My immediate instinct was to do donate to The Red Cross since the organization’s mobile giving campaign (where participants can simply text a number to have a $10 donation be added to their next phone bill) was getting so much press coverage.

However, Vicki Boykis pointed me to the comments in this Reddit post that caused me to take a step back and re-evalute my decision. What the comments highlight and what I’ve found in my research is that The Red Cross, while a recognizable name, is not a great organization to support. It’s inefficient and too little of the money ends up going to relief efforts.

It seems that organizations like Doctors Without Borders and Partners In Health are able to put donations to much better use.

I urge everyone to support the relief efforts in Haiti in any way they can but please remember to check the credibility and effectiveness of the various charitable organizations out there. Good questions to ask include:

• Is this a legit organization? (Check with the Better Business Bureau to be sure.)
• What percentage of expenses goes to Program Services versus Fundraising or Administration? (Charity Navigator can provide this information and has a rating system for charities.)
• Will my donation go specifically to Haiti Earthquake Relief Efforts or is it just a general donation to the organization?

- WHERE TO SUPPORT HAITI (LISTS FROM AROUND THE WEB) –

In case you are looking for more organizations that are raising donations to respond to the crisis, here are some aggregated lists from around the web that maybe useful to you:

• Haiti Earthquake Relief: 9 Ways to Help Now | Mashable
• How and Where to Donate to Haiti (and Avoid Scams) | Lifehacker
• Six ways you can help in Haiti. | What is left?
• Emergency Earthquake Relief for Haiti | Global Giving
• Helping Haiti: A Guide To Helping Haitians | Peter Greenberg Worldwide

- WANT TO DO MORE? –

CrisisCamp Haiti will take place this Saturday, January 16th from 9:00am to 5:00pm in Washington, DC. CrisisCamp will bring together volunteers to collaborate on technology projects which aim to assist in Haiti’s relief efforts by providing data, information, maps and technical assistance to NGOs, relief agencies and the public. Register here.

Matador, an online community of travelers, adventurers, and grassroots organizations, is organizing a volunteer trip to Haiti. Learn more here. (Thanks to @VastuDC for the tip.)

- DISCREDITED RUMORS –

In an age where there is so much information readily available to all, there’s also a lot of misinformation that circulates. A few rumors that I’ve heard and later found to be false:

• American Airlines IS NOT flying doctors and/or nurses for free to Haiti.
• UPS IS NOT shipping supplies for free to Haiti.

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A pretty benign and standard statement that reflected what many others felt and thought this morning, I’m sure. Imagine my surprise when I received the following e-mail just minutes after the above tweet went live:

———

Hello,

You don’t know me…I read your twitter comment about Ted Kennedy’s passing and how proud you are of him.

I was a young woman when Mary Jo Kopechne was killed at Chappaquiddick.

I was so sad for her and her family at her senseless death.

If only Senator Kennedy called the police right away and not leave her to die, she most likely would of survived the car crash.

His actions on that fateful night clearly told me about his character and I have never forgotten how he got away with it all because of who he was and his money.

You being ‘twenty something’ probably think of this as ancient history, but it’s not.

He got away with murder.

Kind regards,

Elizabeth

(Links added by Julie.)

———–

The sender is of course entitled to her opinion although I’m still a bit unsure why it was me she singled out to send this message to.  Even hours later, “Ted Kennedy” continues to be a trending topic on Twitter.

But her e-mail has left me trying to reconcile a number of points:

1. I’m a big proponent of accessibility and even wrote a post last year on why it’s important for bloggers to have their contact information displayed on their sites. But, I have to be honest, it was unnerving to get e-mail of that sort in a place (my inbox) which is usually one filled with friendly “faces”. What happened if someone decided to send me truly malicious e-mails? Have I set myself up for disaster? At the moment, I’ve decided to keep my e-mail accessible on this site and hopefully I won’t regret it.

2. It’s an interesting feeling growing up in a country where you were not born. Most days, you feel like a local but little things will remind you that in some ways, you’ll always be a transplant and an outsider. Defining what I consider to be my history is a bit tricky: I feel ownership over USSR events that took place up to 1991 (the year I immigrated to America) and over American events that have taken place since then, but not vice versa. I feel the same disconnection with America’s struggle with slavery as I do with a democratic Russia…

As such, Elizabeth is right in assuming that being young does affect my view of Senator Kennedy but I would argue that others of my generation may have a different perspective. I simply lacked an environment where that story would have been passed down and where I would have been exposed to opinions on the subject that would have helped define Senator Kennedy’s persona for me.

3. In trying to mull over how to combine these two images of Senator Kennedy – seen by some as a murderer and by others as a champion of human rights, here’s what I think I’ve come to stand on the issue:

Unfortunately, during one chapter of Senator Ted Kennedy’s life, he panicked, made a mistake, didn’t handle a situation as he should have.  As my good friend David points out, “[What happened is] a chapter that can’t be left out. And for some, it’s the only chapter”. When looking at Senator Ted Kennedy’s life it’s important to view it as a whole and not get stuck on one chapter. As a whole, Senator Kennedy was a great man who worked to better the world and his memory should be shown the respect it deserves.

