ReadWriteWeb

A group of podcasters in Portland, Oregon have teamed up with internet friends around the world to create a new type of charity fundraiser, a live streaming telethon. Called 30 Hour Day, the event begins this evening. It will use streaming media services to deliver the content, the Causes Facebook application to collect donations, and Twitter to spread the word.

30 consecutive hours of music, variety acts, podcasts and other entertainment will raise money for local charity organizations. Will it work? Portland has a deep community of geeks and connections all around the web, so perhaps this group will be able to keep people entertained around the clock.

Often compared to Twitter for its meteoric rise to media darling status, location-based check-in game Foursquare is incredibly smart about its member stewardship and business strategy. On the heels of its September launch of Foursquare for Business and its recent partnership with the Bay Area Rapid Transit service, the group maintains its moniker as "little company that could". Foursquare has found a way to give to charity, increase members, test an advertising program and avoid footing the bill.

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.

Relay for Life of Second Life is a charity event that celebrates the victories and remembers those that have been lost in the fight against cancer. Th 4th annual RFLofSL relay takes place today in the popular virtual network Second Life. Reports have been coming through the pipelines to let us know that the event has already amassed a ton money and it's only just begun!

Last month, both China and Myanmar suffered natural disasters of such huge proportions that they received the attention of the world. The combination of the quake and the cyclone left a death toll that is today approaching 200,000, but has affected millions more. Many of us have read the news but have been so caught up in our day-to-day lives that we haven't been able to find time to give. However, new mobile "text-to-give" services will help make charitable donations faster and easier to do.

The Microsoft Live Search team announced today that it had expanded the company's Search and Give charitable searching program to more than 1 million eligible organizations. The program donates 1 cent for each search conducted by users to the school or charity of their choice up to 500 searches per month (or $60/year per person). Can Microsoft possibly make a dent in Google's stranglehold on the search market by offering up charitable donations as an incentive to search?

Karma, as they say, will always come back to get you. So why not start 2008 off on the right foot by giving to some charitable causes online. These days, almost every charity accepts online donations, so with very few exceptions, we won't be mentioning any specific charities. Rather, the list below is designed to help you find new ways to give online and to make sure your money is going to a place that will really help those in need. The charitable web is so large that we can't possibly mention everyone (nor did we try to), but please add any sites you think we missed in the comments below.

This is a guest post by Muhammad Saleem, a social media consultant and a top-ranked community member on multiple social news sites.

Many people argue that the social web is actually destroying offline relationships and that relationships built through online social networking sites are nothing more than "superficial acquaintances." For brothers Hank and John, however, Brotherhood 2.0 has not only strengthened their bond but it has also allowed them to affect the lives of thousands of other less fortunate people through their "Nerdfighter Power Project for Awesome."