Being charitable...

I'm doing my bit for charity this week, and I am shouting about it not because I want the recognition but because there are some great causes that are worthy of support, and digital spaces can really help amplify the reach of these initiatives.

I've made a donation to the British Royal Legion Poppy Appeal, and am wearing my new self-adhesive poppy with pride (no more pins, great!), but beyond that I've added a Poppy Twibbon to my icon on Twitter, spreading the news of my support for this great cause far and wide, publically, and in reality reaching far more people that way than the number of people I interact with in person in a week.

Have you got yours?  Easy to add (and remove for those of you that are jumpy) just click here.  Just make sure you stick some money in a donation box too!

Then, following on from Remembrance Day, there's BBC Children in Need. They've adopted a similar approach, allowing people to spread the word for them, by offering ways to sport a Pudsey Bear Bandana on your social profiles, in conjunction with a PayPal donation which makes the twibbon notion work harder. Smart. 

The nice chaps over at ETV have kindly sent a few of the guys in my office a cuddly Pudsey and are going to donate £1 for every photo they receive of Pudsey on his travels, so here's one I took this morning.

 
Pudsey and I will no doubt be sharing many adventures over the next few weeks as I'm happy to harness the genorosity of ETV for a great cause. These days, motivated by a good cause and equipped with a phone that takes photos it's incredibly easy to get people involved & creating content.

What could your brand do to harness the power of mobile as an always on hand device & to encourage consumers to get involved?  I loved this Yahoo campaign from the summer.