#10 – Painting

Confession: I didn’t paint anything.

All of the art was done by refugees living in Bangkok. This was the first big In Search of Sanuk project of 2009 and gave us a big running start for the year. We raised almost 60,000 baht for the Bangkok Refugee Center and had travel photographer Gavin Gough there to document it. For a look back see his photo blog: Picture from my mind” Art Exhibition in aid of the Bangkok Refugee Centre

Hindsight: We didn’t know at the time how much of a difference we were making. Unfortunately, a lot of 2009 was a rough year for refugees here as arrests have increased and services decreased.

#9 – Writing

Confession: This was very hit and miss.

The lesson here is perseverance–something I’m still learning.  I’m lucky to have a had a great encouragement in the way of an awesome community of bloggers Cody Mckibben has introduced me to. Everyone has been really welcoming and willing to share advice. I don’t take that for granted. Not everyone will invite you into their community when your ideas are unconventional.

Hindsight: One milestone was getting a chance to write an article for Cnngo. However, blogging is hard work and it took me a while to find my voice. The biggest challenge is balancing all you’re doing, with keeping people who care about your cause informed and involved.

#8 – Dating Miss Universe

Confession: This doesn’t actually happen until December 28th.

You thought I would quit after meeting Michelle Yeoh earlier this year? Nope. This time I’ve won an auction for a date with Natalie Glebova, Miss Universe 2005. Proceeds from the auction, of course, are going to build a medical clinic in Mae Sot near the Burma border. It’s a tough job I have, but I can’t complain!

Foresight: This really exemplifies what kind of random episodes which spring up when you’re willing to extend yourself for worthy causes. Whatever happens on this date, it’s already been successful. Through all the communicating with the organizers, I have already gotten a commitment from them to donate medicine to get all the kids at our teaching project checked up. Sorry Natalie, but that made me jump up and down a little more than the dinner plans.

#7 – Traveling

Confession: I now am in the habit of going somewhere and looking for ways to help. You don’t have to travel to do that.

When I first met my mentor, Marc Gold, the idea of traveling to do good was still novel to me. This year I have met and joined quite a few traveling philanthropists. I hope this is a sign that there is a growing trend of people realizing how rewarding it can be to spend your holiday helping others. Some memories that stick out are the slum kids in Denpasar, a restaurant employing street kids in Vientienne, teaching in the Thai countryside, visits to orphanages in Bali and on the border of Burma.

Hindsight: You can go looking for trouble, but you may not be prepared for what you find.

#6 Drinking

Confession: I wish I had been told earlier that you can sure sculpt a nice event, but it’s better to build a strong community.

Through both the Bangkok Tweetup and a larger party we organized this year called LUSH, we have really pioneered the idea of cause focused events in Bangkok. Some people come out for a great cause. Some people come out for a great party. Most people come for the community that enjoys both. In any case, we don’t discriminate. In addition to funneling money to our Sanuk My Saturday project and numerous other groups, we’re well known in the city for breaking bar records and having to send our sad faced supporters home after cleaning out all the spirits.

Hindsight: This was a great idea because we casually exposed people to our project that we couldn’t otherwise drag to come volunteer with us. Yes, you can reach people with something besides gala dinners in the grand ballroom.

#5 Basketball

Confession: No unwanted stress ever came from the little people. It’s the big ones I have trouble dealing with.

Some where along the road in these shenanigans a friend offered tickets to see the Harlem Globetrotters. The Globetrotters hadn’t been to Bangkok since the sixties and I saw them perform in Atlanta when I was about twelve. So I got to feel kinda like a dad when I showed up at the arena with kids from our teaching project in tow. We had a section of the arena reserved for us (the other group they did this for was the US embassy) and all the volunteers who also tagging along.

Hindsight: This would not have been possible without all the people who attended the Bangkok Tweetup, drank and gave. The tickets were free, but we had to cover transportation, snacks and dinner for all the kids.

#4 Tweeting

Confession: Any meal is a happy meal. I can do gourmet too.

Cnngo caught up with me eating on the street earlier this year to tell the city who hasn’t caught on to twitter what you already knew— that I’m addicted to the internet and volunteering. Take a look at the article: Bangkok’s fun-seeking, volunteering, tweeting American

Hindsight: A more accurate headline would have been Bangkok’s handsome, single, fun seeking internet addict volunteers to be attacked by kids whenever he leaves the house.

#3 Thrilling The World

Confession: I’m not to blame for this one!

I had just finished the Twestival global event, when In Search of Sanuk supporter Lola Rainey said we had to learn the moves to Thriller. In true zombie form, I admittedly dragged my feet at first. Lola, however, took the reigns and round up a great group of dancers to not only participate in breaking the world record for largest simultaneous dance, but also perform in front of hundreds (zombies keep their cool even when the wrong music is played haha), raising over $1,000 for the Bangkok Refugee Center. A touching moment in this adventure was when another friend, Shimona Kee performed Michael Jackson’s Heal the World in front of a huge audience at Bangkok’s Central World.

