Tomorrow morning (Monday, December 21, 2009) at 6 am, Blythedale Children’s Hospital will be rocking and rolling as 95.5  WPLJ FM holds its 18th Annual Holiday Broadcast Concert and Fundraiser. Featured music performers include stars Rob Thomas, Colbie Caillat and Jason Mraz. 

An interesting development on the social media front is the news that Blythedale will utilize a live Twitter feed leading up to and during the concert to help publicize and promote both the concert and auction components of the event. A 60-inch flatscreen will be used to display tweets to those attending the event.  Those listening to the concert on the radio will be able to interact with the @Blythedale Twitter account throughout the fundraiser.

Blythedale has been one of a handful of non-profits in Westchester County, NY to fully utilize Twitter to help communicate its organizational story. Director of Public Relations Connie Cornell launched the account in May 2009, and has used Twitter as a place to post child safety tips, publicize links to hospital news, and encourage people to visit the hospital’s website, along with other interesting and useful information. The @Blythedale Twitter account currently has 1127 followers.

“Twitter has proven itself to be a valuable resource that we have been able to integrate into our larger public relations and communications strategy, said Cornell. “We have been able to use it to connect with others in our local community who are interested in what Blythedale has to offer. At the same time, we have been able to reach out to people in other parts of the country and beyond. Not bad for a free communications application.”

Cornell was an attendee at the 1st Westchester TweetUp held at POUR Cafe and Wine Bar in Mount Kisco in October. The TweetUp, organized by Westchester140, was the first-ever full-blown Twitter event in the Westchester area, and resulted in Blythedale acquiring dozens of local influential followers. She plans to continue attending similar events to promote her organization in the future, including the 3rd Westchester TweetUp planned for the third week of January.

The concert, which is Blythedale’s largest fundraiser of the year, will be broadcast on 95.5 WPLJ FM and hosted by WPLJ’s Scott Shannon and Todd Pettengill.  The concert is the final show of the year for the “Scott & Todd in the Morning Show”. While the concert is an invitation-only event, the public can participate by supporting the Hospital in advance of the broadcast or during the Radiothon by any one of the following ways:

• Donate to Blythedale Children’s Hospital by calling 914-592-7138 ext. 304
• Listen to the WPLJ broadcast from 6 -10 am, and call 914-592-1643 to bid on the auction items or to make a gift
• Bid online at the WPLJ website  for auction items that include rock-and-roll and sports memorabilia
• Donations can also be made online by visiting www.blythedale.org
• Follow Blythedale on Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates on the live auction.

“The Annual Holiday Concert has become a wonderful tradition here at Blythedale and is always a memorable event for the children as well as our staff,” said Larry Levine, President and CEO of Blythedale Children’s Hospital. “Over the years, the concert has featured some of the country’s best-known recording artists and we are so grateful to them for donating their time and talents for this very special occasion.”

In years past, the popular fundraiser has drawn such star power as Jon Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews, Rob Thomas, John Mayer, Vanessa Williams, Cyndi Lauper, Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates, Tony Bennett, Barenaked Ladies, Jewel, Meatloaf, Pat Monahan & Band, Jason Mraz, Natalie Merchant, Meat Loaf, Elliot Yamin, Jose Feliciano, Darlene Love, Debbie Gibson, Bobby Helms and many more.

I’ve learned a great deal over the past eight months — writing columns and articles for this site, and attempting to catalyze the progress of social media in the Westchester area and beyond. One of the most important things I’ve learned is just how unpredictable things can be when one wanders into uncharted territory.

When I first got a taste of Twitter back in March, I was convinced that the free 140-character microblogging service was going to quickly turn our world of commerce on its end. I was amazed that something could be so simple and complex at the same time. I was certain that everyone else would instantly see the same vision as me.

Well, as I have documented, it wasn’t that easy. While the Twitter pioneers – of whom there are many — continue to blaze a trail, there are many more who are either unimpressed by Twitter, or actually speak of it with great disdain.

Lately, though, I’ve seen signs that we’re headed for a big shift in the right direction. The Westchester Twitter community is growing in leaps and bounds, and has attracted some of the area’s most talented, intelligent, and forward-thinking individuals. I don’t want to inflate any egos, but check out @JSKorn or @RickWolff if you’d like to see how I believe Twitter was meant to be used. Twitter (combined with other forms of social media) has provided a forum for those with a story to communicate.

Last month, more than 50 people attended the 2nd Westchester TweetUp at Mount Kisco’s POUR Cafe and Wine Bar. It was the second-straight TweetUp at POUR booked to capacity, and it was brimming with networking, business strategizing, socializing and idea sharing.

The TweetUps, which have been organized by Westchester140 (I am one of the six members – click on the link to Westchester140′s Facebook page to learn more about the group) have certainly contributed to the increasing speed of Twitter’s growth in Westchester – but it is the quality of the members of this community who really deserve credit for the transformation taking place.

