SM4SC: How to Throw a Kickass Event for a Great Cause




Twitter is alive this morning with the enthusiasm and gratitude of all of us who attended the first Social Media for Social Change event last night at the Harvard Club. Organized by Gradon Tripp and Dmitri Gunn, the inaugural SM4SC event brought the Boston social media community together to raise money and awareness for local domestic violence nonprofit Jane Doe Inc.

The concept of SM4SC is so simple – as I joked with Gradon, I was surprised they were able to get the domain – yet as demonstrated last night, a immensely valuable way to get social media thought leaders together offline to promote a meaningful cause. Of course, the event went off without a hitch – the venue was ironically fitting (new media types in an exclusive old-boy club), the cocktails flowed and the conversation was lively; but was truly a pleasure to hear Toni Troop of JDI speak so passionately about the cause behind the event and remind us of the reason we were all there. Even those of us whose hopes of winning a trip from JetBlue were left unfulfilled when the raffle was over didn’t leave empty handed, knowing that we’d contributed to an outstanding cause. I was most impressed that the event had attracted attendees on such a national scale – I spoke with visitors from as far away as LA, Las Vegas, and Texas.

But how do we bring this back to social media? After all, as a standalone event this could have been organized and attended by members of any industry (e.g. Auto Mechanics for Social Change). But the fact that we’re all deeply engaged in social media is significant, and hold us particularly accountable for the social change we seek promote.

It’s worth repeating something I wrote last week over at Chris Kieff’s corporate blog: the barriers to quantifiable social action on the individual level are lower than they have ever been. We in the social media space are shaping the practices of broadcasting compelling messages through dynamic new channels and building the tools to make our messages actionable. For causes like Jane Doe, social media provides both the hammer and the nail – a platform for not just social awareness, but direct, positive, quantifiable action.

Hats off to Gradon and Dmitri, and to everyone who came out last night – it was fantastic to meet so many of you.

(Photo credit: @thespottedduck on Flickr)

Update: I was just notified that I won the #wwsmw challenge, ha! Not a bad consolation for losing the raffle.

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October 11, 2008 | Filed Under Social Media, Social Responsibility 

Comments

5 Responses to “SM4SC: How to Throw a Kickass Event for a Great Cause”

  1. Social Media for Social Change | sm4sc.com Blog Archive | » Social Media for Social Change: The Wrapup on October 12th, 2008 8:52 pm

    [...] the last couple days, there have been some really great write ups about the first SM4SC event, held at the Harvard Club on Friday Night. I’ve [...]

  2. Stephanie on October 13th, 2008 9:39 am

    Good times!

  3. How Social Media Can Save The World : Social Media Innovation on October 14th, 2008 7:10 am

    [...] few days ago I touched on the idea of why the “social media” component of Social Media for Social Change is so [...]

  4. Meg on October 15th, 2008 10:37 pm

    You did rock the look.:)

  5. Social Media for Social Change Takes Off on October 30th, 2008 9:27 pm

    [...] group, and now the spread of the “sm4sc” tag in Flickr and elsewhere.  Great blog recaps and “Utterz” are popping up [...]

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