Hindsight: Surround yourself with change makers and don’t pout too much if they put you to work.

#2 Booty Shaking

Confession: I thought my butt would be more famous by now.

The reason this one is ranked so high is because of the sheer spontaneity of it. I led a group of volunteers from visiting an elderly home to relax in the park. It was there that we stumbled over one man’s magic hips and captured what we still secretly hope will make us youtube stars one day (only 3,000 views so far). So it didn’t make my butt famous, but it is the one moment that has generated more laughter than any other this year.

Hindsight: Should have found the man in that video and invited him to some of our parties.

#1 Begging

Confession: I couldn’t have done any of this without you.

In 2009 I beg, borrowed, and generally pestered people I’m close to. This really runs the gamut from convincing Cody to get involved, to asking Shimona to sing in front of hundreds, to getting an entire section of the arena reserved for our kids and volunteers. Forget the amount of money we raised. We have really challenged people’s thinking about what it means to give back and surprised some needy groups with funding that wouldn’t have otherwise reached them. People are beginning to believe they have something to contribute. That’s powerful. For that I thank everyone following along and on the ground here participating.

Hindsight: If you can’t convince your friends, who then?

Social entrepreneurship has a home on many websites on the web, so why are entrepreneurs still sleeping outside? If we really believe they have a role to play in changing development and reforming how we conceptualize philanthropy, then we have to respond to the dangers of being internet homeless.

Can you spare some change?

I mean it’s cold out and I can’t even buy a retweet.

Do you know what it’s like trying to keep these ideas for change warm while you walk by overlooking me?!

Enough is enough.

LISTEN UP! Hands off the keyboard and where I can see them.

You MUST create a place where our community can thrive.

Don’t allow change to be held hostage. Here are my demands:

• Balance Content with Community – If we really wanted to encourage good, we would not only equip people with great content, but balance it with peer to peer interaction. Writing a blog and inviting users to comment does not constitute a discussion. We need more dynamic content shaped with and for the participants. This means creating places where people can meet, collaborate and complain.  Instead, the over emphasis on content leaves us buried in reading and hurting for connections with fellow change makers.

• Let Me Plug & Play – We’re social entrepreneurs. Why isn’t it easier to plug into your site and promote what I’m already doing offline? There should be a framework we can use to celebrate our ideas, discuss our cause, and utilize tools to better our enterprises. Furthermore, sites should be more social media friendly. We have blogs, the obligatory facebook, twitter, flickr, youtube, and endless other accounts we can’t remember we signed up for. Remember entrepreneur is also slang for over-worked. Updating all of that, enacting a business plan that saves the world, and transferring our content to your site isn’t realistic.

• Be Less Trendy & More Practical – Everything trendy is not helpful. I’m all for promoting social entrepreneurship, but we have to evaluate and balance the content we’re publishing. Why is there so little content that gets us from point A to B? We can’t overlook the process. I’m sure I’d get internet famous if only wrote blogs with titles like, “Top 10 Books on Social Entrepreneurship” or “Top Reasons To Spend Your Startup Budget on a Flight to Our Conference.” Sure the site gets traffic, but I’m not any closer to finding funding for my project or bringing my design to the market. Nope. How can I progress when most of my resources are telling me, “What you’re doing is cute, but read the required reading and pay to come to our conference—THEN you can be one of us.” As strongly as we promote the field, we should be making sure we’re ready to nurture newcomers by helping them understand the process required to make their social venture successful and ushering them into the community mentioned above.

• Keep It Real–Real Inclusive – People who are successful already are NOT the only ones who deserve your attention. Focusing only on success stories neglects that we’re a motley crew of everything from PhDs to wikipedia degrees and doesn’t necessarily reflect all the realities of entrepreneurship. Sometimes being an entrepreneur sucks. Who can you expect to help when you can only grasp the puffs of lint in your pocket and the smell of ramen makes you nauseated? We should be honest about struggles and failures as much as we flaunt the triumphs. When you make a place for people to be honest about their experience, your online community will thrive.

Spare change. Don’t let “friendly little startups” like mine, turn into “friendly little stickups.” Help us change the world and I promise nobody will get hurt.

~Dwight

Twaah— Tweee– I know it’s a mouthful, right? But since I first heard about Twestival, I have loved the concept. For those unfamiliar, here’s a look at the background and structure of what makes this twitter-festival exceptional.

The History of Twestival

The idea is simple:

Tweet. Meet. Give.

