Archive for September, 2010

Making Online Donations

Monday, September 6th, 2010

For just about any cause you could imagine, there are ways that you can donate online. But there are some that allow you to donate to more than one cause, or to choose a different one each time you give. 

Network for Good.org lets you search by keywords or charity name. It helps non-profit organizations to raise funds, and helps corporations make donating part of their Corporate Social Responsibility programs. Click on “For Donors” to give, and you’ll be given the option to set up monthly donations, promote your chosen charity with a badge that you can put on your page, or buy The Good Card – a gift card that lets the recipient give to their favorite charity.  They also list issues, disasters in need of relief and ways to volunteer.

Then there’s Just Give.org – they too help you set up a monthly donation, as well as wedding gifts or for other special occasions.  You can search by keyword or by location – if you want to get involved locally. They also offer ways to make your wedding a charitable giving event – “Raise money for charity with your wedding. From registries to invitations and favors to honeymoons, our online tools and services make it a breeze—and eco-friendly too. With many choices to suit just your style, your wedding can reflect everything you believe in.”

And then Care2.com lets you click to donate – and it’s free to you! The sponsors give the money based on how many clicks a cause receives. Some examples are shown on their Click-to-Donate page – like $5,000 sent to Oxfam to help in Haiti and over $21,000 donated to Children’s International over the past 6 years. 

So choose the causes that mean the most to you, and give with internet speed and convenience!

Location Loquaciousness

Friday, September 3rd, 2010

Location-based services have are the new big thing in the world of techies, and while more companies jump on the bandwagon, would-be users are still wary.  

Only about 4 percent of Americans have tried a location-based service of any kind, according to Forrester Research (as detailed in a recent New York Times story), while only 1 percent use Foursquare, Loopt, Yelp, Facebook Places, or other such apps on a weekly basis. That 1% is made up of mostly men between the ages of 19 and 35.

Women have more security concerns than men do, so I can see why this would be the case.  But it could put a crimp in a guy’s dating life if he announces his whereabouts only to have three girls that he’s been secretly dating simultaneously show up at the same place.  Here’s a story Yahoo Tech’s blogger Ben Patterson shared.

“…my wife and I begged off dinner with one couple to attend a last-minute going-away party for another pair of friends…and I (stupidly) shared my location at the Lower East Side lounge where our departing friends were holding court, and tagged my wife for good measure. (After all, I needed to give Places a thorough test, right?) Oops — turned out my better half hadn’t exactly come clean with Couple No. 1 on why we’d canceled dinner. Scrambling ensued as we hurriedly deleted the location tag from my wife’s Facebook wall, hoping that her friend hadn’t seen the incriminating tag yet. Ugh.”

While some apps offer coupons and special offers to log your location, Foursquare is a game where you earn badges and can be named “mayor” of a favorite hangout. But that doesn’t seem to be enough incentive just yet for most people to divulge their locations with the immediacy of internet speed.

Real Hotel for Virtual Girlfriends

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

You probably heard of the Nintendo handheld video game called Love Plus, in which the player must work to maintain the relationship. One Japanese college student actually went so far as to have a wedding ceremony for his virtual girlfriend, and then broadcast it with internet speed for all the world to see.

Well this guy is not alone in his desire to combine fantasy with reality, and in fact, seems to be leading the pack as far these ventures go.  Because Mashable tells us that:

“The most recent version of the game, which came out June 24, also includes a “field trip,” created in partnership with the seaside town Atami. In 13 locations around the town, players can find 2D barcodes to scan and call up images of the young women in the game. The girls wear different clothing from their typical in-game looks. One hotel has gone as far as putting a barcode in its rooms, allowing players to see their “girlfriends” in a more private setting wearing summer kimonos.”

It is such a popular game that it has actually boosted local tourism!  You can’t deny it’s a creative partnership between a town and a video game. And it’s certainly a sign that there is an audience for this sort of promotion. 

Wikipedia tells us that the new version also includes fitness modes and sick days, along with many new ways to interact with your girls. Yes, the only way to play is as the male character, who has his choice of three different characters to engage in a relationship. Can real girls compete?