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What struck me about the movie is that thirty years later not much has changed.

The passing of California Proposition 8 last November, which changed the state’s constitution to restrict the definition of marriage to opposite-sex couples and eliminated same-sex couples’ right to marriage, highlights the discrimination and ignorance that still exists surrounding the LGBT community.

The fight for gender, racial, and religious equality was won by previous generations of open-minded thinkers. But the civil rights fight of our time is that for sexual orientation equality.

I was fortunate to grow up in liberal Lexington, Massachuetts (the “birthplace of American Liberty”, no less) where we were taught that how others label themselves is irrelevant, it’s who they are as individuals that matters. (Crazy idea, right?)

My town and its schools have come under fire before because of our acceptance of the LGBT community, most recently in 2005 during an annual Day of Silence and when a parent filed a federal civil rights lawsuit after his son brought home a book depicting same-sex couples.

These two events prompted the “God Hates Fags“ Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, headed by Fred Phelps, to stage anti-gay protests at five Lexington churches and at Lexington High School’s Class of 2005 graduation.

Unfortunately, the church is planning once again to protest Lexington because of its strong support for LBGT indviduals.

But this time, I feel like there’s something I can do to show that there’s no place for this type of intolerance in my hometown – and in my country.

Driving Equality is hosting a Phelps-A-Thon to counter Fred Phelps’ hateful message. For every minute the “God Hates Fags” clan is protesting, Driving Equality will be collecting donations for Lexington High School’s Gay Straight Alliance. Pledges can be made in any amount (even $0.25!) for every minute of the group’s demonstration or at a flat rate for the entire time.

During the protest, Driving Equality will display a sign in front of the “God Hates Fags” clan tallying how much money is being raised for LGBT equality. After the event, the church will be sent a Thank You card for their help in raising the funds.

This is an opportunity to turn something so negative and hateful into something positive. I hope that you will help me spread the message and will consider joining me in donating to the Lexington High School Phelps-A-Thon to show solidarity with the LGBT community at Lexington High School – and worldwide.

(More information on the Lexington High School Phelps-A-Thon can be found here and pledges can be made here.)

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The following is a guest post from my good friend, Michal, who is – dare I say it? – a twentysomething world explorer currently stumbling her way through life in the land of Israel. Here, she shares her opinions on the Israeli elections that recently took place and what it means for the country’s future:

Firstly, a general disclaimer- these are my opinions. The opinion of a lefty (in a country that is going increasingly to the right) who is slightly discouraged with the political system as a whole who tries her best to still stay optimistic…

Secondly, how it works- In Israel we have a parliamentary system of government. There were 120 Knesset seats up for grabs with 33 parties in the running, a party has to get a certain percentage in order to get into the Knesset with a minimum of 2 seats. Some of the small parties were absurd (there was one that comprised of holocaust survivors and young people wanting to legalize marijuana (only in Israel…)) while some had (semi) legitimate platforms (fighting organized crime etc…). It was known that from the get-go most if not all of these parties would not get into the Knesset.

After the results are in the president asks the leader of the party that got the most votes to form a coalition government. (In order to form a governmentyou need 61 seats. Since no one party ever gets that number a coalition of parties must be formed to make a government) That person is presumably going to be the Prime Minister and he/she has 6 weeks in which to form a government. Thus begins the politics of promising certain ministry positions and compromises, political wheeling and dealing and whatnot…

The country in general has become more right-leaning with the story of these elections being Israel Beiteinu led by Avigdor Lieberman. Israel Beiteinu is a VERY right wing party full of unknowns and Lieberman is somewhat of a fascist. VERY anti-Arab and just a scary figure all around… His party has surpassed Labor to become the 3rd largest party and it is shocking and scary that he has gained so much ground, publicity and power.

The results as of Wednesday morning have Kadima with 28 seats, Likud with 27, Israel Beitenu- 15, Labor-13, Shas- 11 etc…

The left/right divide is right now looking like right-65 seats left/center (including Kadima)-55.

The votes of the soldiers as well as those of overseas diplomats and attaches still need to be counted with 4 or 5 seats still up for grabs. This could change the entire picture of what is going on (especially as soldiers tend to vote more right wing). We will have those results soon and that could very well make this post irrelevant…

In any event, the thinking is that Tzipi Livni the head of Kadima may not be able to form a coalition government even if she is chosen to do so (because of the right wing leanings of the majority if the Knesset). If she does not succeed, the job goes to the second largest party (in this case Likud) who will then go ahead and for a coalition.

My thoughts are that Livni’s main chances of forming a government are to have a Kadima/Labor/Likud coalition. I would like to see Barak stay as Minister of Defense and have Bibi become Foreign Minister.

If Bibi is chosen to form a government or if he gets it after Livni doesnt succeed there is no telling what will happen… I have already begun threatening to move back to the states if he forms a Likud/Israel Beitieinu/Shas government but I don’t think that will happen….

