A Good Integration

Wednesday, 20 October 2010

A Good Integration

Twitter builds for-good efforts into our core because we saw an opportunity early on to change the way businesses do philanthropy. We launched our Promoted Products platform with a model that includes a program called Promoted Tweets for Good that gives non-profits (and even regular businesses campaigning to make a positive impact through our platform) an opportunity to amplify their message through both pro-bono and paid campaigns. The launch of our new Twitter.com is no different, and our business development team made sure to integrate a few partners right from the start that inspire giving.

The new details pane instantly displays content like photos and videos, and we chose the lending platform, Kiva, to build a widget that works in the space as well. Kiva is a lending platform that let’s you loan as little as $25 to an entrepreneur who may only need a small chunk of change to begin, but whose life will no doubt be affected dramatically by the contribution. It’s a powerful and simple idea that can spread faster and to a broader audience with the integration on Twitter.

With this integration, Twitter users can spread word or discover everything they need to know about a Kiva loan with a single click – without leaving Twitter.com. For instance, if I see a tweet from someone I follow with a Kiva link and click it to reveal more, I can see a picture of the person they helped, read about the story, see what the status is on the loan, see how much is needed total, and how much has been raised so far. If more help is needed, I can click the link to send my own contribution for an instant reward of feeling good about myself, then tweet what I did to continue the cycle of awareness for the cause.

As Buckley White of Kiva says: “Our users benefit because it’s easier for them to find loans that are interesting to them. Kiva benefits because we get to reach new audiences. If lenders have a positive experience with Kiva, it’s in our interest to help them share that experience, and Twitter enables that.”

If you have a good story about how your charitable organization is using new Twitter, @reply us at @hope140 or @clairew. We’d love to know about your efforts.