherwise small nonprofit organization that funds the construction of wells in developing countries. They ranged from small in-home gatherings to massive nightclub bashes, but there was one general, common hook: spread the word, donate, and tweet about it.

Months later, with Twitter practically bursting at the seams, is this strategy still sustainable?

One part fundraiser and one part publicity blitz, the big-picture hook of “Twestival” was that social-media tools like Twitter and Facebook–with their unprecedented capability to spread the word–could potentially change the face of the nonprofit world. In challenging economic times, the inexpensive use of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other social outlets to solicit small donations from the masses rather than relying on a few deep pockets has drawn extra buzz for Charity Water and its founder, former New York nightlife promoter Scott Harrison.

“We really maintain a presence on about ten of the social media platforms,” Harrison said to CNET News on Tuesday. “We’re sort of everywhere we need to be, because it’s as simple as a sign-up.”

“Leveraging social media is absolutely the right way to go,” commented Toby Daniels, director of the Think Social initiative at New York’s Paley Center for Media, a research project dedicated to applying the past few years’ social-networking craze to real-world problems. “The message travels at lightning speed through Twitter, through Facebook, through any of these different channels. People love to share (it) because it’s part of their social identity–things that look good, things that make them look good. Everyone is motivated to increase their social capital, and they do that by donating money, by visibly supporting a cause, by donating their time, by recommending other people to donate.”

Read the full post.

Founder and President of charity: water

SCOTT HARRISON
Founder & President, charity: water

Twitter: http://twitter.com/scottharrison

Scott Harrison is the Founder and President of the non-profit organization charity: water. In less than 2 years , with the help of more than 30,000 donors and 250 media mentions, charity: water has raised not only massive awareness, but more than $8.5 million, and funded more than 1,240 water projects in 14 developing nations. Those projects will provide over 640,000 people with clean, safe drinking water.

TS: How does Charity Water use social media?

Scott Harrison: We use social media in as many platforms as possible to raise awareness about the global water crisis and the billion people who live every day without clean water. And also to get low level donations, to engage donors from around the world and to fund solutions in 14 developing nations.

TS: Has social media changed the way people give money to charities?

SH: It’s interesting being such a young charity. So much of our money comes this way that it s almost become the norm for us we were never a charity that was used to raising money by checks or from big donors or large corporations. It’s a little hard to say from our experience because we just went straight to these social media tools, to the web.

TS: Can you talk about projects you’ve done that really used social media?

SH: Recently charity water was turning two years old and I was turning 32 and there was this sentiment that we have so much stuff these days. We’re really blessed here in America and the rest of the developed world we have enough crap. The idea was for me to give up my birthday and ask for low level donations of $32 from all my friends and family. It worked so well that we opened it up to a wider audience, other people born in September, because we wanted to make it unique. We partnered with a company called Birthday Alarm which is a social media tool for reminding people about birthdays, we used Twitter and Facebook Causes. We had about 900 people from around the world come together, give up their birthdays and actively engage and raise just shy of a million dollars in the space of 10 weeks.

TS: Would that have been possible without social media?

SH: I don t think so, and we had promised donors that they could see their money at work immediately. We’d already shown them the need by filming 33 communities, taking 33 GPS locators and putting all that information online so they could see why they should donate. So we thought on the back end we’d show them the communities actually getting clean water, the first well being drilled via satellite and through these social mediums.

We also used Twitter and the viral nature of Twitter to do something called Twestival. We wanted people in 50 cities around the world to come together offline and raise money and awareness for us. We ended up with people in almost 200 cities, so four times as big as we’d intended at events around the world. Some of them were small with $5 fees to come in, others were bigger with $20 or $40 or $60 tickets. There were auctions and musical downloads and clouds where people could donate and see their names, T-shirt campaigns. All of these interesting efforts quickly grew and added up to over $250,000.

TS: Does social media help overcome donor fatigue?

SH: I really believe that showing people what is happening is important. We can show the faces of the people who have gotten the money and drilling wells is a proof of concept for people who might have been wary donors. And that’s much easier through social media. We let these people speak for themselves by creating a platform of people who are paying attention, through these media.

TS: So it’s an improvement on TV

SH: I think so. I think the way we can present the need and the issues is much different to the telethons and the late-night 3am television commercials with kids with flies in their faces. Because of our age and where we’re coming from the world is filled with possibility. We’ been able to get 1300 villages clean water in two-and-a-half years and we believe we can get 13,000 and 130,000 until the problem is solved. So just by approaching the problem that way by going to people directly there’s a difference in the way people react to the organization.

TS: What’s the future?

SH: Our vision is to solve one per cent of the global problem in the next three to five years and that looks like about $200m and 10 million people with clean drinking water. That’s a lot of money to raise it normally takes an organisation about 10-12 years to get to about $10m and we’re hoping to do that in our third. The only thing that is scalable about our business is the web and social media. We’re currently rebuilding our site to allow anyone born in any month to contribute. And even to allow people to give up bar-mitzvahs and weddings.