Either way, Israel Beiteinu will almost certainly be in a Likud led government and possibly in a Livni led govt. This means that Lieberman will need a ministerial appointment of some-sort. That means (hopefully) giving him one where his ridiculously fascist agenda can do as little harm as possible. (Health?) Who knows what Bibi will do. Either way we will have to wait and see.

As far as working with the Obama government, I think that a Livni/Obama dynamic has somewhat decent possibilities and that a Bibi/Obama dynamic could be disastrous… Thank goodness we never had a Bush/Bibi pairing… I hope if Bibi is chosen that Obama/Clinton/Mitchell can and will be strong enough to save us from ourselves…

On the whole I am disappointed in Labor only getting 13 seats. They were (are?) a major powerhouse in politics and at a time the only major force to be reckoned with. I truly hope they can get their issues sorted out and make a strong showing next time (that being said maybe it’s the Israeli people that need to get their issues sorted out…)

I am upset about Meretz (a smaller left wing party) getting only 3 seats. I remember the days when Meretz had 8-10 seats. While never one of the 3 majors, it used to be a power player and a force to taken seriously in coalition building.

I am not so hopeful about the outcomes either way. It is discouraging and disheartening to wake up the morning after elections and see that very little has changed and if possible gotten worse. The entire system in general needs to be shaken up and taken through reform.

There need to be young fresh politicians who are not corrupt, smarmy, or greedy. I know that is politics everywhere but in Israel it seems to be especially pronounced. Take for example the fact that 2 of the 3 candidates for prime minister already held the job and both were ousted early.

Let’s hope for the best.

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HOW TO START JANUARY 20TH WITH A POSITIVE OUTLOOK

1. Open a new file in your computer.

2. Name it ‘George Bush’.

3. Send it to the Recycle Bin.

4. Empty it from the Recycle Bin.

5. Your PC will ask you: ‘Do you really want to get rid of ‘George Bush?’

6. Firmly Click ‘Yes.’

7. Feel better?

GOOD!

In a hour or so we’ll do Dick Cheney!

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Here are five interesting facts I learned:

• 77% of Americans under the age of 24 use SMS
• Rock the Vote observed higher SMS opt-in rates among Latinos, African-Americans, women, those under 30, and those living on the coasts. (I might have had that written down incorrectly, it might just be East Coast…)
• The Obama for President Committee found high value in texting people on Election Day to inform them of polls that were kept open late, but were unable to find a viable way to message Americans oversees, due to the variety and number of possible systems they would have to test and integrate.
• Rock the Vote and the Obama for President Committee both had multilingual mobile campaign components – RTV had a Spanish mobile site and each was able to answer texts in a variety of languages
• The Rudy Giuliani for President Committee did not include mobile messaging as part of their overall strategy with obstacles including the perception that SMS was not appropriate for the target demographic (older audience) and the cost was too high

In the future we’ll be seeing other entities incorporate mobile campaigns into their marketing strategies through the use of optimized websites, iPhone Apps, and SMS (text messaging). SMS is a key component of a successful mobile campaign because of its guaranteed deliverability, ease and speed of use, and the two-way interaction that it facilitates.

And as these mobile campaigns become more commonplace, we’ll see higher levels of sophistication and integration between different social media avenues – in other words, people will be texted a link to a website, they’ll view the optimized website, which perhaps has a YouTube video embedded, and will then share the video with their friends on FaceBook.

As a marketing professional, it a relief to know there’s a new medium out there which is successful in getting information to the public. But as an individual, this all concerns me.

Of course, there’s a distinction between opt-in marketing campaigns, where you’ve elected to receive the texts, but I’m already experiencing unsolicited advertising coming through with AT&T/Apple sending me promotional texts. (They have my number since they are my mobile service provider.). It’s only a matter of time before all the junk I’m getting in my email comes to my phone and clutters that space as well.

SO – What do you think? Are text messages a way you’d want to get information from your political candidates and other companies? Or is your phone a sacred safe zone where ads don’t belong?

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Yes, we’ve heard (and some have experienced) the awful stories of lost jobs, defaulted loans, foreclosed houses, and people struggling to make ends meet. There are whispers comparing the current state of the economy to the Great Depression and the recession of the 1970s.

But if there’s even a hint of a silver lining to this whole mess, it’s that we are living in historic times. We’ll be able to tell our children of the dark times that were the late-00s. And its how we weather this difficult period that will be written into the history books of the future.

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Over the past week, with the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States, we’ve heard words that have been all but forgotten over the last eight years – openness, hope, change.

BUT – The fanaticism of Obama supporters scares me. (I know, I know, pretty ironic to say since I’m a supporter…)

Maybe it’s my Russian heritage or my Jewish faith (or BOTH!) that make me distrustful of a government and its leaders, but when someone in a position of power has such a strong following it makes me nervous. Right now our president-elect is using his influence for “good”, but what if he decided to use it for “evil”?

Again, let me be clear, the identity of the individual himself does not really matter, it’s the willingness of a large, collective group of people to do whatever the individual says that makes me a bit uneasy.

I can only hope that my fears are unfounded and that the next four (or more!) years will be marked by an era of openness, one that brings very positive change.

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Before

After

And, it's off

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