Hi everyone! This semester my first blog post will be short and sweet, at least compared to last semester. Those of you who were in PAFF 551 last semester may remember that the main – in fact, only – reason I follow individuals on twitter is to keep up with a few of my favorite professional cyclists, since American TV coverage of their races is limited, at best. Last week, the Santos Tour Down Under was held in Australia and was Lance Armstrong’s last international race. After completion of the tour, Lance and Robbie McEwen (an Australian rider on the American RadioShack Team) organized a “twitter ride” to benefit the Queensland flood victims. The event ended up raising AU$125,000 (US$124,000) and all began on twitter, being organized in a matter of days. It definitely proves that using social media effectively can produce solid results.

Here is a link to an article I found:

http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/Lance-Armstrong-raises-125-thousand-dollars-with-Twitter-ride-for-Australian-flood-victims-012311