The Caffeinated Blog

Feed a Child - With Just a Text Message

I've been doing some outreach work this week on behalf of a really great organization called Share Our Strength - and it's been keeping me really busy (which is why I haven't been posting as much here this week or tweeting as much either).  But, that's a really good thing, and I'm happy to do it.

I want to tell you about Share Our Strength's new campaign, Operation No Kid Hungry, which launched on Monday.  This campaign responds to President-elect Obama's call to action to end childhood hunger by 2015.

They've done a pretty cool thing - they've partnered with AT&T to offer a couple of ways to donate to Operation No Kid Hungry:

1. Donate by text: Text "SHARE" to 20222 on your mobile device to donate $5. AT&T will match all text donations up to $100,000. Help us meet this challenge grant! Find out more here.
2. Hold a food drive: Beginning January 19th, a national day of community service, help feed those in need by holding your own community food drive.  Visit Strength.org to find a food bank and a list of the most needed nutritious foods.

There are also more ways you can help spread the word, including banners for your blog and social networking pages:
Badges & Banners
Share Our Strength on Twitter
Share Our Strength on Facebook

It's amazing what you can do to make a difference, and I'm honored to be helping Share Our Strength with their outreach efforts.

Please spread the word!

Get in the Spirit of Giving - Without Going Broke

Many of us have been hit hard by the recession, which makes us want to hang on to every last dollar we have (especially during the holiday season).  I'm sure that many of you have reduced your gifts budget, cut out travel plans, and shrunk your dinner menu compared to years past because there just isn't as much money available.  Believe me - I'm right there with you.

What I want to tell you about today is some ways that you can make the holidays a little brighter for others - without giving more than you can afford.  Giving to charities doesn't necessarily mean you have to give cash.  Here are a few ways you can help:

• Donate old electronics.  Do you have old, unused cell phones, chargers, or PDAs lying around?  Guess what - there are charities that take these old gadgets and recycle them into cash donations for a variety of causes.  One to check out: Cells for Cells
• Give away old clothes.  We all have clothes sitting in our dressers or closets that - face it -  we just don't wear anymore.  Get them in a garbage bag and donate them to your local homeless shelter, Goodwill, or Salvation Army.  Better yet, collect old clothes from your neighbors as well.  Check out How to Donate Old Clothes at Real Simple.
• Donate canned goods.  Many families don't have enough money to buy food - which is where you can help.  Gather together some canned goods (your ownand/or from your neighbors) and donate them to your local food bank.  You can find one here.
• Volunteer.  Sometimes all it takes is a little bit of your time to make a difference.  Find volunteering opportunities in your area here.
• If you can, donate even a little cash.  You don't have to give huge amounts of money - just give what you can.  Even $10-20 can go a long way.  For instance, the 12 for 12k Challenge encourages donations of just $10 a month.  I've also recently donated $12 to Dachshund Rescue of North America, which will help pay for one month of heartworm prevention for these sweet little guys.

What other ways can you donate to charities?

All I Want for Christmas: Cool Books for the Online Marketer in Your Life

Do you have an online marketer or "web 2.0-head" in your life, and no clue what to get that person for Christmas?  Have you been sitting up nights agonizing over what to buy for your favorite blogger (who may or may not be me...hey, just sayin')? 

Have no fear, Caffeinated readers, I've done the wishlisting for you!  Here are 7 books on my holiday wishlist, guaranteed to be perfect gifts for your social media geek, blogger, or online marketer.  And all are under $20 too!

Whole Lotta Link Love Friday, October 24

Lots of great stuff to post in this week's edition of Whole Lotta Link Love, so I'll get right to it:

• First and foremost, today is my mom's birthday (happy birthday, Mom!).  My parents run an antique business selling a variety of unique collectibles. If you love antiques, check out their store on Ruby Lane called The Antique Chasers (and tell 'em Kari sent you - I don't know if you'll get a discount, but they'll get a kick out of you mentioning that!).
• When developing content, too many companies focus solely on higher search rankings without looking at the bigger customer engagement picture.  The result: unreadable, "ground chuck" copy.  Kim Cornwall Malseed at MarCom Ink talks about how ground chuck cannot be made into filet mignon when it comes to content.
• How would you teach someone about social media and how to use it?  Shannon Paul offers some great ideas.
• Matt Ambrose at The Copywriter's Crucible asks the important question: Are you a copywriter, PR writer or brand journalist?
• I read this blog post at Micro Persuasion about how RSS adoption is at 11%. It discussed how the key to RSS adoption is education - and I agree wholeheartedly.  Then I read this post at Jim's Marketing Blog that did just that - provide education about the benefits of RSS for companies to pass on to customers.
• Check out this great list of Twitter PR tools, courtesy of Brian Solis.
• Blog "ghosting" - not just a Halloween trick.  Mayra Ruiz-McPherson discusses the trend where companies hire "ghost bloggers" to write their blog posts.  What's your opinion on this phenomenon?
• Finally, AC/DC is distributing their latest music video embedded in an Excel spreadsheet to get past corporate firewalls.  Very clever from both a technical and viral marketing standpoint.