Comments for SocialVibe Raises $100,000 For Charity

SocialVibe Raises $100,000 For Charity

2008-07-30T12:00:00Z

In May, we discussed many different ways that social media could be used for social change. One company that has been using the medium for doing social good is SocialVibe. In the past, we described this company as "an online popularity contest that turns corporate advertising into money for charity." With SocialVibe, you get to choose a brand to endorse, which earns you both brand perks and points. The points are then turned into funds for the charitable cause of your choice. The situation is somewhat of a win-win - companies get valuable social media promotion and individuals get to raise money for charity. The only question was whether or not the idea would work. Apparently, it does: SocialVibe is announcing that they've now raised more than $100,000 for charitable causes.

]]> On the SocialVibe platform, members choose a brand to endorse and then receive a SocialVibe badge which can be used on various social networks like Facebook or MySpace as well as on blogs and personal web sites. Through this sort of social media promotion, you can earn points which are then transformed into donations to the charity of your choosing.

Launched into public beta in Febraury, 2008, SocialVibe has partnered with numerous charitable organizations, including Stand Up To Cancer and actress Holly Robinson Peete and NFL quarterback Rodney Peete's hollyrod4kids initiative which focuses on activism and advocacy surrounding issues affecting children. In addition, SocialVibe has supported causes that include: charity:water, Direct Relief International, Children's Miracle Network, Donors Choose, Invisible Children, One Laptop Per Child, Partnership for a Drug-Free America, Surfrider Foundation, and World Wildlife Fund, and others. In total, there are 27 charities that have benefited from this application.

Now, with over $100,000 raised, there's proof that this concept does work and there's really no reason not to sign up unless you just shun advertising in all forms. But when the simple act of adding a widget to your profile page can help saves lives or save our planet, it's hard to find much fault with the app. You can sign up for SocialVibe here.

Comment from Vishal Bansal on 2008-07-30

2008-07-30T14:40:09Z

Articles and content in this section of the website are really amazing. From http://www.goindiamedicaltourism.com

Comment from mk on 2008-07-30

2008-07-30T15:03:56Z

Sarah - this may work on MySpace but Facebook recently updated their TOS to ban any type of corporate ads on the profile box or tab in Facebook - which pretty much puts SocialVibe out of business there. I imagine their VCs are pretty pissed. That's one of the dangers of building a business that depends on a few other (very fickle) networks.

Comment from Sarah Perez on 2008-07-30

2008-07-30T15:52:34Z

@mk - Hmmm. It's on my profile now. I'm not sure if it's gets counted as an ad since it's raising money for charity through the help of corporate sponsors. Seems not that different from the Causes app, IMO. If it's in violation, why hasn't Facebook banned it then?

Comment from stetoscope on 2008-07-30

2008-07-30T16:26:06Z

This is a great idea with such a beatifull story to tell.
http://tinyurl.com/5lsmsz

Comment from Linda Roeder on 2008-07-30

2008-07-30T16:43:38Z

I knew this would be a big hit once people found out about it and gave it a chance.

Comment from Joe Marchese on 2008-07-30

2008-07-30T16:55:34Z

@mk SocialVibe is an approved application on Facebook and MySpace and is working towards partnerships with both. One of SocialVibe's biggest partners is actually myYearbook, who is promoting us to their membership as a way to raise money for charity, without having to donate. SocialVibe is far from profiting, which is really what gets VC’s riled up if you ask me :-), off the actions on any of our partner social nets, as we currently direct all revenues to charities. We don’t force any advertising on to pages, we don’t pre-roll, post-roll, or overlay ads on content. People choose how they want to decorate their pages, and the difference they want to make.

SocialVibe wants to let people decide how they want to use social media for social good. It is not just built on Facebook and MySpace, but also on SocialVibe itself and personal blogs for online publishers of all sizes.

One final distinction. SocialVibe wasn't built ON MySpace, Facebook and myYearbook, but rather SocialVibe was built FOR the publishers/people on those platforms, to make their experience more rewarding/engaging.

Comment from mk on 2008-07-30

2008-07-30T18:23:10Z

Joe - I understand, and commend the work that you have done. Facebook's update to the TOS was recent (last week) and many application developers are confused by it. But one of the clear points was that no advertisements of any kind could be placed on the tab or profile box. Facebook may make exceptions to this rule but we haven't heard of any yet. Unfortunately, an ad is an ad, whether it raises money for charity or yourself or some other entity. I doubt they will shut it down because there is so much confusion, even on their end, with the new TOS, but in my mind it just raised questions about the long-term viability of the business model.

Comment from Alvin on 2008-07-30

2008-07-30T19:13:29Z

I think if myspace or facebook wanted to shut SV down they would have done so here. They see potential here (as do the tons of people who have signed up for SV) and I knew once SV got attention it would take off.

Kudos to you Joe, keep it up. Love the site and I think its going to be huge.

Comment from Joe Marchese on 2008-07-30

2008-07-30T21:44:43Z

@mk I couldn't agree more, there is a lot of confusion. SocialVibe is working towards a partnership with Facebook and we want nothing more than to encourage our members to spend more time on their networks, be it myYearbook, Facebook or MySpace. I would think that in the long term, people will demand control of their own page's content. But if not Facebook, there are lots of other places where people can use their influence to do good such as personal blogs,Livejournal pages or other websites. SocialVibe works on all of them too!