Twitter users like @JSKorn, @StacyKnows, @RickWolff and @GoodDirt. Whether you agree with them or not, they are providing content worth examining. Accounts like @EverythingJulie, @PeterBarossi, @ArtbyNatalya, @LizNunan and @MichaelBalkind. You might only reply to their posts occasionally, but the content they provide adds something to your day.  There are many more, and I encourage you to mention other worthy accounts in the comments section of this blog. I will check out your all of your suggestions.

I only spend few minutes at a time on Twitter – a few times a day. It’s enough to get an idea of what some of my online friends are up to, and to benefit from the content they have decided is worthy of posting. In turn, I try to contribute to the cause by making posts that provide value to my followers.

Over the next month or so, I will find myself fully immersed in Twitter as I attempt to tackle four Twitter challenges at the same time. Follow my progress on Twitter and feel free to help me out with any ideas or suggestions you may have.

My four Twitter endeavors for the next four to six weeks are:

1) Make the 3rd Westchester TweetUp a smashing success — As a member of Westchester140, I intend to help organize the 3rd Westchester TweetUp — an event that will be held in mid to late January 2010. My personal goal is to help make the 3rd Westchester TweetUp the best yet on every level (and after the two held at Anthony Colasacco’s POUR, that is a very lofty goal). I would like to see an event that brings Twitter in Westchester into the mainstream — and paves the way for Twitter to be a potential useful tool for every individual, business and organization. Feel free to dialog with me and the other members of Westchester140 as we work toward this goal.

2) Help make the 18th Annual 95.5 WPLJ Holiday Spectacular Broadcast to Benefit Blythedale Children’s Hospital the best ever – I have volunteered to assist Blythedale Children’s Hospital (my wife Connie Cornell works for Blythedale as Director of Public Relations) with their fund-raising auction in the weeks leading up to their holiday concert December 21. The auction is already up on WPLJ’s website, and auction proceeds are to benefit @Blythedale. I will be running the live Twitter feed for the auction on the morning of the event, December 21 from 6 am to 10 am.  I have seen many of the incredible services Blythedale Children’s Hospital provides and I can assure you that Blythedale is an organization deserving community support. My goal is to use Twitter to spread the word about the auction. I would love to hear suggestions, and especially get your help telling others about the incredible work Blythedale does, and encouraging others to participate in the charity auction.

3) Highlight the activities and contributions being made in social media by Westchester-area individuals, businesses and organizations through the TwitterProfessor website — Because of some recent developments in my retail picture framing business (I relocated the business late last month and have been scrambling to get organized in my new space), I have been unable to keep up with all the great stories going on around me. I intend to catch up with these stories before January comes to a close. If you would like to share info I could use in this space, please hit me up @Cornell140.

4) Apply the social media principals I’ve learned to my business, and then share and exchange the results with others to keep the ball rolling – The best way to learn is to try things you think will work, and then evaluate. Take what works, and build on it. Share your results with others, and learn from their trials (and errors). We have an infinity of possibilities in front of us, and we are in a position to lead others in this exciting new field. It’s an amazing opportunity and a weighty responsibility. Again, please don’t hesitate to send me an @message on Twitter or a comment on this blog. You can even call me on the phone at 914-741-1203.

Please share your thoughts in the comments section, and I will continue the dialogue. Thanks for participating!

This information can be helpful as you decide who to follow on Twitter.  I looked at what Foller.me had to say about many Westchester, NY Twitter users, including my own accounts, and the information was very enlightening. Foller.me shows what you’ve been Tweeting about through the use of a word cloud, making more frequently used words more prominent.

The @Blythedale account (managed by my wife Connie Cornell) is shown below, and gives a clear picture of  how Blythedale Children’s Hospital in Valhalla, NY is using Twitter. The list of Recent Topics includes words such as help, child, Blythedale, school, volunteer, therapy, donated, safe, join and Twitpic, among others. Words used more recently appear closer to the top of the list, and words used more frequently appear larger.

Screenshot of Blythedale Twitter account as viewed by Foller.me

Close-up look at the Blythedale Twitter account through Foller.me

The screenshot above shows a list of @mentions that have been posted by the Blythedale account. @SidewalkAngels has obviously been mentioned many times, and @safekidsusa has also been the subject of multiple @messages. As with the Recent Topics list, more recent mentions show up toward the top of the list.

Foller.me also lists other facts about a Twitter account, including #Hashtags used in Tweets, number of followers and profile information. I suggest you visit Foller.me and give it a try. You might learn something about yourself and the Tweeters around you.

Twitter Professor is not affiliated with Twitter.com. Chris S. Cornell is not actually a professor, but he is helping build local Twitter communities. Follow Chris on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/ContentHarvest.  If you have questions or need help with Twitter, give Chris a call at (914) 741-1203. Feel free to add constructive comments, questions or criticisms in the comments section of this blog.

