What the Social Actions Twitter mashup does is make Twittering for a cause as easy as using TwitterFeed or Alltop. This brings us a huge step forward in the ways we can bring online efforts for social change into the offline world, and spread the word about the causes and charities we support.
The interface is simple (and we all know how social media users appreciate simplicity). You add your cause category (climate change, poverty, preventing cruelty to animals, whatever your cause may be). You choose an Action Type from a list of actions in a drop down menu on the simple form. These include group fundraisers, events, campaigns, pledged actions, affinity groups, volunteering, micro credit loans, petitions, and more. You then enter your Twitter information, and the mashup tweets about your cause for you.
The mashup checks once each day for new postings related to your cause and action type, then sends a tweet on your behalf that includes the phrase "Take Action" to differentiate from your normal tweeting. The actions are pulled from 24 participating cause-based social action platforms, including: Amazee, CauseCaller, BringLight, Care2PetitionSite, CharityFocus.Org, Change.Org, ChangingThePresent, Democracy in Action, Christmas Future, Delicious, Fundable, DonorsChoose.org, FirstGiving, GlobalGiving (UK and US), GiveMeaning, JustMeans, HelpALot, Idealist.org, Nabuur, Microgiving, Prax.ca, Kiva, PledgeBank, ThePoint, PincGiving, SixDegrees, Razoo, Zazingo and VolunteerMatch.
By making it easy to get the word out, the Social Actions Twitter mashup will help causes reach a growing number of people. Social Actions joins the ranks of sites like SocialVibe, another site that generates widgets and other easy ways to drive interest to a cause. Social Action has hit upon the right mix, whereas with SocialVibe you sign up on a site that works a bit like a social network, with Social Actions you don't have to sign up for anything - you just act on behalf of your cause.