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Last week Haiti was hit with a major earthquake. I am sure this is not news to anyone, but this event was of such magnitude that I feel we should all do whatever is within our power. One thing I am able to do is ask my readers for prayers. Money, aid and rescuers are being poured upon Haiti with great speed. There are problems getting people what they need, though, due to roads being impassable, many people being trapped in mountainous areas. Looters are stealing relief supplies and selling them at exorbitant rates.

I know everyone is asking you to send money, and maybe you can, maybe you will. I am asking you to pray. Not just the”I’ll keep it in my prayers” thing that everyone says whenever something bad is happening, but really and truly pray. There are things happening there that beg prayer. I know all disasters are bad, but this one seems to have a lingering threat to it. They are still feeling aftershocks. People are still trapped in collapsed buildings. So many are unaccounted for, including orphans and school children and the elderly.

So please, keep these people in your prayers. The reports coming out of Haiti are terrifying. I cannot personally imagine such devastation taking place amongst such poverty, and what that will do to the people there.

If you would like to help financially, please be aware that there are many web scams that are trying to profit off this tragedy. I have included a couple of links to very safe places to make online donations, but as I said, I am hoping that everyone will pray for the people of Haiti, and for the safety of those trying so hard to help.

World Vision

Catholic Relief Services

guest blogger: Megan Jeffery

Interesting read I found this evening… detailing a study, the “2009 Tribalization of Business Survey” that came out a couple of months ago about how businesses are finally growing into Social Media. Rather, the business use of social is beginning to mature.

Many businesses, according to the study, (approx 94% of the companies surveyed) said that they plan to not only keep up thier online community activities, but grow them as well.

I found the name of the study intriguing. Tribalization of Business. Makes you wonder to what the title is referring. There are any number of businesses that have been very successful with this approach. It involves basically, creating an online community, but it’s more than that. Take Pampers for instance. (I know, lame example, but they have a really good model!) They have built a site that revolves around babies, of course. Babies are a constant source of wonder and confusion, so they set up a site where you can search for articles, post to forums, and the kicker to the whole deal… in each package of Pampers you will find a code for points (nice -invitation to convert even before the customer gets to the site!) . The collection of said points is what leads many people to the site, as you can collect points and exchange them for different items. As a result, a community begins to form. Many of the same people go back to ask, and answer questions from other posters. These questions and answers are often involving what could be thought of as ‘controversial’ topics. Anything from breast or bottle to vaccinations to whatever people feel strongly about. So, people begin to take sides, form communities. They also become fiercley protective of anyone in thier particular community. Tribalization occurs.

Bloggers have especially devoted and active tribes. Especially if the blogger:
a. Has some problem or emotional upheaval
b. Relays details about said problem
c. Posts often
The tribe / community surrounding the blogger become active comment posters, and will flay anyone posting who poses a negative or accusatory comment. Tribalization.

So, back to the point, how can you make all of this work for you? If you have a blog for your site, that’s a good start. Depending on your product or service, you could use the blog to try and start a debate, get a conversation going. This could be anything from debating the way to fix a carburetor, or whether the four door Jeep is really a Jeep. Something that pertains to your readers, and will ignite a spark. If you are successful, watch out, there are definitely some opinionated folks out there, hopefully you won’t get more than you bargained for!

guest blogger: Megan Jeffery

As the Web world grows, and more people are online check out the stats, the earth itself seems to be shrinking. With just a few clicks of the mouse, I can read the news from Australia, or the London Times. The things that are happening in the lives of people all over the world are touching people on the other side of the world, every day. Social networks such as Myspace and Facebook make it possible to keep in touch with or find friends all over the world. This has been happening for some time, and no one is really surprised by it anymore.
Another intriguing thing that is happening though, is bloggers, at least some of them, have tightly knit communities forming around them – but the people in these communities actually live all over the world. I began reading one such blog almost two years ago when a co-worker introduced it to us. The blogger, Matt Logelin had just lost his wife after the birth of their first child. Heartbreaking story. Amazing guy. His writing kept me reading even when the situation might have made me not want to read anymore out of self preservation. His story is compelling, his delivery and photography told a story that was enough to keep me reading for well over a year now. Me, and apparently thousands more. This guy was inundated with gifts, both monetary and material, books, emails, suggestions and more. As the last year has progressed, more and more people have formed a community, offering support for him and his little daughter. People from all over the globe leave hundreds of comments to every post. Because of this “community” Matt (and many from his community of readers) has been able to create something amazing that will help even more people in this internet community – a foundation named after his wife, Liz. This foundation was formed to help others in his situation.
As I click through his blogroll, I have found that several of the folks on it have had a similar, if not quite as explosive, experience with their blogs. Communities have grown up around the bloggers, offering prayers, support, a vote of confidence or advice. The same people come back to read, leave comments, etc. Often the same people read the blogs on the blogrolls, forming an even tighter, yet bigger community.
I think it speaks to the human experience. The internet may be full of crazy websites, scams, businesses trying to market their wares, and so on, but what it comes back down to, always, is that we want to be a part of each other’s lives. We want to know how people move through life on the other side of the world. We want to explore the similarities and differences. Even something as technological as computers and the internet have a very human side. It’s good to know that humanity, especially this kind of humanity manages to leak through even the most sterile interaction we can have with one another. What an amazing way to harness the power of the internet.