Twestival gives people an event where they can not only meet other twitter users, but also be a part of a global awareness and fundraising campaign. The first one took place on February 12th, 2009 in over 200 cities. The global campaign raised $250,000 for charity: water. But, that’s not the astounding number– try 55 newly drilled wells and 17,000 people reached with fresh water!

Modeling and Replicating Change

Twestival is providing a framework for you to be one of the many pieces in a global movement for change. In this movement fewer people are asking why they should participate and are instead concerned about HOW they can contribute. Leaders have to be responsible for stepping up and answering the call of the multitude who want to play a role in change making, but may not be sure how.

Twestival is back with an event to raise funds for a local cause in each city. This September 10th-13th, Twestival gives would-be change makers an outlet by providing the knowledge and guidance whereby they can create change in their own communities. For Twestival Local, organizers have been equipped with a more powerful toolkit for organizing their events and challenged to set and meet fundraising goals. Furthermore, teams in the various cities must work together with interested people in their location, using twitter as a crowd sourcing tool to select a cause, solicit help, and begin fundraising. All of this is done with a big community of individuals ready to support people as they face challenges. The result is the equivalent of a global crash course in DIY Philanthropy!

Igniting A Unique Age

The reality of the global village is that many of us are finding ourselves unwilling to settle for being over entertained and under challenged. We need to be empowered to see ourselves as change makers. We’re hungry for change and feeding off messages of hope through collective action.

“We now have the capacity to organize and take collective action together to deal with a problem or an injustice… this makes this a unique age in human history…“ ~British Prime Minister Gordon Brown

Events like twestival are igniting this unique age to action by helping us realize our ability to play small parts in bringing big solutions.

We’re powerful. Believe it. See it.

I will be a part of the team organizing Twestival Local in Bangkok. Equipping people with the means to create change here is exactly what In Search of Sanuk has been striving to do. I’m thrilled to see this happening on the global stage and eager to celebrate the change we’ve been initiating with our Bangkok Tweetups in unison with calls for change around the world.

~Dwight

You don’t have to be using social media to benefit from these tips. They can be applied to almost any social meeting, whether you’re managing events for a nonprofit or want to have a birthday where you do something to give back.

Small Stones, Big Ripples: Start with your friends and organize people around your plan to save the world. Refine your plan and make it realistic. Get the word out about what you’re doing and connect with other groups in your area. Soon you’ll find you have a small community. Choose a cause you’re passionate about and consider the variety of ways to contribute with your event. You may want to read my interview with Tom Potisit as an example of a small project making big ripples.

Transparency Required: Be ready to show people results. Transparency must be cultivated before, during, and after your event. Keep in mind, building integrity is about more than where the money goes. You should spend time connecting people attending your fundraiser with chances to participate in your cause. I love the feeling the day after the event when I have an inbox full of comments and emails to answer about how people can begin volunteering. As people see the benefits of what you’re doing they’ll be both more interested and more likely to give.

Plan Well, Care Less: Plan well and commit to your cause. When I decided something should be done to help urban refugees, I was determined to be a part of the solution whether or not my event was a success. I was able to care less in many situations because my commitment to change actually freed me from some of the anxieties of event organizing. Don’t let negativity or tight pockets shoot down your goals. When potential sponsors don’t answer your emails or return your phone calls, the need for change still exists. Social change DOES NOT require big sponsors or celebrities. Use me as proof. In Search of Sanuk has accomplished a great deal through our community and we haven’t hosted a sponsored event yet. How much more will you be able accomplish with all your connections?

The Law of Harry & Hurry: What I call the “Law of Harry and Hurry” is an extension of the above idea. No one wants a guilt trip about going to see Harry Potter instead of showing up at your charity event. People are busy. You can’t expect them to match your level of commitment, so don’t make them feel bad about their Harry or their hurry. Relax. Tell them not to worry if they can’t make it and make sure they know how they can get involved in other ways. You could always ask in a loud voice, “What do you have against ORPHANS?!” But I’m not sure how effective that would be. Show you’re committed with or without them. When they recognize this, they’ll be even more eager to work with you. In Bangkok we’re determined to make a difference, come take part.

Passion Wanted: Attract passionate people to your event. When we host the Bangkok Tweetup, I’m always amazed at the how diverse the crowd can be. They love travel, they’re business owners, and an array of other interesting pursuits. Remember, when all else fails cold beer and cool people wins you more high quality members than any amount of themes, raffles, or door prizes. Spend less time printing fancy name tags and more time engaging people about your cause and encouraging them to meet the other great people who came.

I hope these suggestions have been helpful. We’re volunteering almost every weekend and we’re hosting Twestival Bangkok in September. We will keep providing outlets for change to happen here. Let me know what you’re doing where you are!

“Dream big, work smart, start local.”

