3for5 at TEDxDetroit!

David and Anthony were very fortunate to have the opportunity to attend and exhibit on behalf of 3for5 at the first TED conference held in Detroit on October 21st!

TED is a small non-profit devoted to "Ideas Worth Spreading." It started out in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. It has since become a global movement! There's tons of great video from TED's throughout the years at: http://www.ted.com.

The TEDxDetroit event was truly awesome and was organized in large part by Charlie Wollborg at Curve Detroit. Everyone was very excited about 3for5 and we're happy that so many TED attendants took an interest in the 3for5 Movement for clean water.

The next TED Michigan event will be somewhere on the Western part of the state (we're guessing Ann Arbor) so stay tuned!

What happens in Vegas...

Last week we had the honor and privilege of attending the 2009 Blogworld & New Media Expo in Las Vegas.

We made it to Blogworld (the only industry-wide conference and trade show for blogging and new media) by placing in the Top 10 of the NameYourCause.com contest. Thanks to everyone who voted for and supported us!

Blogworld was a great experience. We had the chance to learn about many new (and some not so new) aspects of online media, especially as they relate to non-profits.

Community/Cause Sessions.
On Thursday we attended an entire day of educational sessions relating to "Causes and Community". Cause leaders and nonprofit experts shared their stories about successful non-profit campaigns. Examples included Twestival, Stand Up to Cancer, Blame Drew's Cancer, and Live Earth. Thanks to the Kompolt team for putting this together!

The eBay/PayPal Pavilion
On Friday, 3for5 was given a table at the eBay/PayPal pavilion on the conference floor. This was prime space at the convention, and the big 3for5 sign was one of the first things people saw as they entered the exhibit space!

We met lots of interesting people, demoed the 3for5 Network Browser, and spoke with many people about clean water. Overall, it felt great to be generating awareness for such an important cause and it was amazing to be associated with two of the biggest brands in the world while doing it: eBay & PayPal!

Our New Charity Friends
We weren't the only charity represented at Blogworld. In fact, there were 9 more great non-profits that participated in the Nameyourcause competition, each of which were co-located in the eBay/PayPal space throughout the Blogworld expo.

This was perhaps one of the most enjoyable aspects of Blogworld: To meet people who are dedicating their lives to great causes in order to help others and improve our world. We encourage you to check out each of these charities and learn more about their causes.

• Meaghan, Bryan, Dominique & Laura (Spirit Jump) (Winners of the Charity Smackdown! Congratulations!)
• Noland and Brian (Heifer Portland)
• Rocky and Jeff (Mother's Fighting for Others)
• Vickie, Darin & Lisa (Surfrider)
• Jay and Melissa (Alex's Lemonade)
• Allison and Zainab (LAs BEST)
• Jon (Best Friends Animal Society)
• Sally (Stepwise)
• Canine Companions for Independence

We're Off to Blogworld!

The 3for5 team is heading off to Las Vegas for Blogworld to talk about clean water and the 3for5 Movement!

If you'll be there, too, then come see us in the eBay/PayPal pavillion on Friday, October 16th. We'll be talking clean water and social fundraising from 10:30am to 1:30pm.

Otherwise, send us a tweet (@3for5) if you'd like to meet-up and learn more about 3for5, clean water, sanitation, hygiene, and more!

New Updates to the 3for5 Network Browser

Haven't browsed around your 3for5 Network lately?

Well give it another go, because we've made some updates to the Network Browser to help you get around and be more productive when it comes to helping spread the word about clean water.

New Facebook & Twitter Buttons
We've added Facebook and Twitter buttons on your 3for5.org My-Network page so you can tell all your friends that you just donated for clean water. Plus, when you invite a new friend to participate with you on 3for5, you can share that as well.

3for5 Friends Handout
We've received a lot of feedback wondering if we could produce something that droplets could "give" to their friends when they sit down and discuss 3for5, clean water, and making a difference in a personal way. Our first response is the "3for5 Friends Handout", which can be found on the 'Add a Friend' popup in the NetworkBrowser. For posterity, you can also link directly to that document here.

Network-Browser Tutorial Video
To help you make the most of the updated 3for5 Network Browser, we've created a new screen-cast that guides you through some of the most important features of the 3for5.org Network Browser. Watch and enjoy here (and feel free to let us know if you think our narrator sounds like the guy who speaks in the PBS FrontLine videos).

New Tools Section
You'll notice a new rectangle at the bottom of the Network Browser that says, "Rollover Here for Helpful Tools". Inside this box are convenient links to the 3for5 Friends Handout, the Network-Browser tutorial video, and the 3for5 support page.

Enjoy!

3for5 Reaches 193 droplets and $2,000 for Clean Water!

193 reasons to get excited! We've just broken the $2,000 donation barrier, and have just under 200 droplets supporting 3for5's vision to give clean water to millions of people in need in the developing world.

This might seem like small potatoes when our ultimate goal is to get 20 million people on board, but the beauty of 3for5 is just that: you don't have to be Oprah or Bono to make a global splash; regular people can do it too, and perhaps on an even greater scale.

Why? Because 3for5 offers a way for the common citizen to take on some of the world's most pressing problems by getting connected to a cause and involving personal friends in the process.

Over the next several weeks, these 193 droplets will each invite 3 friends, who will also invite 3 friends, and so on. After only 15 iterations of this, we'll be well on our way to our goal of uniting a community of 20 million people for clean water!

Let's get moving!

Will you help?