The following post is by guest blogger Zach Cole who is helping to organize the 2011 San Francisco Tweet Drive.

There’s been a great deal of talk around the meaning of social good in recent years – and it seems that there is no one exact definition. The basic idea of social good is leveraging new technology, especially social media, to help some type of social cause.

The best part about using social media to amplify social good efforts is that social media is the great connector. It allows people locally and globally to come together around a common interest or cause. And this is the idea behind Tweet Drive.

Tweet Drive is an initiative founded by Harrison Kratz that encourages people in cities all over the world to donate toys to under-privileged and low-income children for the holiday season. That’s right – your ticket into a Tweet Drive event is a toy to be donated in the name of social good.

Harrison started Tweet Drive in 2010 as a way to expand on his previous philanthropic endeavors, and figured that social media could help his cause. Tweet Drive has created a Social Environment around the idea of helping children through the spirit of the holidays. And let’s face it – giving is the greatest thing one person can do during the holidays.

The second annual Tweet Drive is set to take place in more than 45 cities worldwide – including San Francisco. Below is info about the event along with a link to RSVP.

December 8, 2011
6:30-8:30pm
77 Stillman St. (Klout HQ)
San Francisco, CA
RSVP here

Thanks to Tweet Drive’s official sponsors: Collective Good, Klout, SCVNGR, Popchips, Social Media Club and The UN Refugee Agency.

Follow @TweetDriveHQ for official Tweet Drive information and follow @SFTweetDrive for information about the SF Tweet Drive.

Project One
251 Rhode Island St
San Francisco, CA
7:00 – 10:30pm
RSVP

I’m reposting this article from Porter Gale who originally wrote it last week for Adage. It’s made it’s way around the Interwebs and I thought it was important to repost here on Collective Good. Don’t fret folks, Porter gave me her blessing to repost.

What I’ve seen unfold over the past several days is a passionate community, using a variety of digital communications to help Amit find the bone marrow match that he desperately and immediately needs. The community is rallying and hopes you’ll join the registry, tweet and forward this article to your friends to help Amit, and others, find a match. Marketing guru and author Seth Godin posted a story on his blog; Michael Galpert joined in, both urging others take a cotton swab test by simply registering here: bit.ly/swabacheek. The test is painless, and in fact the technology developed for bone marrow transfers has dramatically improved in the last decade, making bone marrow transfers much easier — if one is lucky enough to find a match (more information can be found at www.marrow.org). There is also a hashtag dialog on Twitter under the tag #iswabbedforamit.

In the meantime, the dialog about Amit bubbled up on another network – fueled by another email chain. A bunch of thought leaders, technology folks, digital influencers and venture capitalists are headed to Puerta Vallarta for an invite-only conference. Turns out the group of heavy hitters aren’t just drinking margaritas. Digital guru Gary Vaynerchuk, who has over 900,000 Twitter followers, is hosting a social media session Friday with Andy Smith, the author of The Dragonfly Effect on ‘socialchangeinabox.’ The goal? To find a perfect match for Amit.

Meanwhile, a team at Stanford University is running a bone marrow event with cheek swabbing for Amit today and next week (@100KCheeks) and helping universities across the country run similar simple events through DoSomething.org. Cheek swab parties and events are bubbling up from Berkeley to Ohio. The group at Stanford is being lead by Professor Jennifer Aaker who is also co-author of the Dragonfly Effect, a book that looks at the positive impact of social media and who we can harness it for good. Jennifer and the Stanford student team are dedicated to getting 100,000 people signed up for the national bone marrow donor registry. Specifically, they are seeking to address the severe shortage of South Asian donors in the registry. And, in that process, hopefully save the life of at least one person.

So today is the day you can do some good with your social media tools. Help Amit and others find a match with a tweet, a blog post, an email forward. Go ahead, give G+, Facebook or your Tumblr a workout. And then get a cheek swab. Let’s use our digital tools and do some good.

While he is in the hospital, we must take steps in finding a matching bone marrow donor! Because of Amit’s South Asian descent this can be a difficult task. Friends and fans have taken to the Interwebs to start the #IswabbedforAmit movement. Visit here to find out how to obtain a swab test to see if you’re a match for Amit. Seth Godin, marketing guru and friend of Amit has offered $10,000 and some press on his blog to the person who is the first certified match. Let’s find that match…now! Be on the lookout for swabbing events happening in NYC and SF in the coming weeks.

100% of the proceeds from Plywood for Good are going to Direct Relief International who will distribute the funds to the areas in Japan affected by the earthquake and tsunami.

Collective Good would like to thank Project One for letting us use their space, DJ Kento for providing the amazing beats, FTC for donating the blank skateboards, and the designers for their amazing artwork. Thanks also goes out to Hotel des Arts, Kidrobot, Peasants & Travelers, Incase and Manual for donating items to the silent auction. We’d also like to thank Cater2.me and Sataysfied for providing delicious food at the event and the ladies from Zico for handing out free samples all night.

Pictures from the photobooth are now up on our Facebook page and event photos will be posted soon.

If you’d like to help plan the next event or collaborate in the future, please send us an email. We’d love to hear from you!

Thanks again for making Plywood for Good such a success!

When: Thursday July 14, 2011
Where: Project One  251 Rhode Island Street  San Francisco, CA
Time: 6:30 – 10:00 pm
Cost: $10 charitable donation at the door

Please RSVP at: www.plywoodforgood.eventbrite.com

Keep watching this space for updates moving forward.

Gilbert and Aaron did an amazing job setting up the homemade photobooth which captured a ton of people (and their naughtiness) as the night progressed. Here is the gallery of images posted on Facebook. Feel free to tag yourself and anyone you might know.