Social Networking for Social Change Part 1: Facebook Causes

Written by Lara Kinkartz on 10/03/10

Photo by Zoriah on Flickr

Pretty much all of us use social networking sites of some sort. Whether it’s Facebook, MySpace, or one of the many other sites out there, social networking sites provide a way for us to interact with friends and meet new people. And now, some of these sites are venturing into new territory – charitable causes.

For people who are socially conscious, social networking sites can be a useful tool to help promote causes you care about and to meet and interact with others who have similar interests. For example, the popular Causes application on Facebook allows activists to create a page for a cause and invite their friends to support it (much like inviting friends to join a Facebook Group). On an organization’s Causes page, users can keep one another up-to-date on media articles about the subject. However, what makes Facebook Causes unique is that money can be raised for any US registered non-profit or Canadian registered charity, directly through the individual organization’s Causes page. In this way, Facebook Causes is a way of mobilizing grassroots-level activism.

Facebook isn’t the only social networking site that is promoting positive social change. Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3 to learn more about promoting social change through online social networking and gaming sites!