~Dwight

From Twestival giving hard to reach places fresh water, to the use of the site Alex Brown Racing to push the cause of the welfare of horses (I’ve posted an interview with Alex below) there are countless examples of the ways great causes have now found a renewed voice online. And you don’t have to take my word for it because Mashable has already crunched the numbers.

Do you have a cause yet? What project are you working on? Are you using social media to get people interested? Are you following change makers on twitter? I’d be glad to recommend a few:

1 @TannersDad A dad fighting for the truth about autism
2 @Causecast Site where you can get connected quickly
3 @Perthtones A guy with a soft spot for refugees
4 @Wine_to_water Wine to water project
5 Link: Twit-face, The house that twitter and facebook built.

This list could go on for days, but I will instead limit it to five causes and depend you to look back at the previous follow friday posts for more great people. Don’t forget the Alex Brown video below.

Take some great tips from Alex Brown and use them as examples of how to grow your cause. ~Dwight

So I wanted to take time out to introduce myself to readers and ask all of you to consider the way you unconsciously divide yourself trying to reach your goals. This is detrimental to your brand, especially if you’re trying to help people. In the next few posts, I plan to show you why and tell you how to avoid making the big mistakes I made.

FIRST let me introduce myself.

You may want to do this on your site too. We’re complex and it’s impossible to summarize someone (especially yourself) in a few sentences, but it’s crucial to select a few things everyone should know about you. Here’s the bare minimum of what you should know about me and this sanuk lifestyle I lead:

• My name is Dwight – I’m from Atlanta and I now live on the other side of the earth. I love living abroad and my eyes have been opened to how many people I can touch without having donations from corporate sponsors or Daddy Warbucks. (You have to stick around to hear how I went from teaching on the palace grounds to using social media to do philanthropy work.)
• I live my life in search of sanuk – Sanuk is not a person! I can feel your shock. Sanuk is a thai word that means fun. It means taking a lighthearted approach to what life throws at you and enjoying yourself. Sanuk for me is showing you how easy and enjoyable it is to help people.
• I’m building a community and you should join – My goal is to empower people to change their environments. This happens on and off the web —around the world and in Bangkok. I’m writing, connecting people to great causes, and learning from all of you. Let’s connect and collaborate to become the change we hope for.
  

I’m glad you’re here. Remember to ask yourself: Am I reflected in the brand I’m creating?

(Tip: If you’re scratching your head because you don’t know what twitter is click here.)

One big reason twitter is powerful is that it has the power to super charge viral information. Meaning a small piece of information could easily leap from your network to the world. Unavoidably, this also means we must deal with the quick spread of misinformation, spam, and more malicious content such as viruses.

We all know the Spiderman quote, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Well, here are three easy guidelines to keep us tweeting responsibly:

• Tweet Each Other Kindly

Chris Guillebeau or @chrisguillebeau (his twitter id), who was recently in Bangkok, would say this means better listening or in twitter terms: “RT, respond, make others look good, ask how you can help, don’t patronize, no auto-DM.“

• Tweet Authentically

Be honest. Give credit when due, RT (Re-tweet or resending tweets) often, and read/view your content before you resend.

• TweetUp!

This is a must do. Think about it, we all normally treat and trust people we know better than strangers (If there’s any question here, just consider the way we drive. Would you really have cut your friend off like that?). You’ll build stronger bonds and find yourself tweeting more. You’ll gain more engaging followers and be retweeted more often. There are limitless benefits.

So Tweet Responsibly. Follow some people doing just that.  Here’s a picture and the roll sheet of Tweeple who showed up at last week’s BKK Charity Tweetup:

@Codymckibb (Thrilling Heroics)
Location Independent WordPress/Mac/music geek. I help rockstar✩ entrepreneurs build authority online with blogs & social media! @codymckibb to conversate me.

@Migrationology (Migrationology.com)
I like to travel and eat, alot…why vacation when you can migration…

@Tofflerann (Dynamic Tourism, China, Business)
Expat Entrepreneur, Blogger, Photographer, Eternal Traveler & Learner

@Apepler (The Mantra of Ali)
Backpacking Fitness Enthusiast and Aspiring Blogger

@Jjmaurage (So Long & Thanks for All the Fish)
Freelance media whore wanders around Asia pretending to write a novel but really just getting drunk and singing too much

@Travelhappy (Backpacking And Travelling In Thailand and South East Asia: A Personal Guide)
British scuba journalist based in Thailand

@Jutecht (The Thinking Stick)
Education, Technology, Consultant, Presenter

@Thinkingchick
K-12 International Counselor

@Tbarrett (Everything Tom)
Hotelier and nomad. Muay Thai practitioner. Beach bum.

@Ryan_Lei
Freelance Chinese translator/interpreter, enthusiastic about humanitarian work.