I wrote this press release for TakesAllTypes.org. They are all about the Blood Drive Tweetup. If you want to spread the news about the Blood Drive Tweetup, feel free to use it in a blog, for a newspaper, or whatever form of communication you can use to spread the word about it or about Blood Drive Tweetups in general:

Social Media for Social Good–Austin Arranges the First Ever Blood Drive Tweetup

Word of mouth – in this case social networking – is still the best form of advertising

AUSTIN, TX–July 3, 2008– The Austin Twitter community has taken it upon itself to overcome the holiday blood shortage in the Austin area.

The group used the microblogging service Twitter to round up blood donors to meet the holiday need for blood at the Austin Blood and Tissue Center. They called companies around Austin who ponied up free movie tickets, computer stickers, pint glasses, a six foot sandwich “sammichometer” and restaurant gift cards. They wrote blog posts and called TV stations. Over 50 people within the Austin Twitter community offered to donate blood, many of whom have never donated before.

All of this was coordinated in a matter of three days.

The Austin Social Media Club and the 501Tech Club are sponsoring the event to raise awareness for both social media and the local need for blood. They are encouraging all participants to sign up for Takes All Types, a service that notifies donors of local blood shortages via SMS, social networks, and even fax.

David J. Neff and Michelle Greer helped coordinate the push to help the Austin Blood and Tissue Center. “Social media tools like Twitter and blogs are powerful mobilizers of people. We recognized that and knew the Austin community cared enough to make something like this happen. We are truly surrounded by incredible people,” said David.

All people in the Austin area, Twitter users or “non-Twitterers” are welcome to join in for the first ever Blood Drive Tweetup from 10 am-4 pm at the Blood and Tissue Center at 4300 North Lamar. There will be food, prizes, a birthday cake, custom stickers for the event, live streaming online and plenty of people wanting to make a difference for the Austin community.

If you are not able to make it, the livestream of the event as well as the code to embed the livestream in your site will be available at David J. Neff’s blog.

Takes All Types is deploying social applications on sites like Facebook and MySpace and a dedicated website at www.TakesAllTypes.org to enable people to sign up to donate blood or to volunteer at a blood drive or collection center. This more precise and efficient approach promotes and facilitates blood donation in a very direct and personal manner, and when an urgent need arises, provides a novel means to mobilize local donors for immediate action.

For more information, go to www.twitter.com and message @michellegreer or @daveiam. You can also leave any questions as comments at www.michellesblog.net or http://www.fispace.org.

Please mark any tweets regarding the Austin Blood Drive Tweetup with the hashtag #abdt. You can track tweets from Twitter users by going to http://www.hashtags.org/tag/abdt