Facebook App Lets You Give Gifts To Goodwill

Posted by Paul Glazowski on December 6th, 2007

Facebook is going through something of a rough patch at the moment. It’s getting heat from just about all sides for its “overreaching” Beacon advertising initiative, and as a result the site is now routinely hounded by a large number of bloggers and podcasters for, among other things, generally existing and occupying the tubes of the Web. Hey, it happens. You give people a reason to revolt, and, well, there’s a good chance they will.

Now we’ve heard the site’s founder officially deliver his very own mea culpa for the company’s behavior as of late, saying, “We simply did a bad job with this release, and I apologize for it.”

But you know what? Rather than continue on with a five-hundred-word reprimand, as many other publications of this ilk are wont to do these days, we’d rather buck convention. We’d rather talk about something we think matters a little more than spoiled end-of-year holiday surprises. Something which too puts attention on Facebook, albeit in quite a good light. Something called Causes.

An application which operates on the Facebook platform, Causes is one of those viral items people like to talk about and share with one another. Having amassed an active usership of 300,000 in short time, Causes acts as a sort of hub or router, giving anyone with a credit card the ability to connect with some 13,000 nonprofits and donate to any of 40,000 goodwill benefits.

Of course, many Facebook users in the Profy readership are likely already familiar with Causes. So why bring it up now?

Well, in general conjunction with this season of giving that is upon us, Causes has unveiled a new donation system, called Gifts from Causes, which plays on the idea of sharing small digital trinkets with friends. You know, the way people send friends and family little thumbnail graphics of smiles or animals or toys or whathaveyou for about a dollar a pop.

Only, the images available for purchase via Gifts for Causes start at $10 on the low end and go well on up to $200. And all that dough goes where you want it to go. No shady profit cuts. No sleazy money grubbing whatsoever. So if you’re looking to nab yourself some karma points (or maybe get yourself out of karmic debt), you can offer up a single Hamilton for an anti-malaria bed net for delivery to a child in need. Or a couple of cozy blankets. The list goes on.

Heck, if you’re cool with doling $200 buckaroos for little bitty image, you can even purchase an OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) XO computer for someone. Someone who likely has never been so fortunate to associate with his/her pals on Facebook. And if you play your cards right, the lucky recipient of that green-and-white delight may just accept your request to befriend him/her. That prospect alone ought to put a grin on your face (and move you to pull the plastic out of your pocket), eh?

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