I’ve been watching the news about the situation in Haiti with a heavy heart. The brief blurbs on the network news don’t even begin to do it justice. I strongly urge you to read this article:

Redefining tragedy when everything around you, as bleak as it is, suddenly disappears

I have to say, though, it’s really cool to see how social media and other new technology is making it easier to give, raising awareness, and perhaps most importantly, driving people to action.

One of the coolest and most effective things I’ve seen is the Red Cross 90999 Haiti text campaign, which has already topped $10 million, according to The Washington Post. Pretty simple: text “HAITI” to 90999 on your phone to donate $10 to Haiti relief via the Red Cross. It’ll show up on your next phone bill. Contrary to some claims on Twitter that it’s a scam, yes, it’s legit – you can see the announcement on the Red Cross site.

I also received an email last night from my friend Sean Patrick Simpson (@vpsean), who asked internet & business legend Mark Joyner (@MarkJoyner) to write a couple of letters that people could send out to their email list to encourage giving. I loved his take on it, so I thought I’d share it with you here (with permission):

3 Reasons You Should Help Bail Out Haiti

1.  Stability is good for the market

When countries fall under hardship they can fall prey to a number of unhealthy practices that are bad for legitimate business.

Black markets, looters, warlords …

Doesn’t exactly beckon capitalists to risk their money there.

In my estimation, the more countries we can trade with the better. I’m a believer in the "trade with all, war with none" notion of the framers of the US constitution.

2.  I think it’s a tax write-off (Check with your accountant)

3.  American Airlines is Giving 250 Free Air Miles for your donations over $50. Check it out: budurl.com/savehaitinow

So, I’m gonna go do this thing.  Not because someone guilted me into it, but because it’s a good idea for all of us.

Image credit: United Nations Photo

As context, let’s begin with Gil Scott-Heron’s 1971 classic, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”. While you listen I encourage you to follow the previous link (it will open in a new window) and read about the history of the song and the references in it over at Wikipedia.

I wonder if at the time, he could have envisioned today’s world, in which video production and distribution are so easily accessible to revolutionary voices. Sure, the corporate voices are there, too, but by and large, anyone who wants to create a video and broadcast it to the world can do so. And for all the cries of Google censorship of YouTube, for the most part it’s an amazingly open channel for diverse opinions and creative thought.

Video, in the hands of today’s youth, is a weapon of revolution. If the pen is mightier than the sword, and a picture is worth a thousand words…

I haven’t personally started harnessing the power of video, but it’s clear to me more and more every day that it’s time for me to.

I’m totally hooked on Wordle:

Copy this. Blog this. Tweet this. And most of all, do this yourself.

I’ve already posted about how brilliant and compassionate my son is. If you haven’t already read it, please read People Used to Stand for Something.

Well, he amazed me once again. I was sifting through his photo albums on MySpace and something caught my eye:

Right in there with pictures of skateboarding, dogs, dirty sneakers and other craziness is one powerful image of something my son feels strongly needs to change. He was even clever enough to figure out how to embed powerful music in the comments (Flobots – “Stand Up”).

I asked him if this was something he’d seen someone else do or if he’d come up with it himself. Turns out it was his idea.

An idea that needs to spread.

Can you imagine the power of millions of MySpace, Facebook, Flickr, Bebo, etc., users devoting just a little bit of space to a cause that they believe in? Yes, we need action, but action comes from attitude, and attitude comes from awareness. If we all make the effort to raise awareness with our friends about the things in the world that must change, more action will result.

Please help me spread the meme. It’s simple.

1. Find a powerful image that embodies the cause you’re most passionate about.
2. Create a gallery in your favorite social networking sites and name it “Change It”.
3. Post your image(s). Optionally accompany them with inspiring music and links to sites where people can get more info, donate or volunteer.
4. Make it viral. Include a link to this post in the comments. Here’s a short URL you can use: sn.im/ChangeIt
5. Help spread the meme. Blog about it. Tweet about it (use hashtag #ChangeIt). Tell your friends.

Also, feel free to post a link to your Change It gallery in the comments here.

Change it.

Yes, Ben Mack is an extremist idealist, and that’s a good thing. Frankly, I’ve known that about Ben Mack as long as I’ve known him.

Why is Ben Mack an extremist idealist?

Well, for one thing, Ben believes that every person on Earth deserves clean drinkable water.

So do I.

So do the supporters of WaterAid America, who contributed just over $2.6 million last year to “programs and services that benefit people in need of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene education.”

So do the supporters of charity:water, who last year contributed just over $1 million directly to “hand-dug wells, deep wells (boreholes), rehabilitations, spring protections, rainwater harvesting schemes, and biosand filters” around the globe.

So do the hundreds of people who are talking about clean drinkable water on Twitter.

So does Michelle Greer, who helped raise $8,868 for charity:water through Austin Twestival. By the way, that effort helped Michelle become the overall winner of the Texas Social Media Awards this year.

That’s a whole lot of extremist idealists.

Good.

As Margaret Meade once said:

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.

Last week, Ben Mack moved from Boise to Austin (rumors are that the average IQ in Boise dropped by a point in the process). Anyway, Ben went with his sister to a rally for Austin mayoral candidate Lee Leffingwell. Leffingwell styles himself as a populist progressive, running on an ecological platform.

But when Ben Mack confronted Leffingwell on the issues, Leffingwell said there is no room in politics for idealism. One of Leffingwell’s staffers said that Ben Mack sounded like an extremist, and Leffingwell nodded in agreement. You can have a listen to Ben’s version of the story if you like.

Unfortunately, Leffingwell got under Ben Mack’s skin. Ben was bothered by being labeled an extremist. And Ben’s right, it is dangerous that a progressive candidate who says he’s for the people would do anything to marginalize and alienate a potential supporter – in this case, probably hundreds, if not thousands, of potential supporters.

But I had a talk with Ben about this yesterday, and I reminded him of the power of these words: “extremist” and “idealist”.

When we say that something is “extremely good”, that means it’s better than good. “Extreme sports” athletes are those who push the envelope. Greatness isn’t achieved through mediocrity. Innovation doesn’t flourish in the middle of the road.

And an idealist is someone who has ideals. Principles. A sense of higher purpose that motivates their actions. There’s a word for people who don’t have ideals, whose attitudes follow the winds of change and the tides of public opinion: “politicians”.

I told Ben he needs to reclaim those words – to own them. Not to let some politician use them as propaganda to marginalize him for believing in a great cause.

Ben Mack is an extremist idealist.

Michelle Greer is an extremist idealist.

Margaret Meade was an extremist idealist.

I am an extremist idealist.

And I hope the next mayor of Austin will be an extremist idealist too.

How you can become an extremist idealist too:

1. Get informed at charity:water and WaterAid.
2. Spread the word. Blog about it. Twitter about it (use #cdw hashtag).
3. Donate at WaterAid or charity:water.
4. Get involved at WaterAid or charity:water.
5. Think really big about how internet marketing can save the planet.