Recently, I’d been finding myself engaged in debates about the usefullness of Twitter. I guess having the audacity to register the domain name TwitterProfessor.com makes one a target of sorts.

I soon realized that there is no way to win this debate. For the naysayers, there are simply too many reasons why Twitter is a waste of time, a platform from which otherwise powerless individuals engage in meaningless shouting matches, and a place for people to list the components of this morning’s breakfast.

Diana Scimone playing with kids on a trip to Asia.

This week’s article is the result of an interview I did with a former Briarcliff Manor resident who now runs an organization dedicated to eradicating the global trafficking of children. As a child, Diana Scimone spent many hours in the back of her grandparents’ tailor shop on Bedford Road in Pleasantville. She remembers sewing doll clothes out of scraps of fabric and eating amazing food from Salto’s Delicatessen. Today, Scimone travels the globe as the Director of Born2Fly International, and she is using Twitter as a way to broadcast her message.

Born2Fly Founder and Director Diana Scimone

And what a powerful, yet heart-wrenching message it is. “Each year more than a million children are trafficked for sex or labor – including 100,000 in the United States,” says Scimone. “Some are just four years old. Human trafficking is the second-highest grossing illegal enterprise on earth, after drugs. You can sell a drug only once, but you can sell a child over and over again.”

Scimone’s mission has taken her to more than 40 countries, including Sudan, Zimbabwe, China, Singapore, Korea, and Thailand. “During my travels, I’ve seen the devastation that many of the world’s children face. I founded Born2Fly International to respond to those needs. Today our sole focus is working to stop child trafficking.”

With such an important mission, Scimone is willing to consider utilizing any form of communication that can effectively get her message out. So how does Scimone use Twitter in her efforts? Her use of Twitter is a three-pronged attack:

1) Twitter has allowed Born2Fly to connect with other non-profit organizations around the world that are also working to end child trafficking. These organizations (of which there are more than four dozen on Twitter) support each other by retweeting each other’s posts.

2) Twitter has given Born2Fly a platform from which to share information about human trafficking. As of today, Scimone’s Twitter account, @DianaScimone has 1,390 followers. “I did not know 99% of them before I joined Twitter in June of 2008,” Scimone said. “That’s a huge new audience.”

3) Through Twitter, Born2Fly has gained much-needed attention in the form of interviews and articles which have appeared in blogs, newsletters and newspapers. This attention has helped increase awareness, and will be crucial in an event Scimone has planned for September 9 of this year.

Scimone has established another Twitter account, @09_09_09, to assist in her efforts to raise money for a book she and illustrator Leah Wiedemer are creating to help children make wise choices — decisions that will help keep them away from the horrors of child trafficking. The 09_09_09 fundraising goal is to get 9,000 people to each donate $9 on September 9 of this year.

This project was just featured prominently this week in an article on Mashable.com, entitled A Guide to Crowdfunding Success, by  Brandon Mendelson. The Mashable Twitter account has nearly 1.2 million followers, and Mashable.com is one of the most respected social media authorities on the web.

Scimone is hoping that the attention she is attracting will result in the realization of her organization’s financial goals. Her ultimate goal, she says, is to do so well with her mission that her job is no longer needed. She says that Twitter couldn’t have arrived at a better time for Born2Fly.

“What I love about Twitter (is) the community,” said Scimone. “Twitter connects me with people I don’t know, but should.” She cautions that users have to invest a certain amount of time, and particularly, effort, to maximize the Twitter experience. “It’s sad to see the number of people who join Twitter, but never do anything with it after the first five tweets. You have to work it. You have to see it as a tool.”

Any Twitter user just starting out would be wise to heed Scimone’s advice. “You have to commit to being on it, tweeting regularly (more than ‘I just ate a tuna sandwich’), find and follow new tweeps, and connect with them. “You can’t just broadcast, you have to connect. Twitter is a conversation. It’s a give and take. It’s helping others – not just talking about yourself.

More About Born2Fly – During the interview with Scimone, she provided information about the her mission, and the scourge she’s working to eliminate. Rather than attempt to rewrite what she has already written, I encourage you to read her blog and watch this Born2Fly Video . If you are moved by this cause, consider learning more and seeing how you can help.

You can also learn more about Leah Wiedemer, the talented illustrator of the Born2Fly books, on her sites Back Porch Studio and Roaming Artist’s Blog. 

 Twitter Professor is not affiliated with Twitter.com. Chris S. Cornell is not actually a professor (he runs Cornell Gallery Custom Frame Shop in Pleasantville in his spare time and you can also follow him @CornellGallery), but he is interested in helping build local Twitter communities, such as @Pleasantville. If you have questions or need help with Twitter, give Chris a call at (914) 741-1203. Feel free to add constructive comments, questions or criticisms in the comments section of this blog.