Accessing Lists on New New Twitter

If you have had problems accessing your lists on Twitter since the change over to "New New Twitter", here is a temporary solution I have found. This problem only seems to impact those who use the Twitter interface, not those who use Tweetdeck, etc.

Each of your Twitter lists have their own URL. The URLS are formatted like this:
https://twitter.com/#!/yourtwittername/name-of-list

Notice that there are dashes between words on the name of your list if it is more than one word. If you type the URL of your list in your browser, you can then bookmark it.

Good luck!

Giving to Charity: A Gift to Yourself

In this last couple of days of 2011, take a few minutes to reflect back on the year and ask yourself: Did I receive a gift from a charity this year? And...did I give back to that charity?


Sometimes people don't realize that they have benefitted from the work of a nonprofit organization. When we give to charity, we often think of it as giving to others. But you have most likely received a gift from charity some time this year. You have benefitted from charity if:

• Your parents, grandparents or other family members have received services from a hospice when they were at the end of their life.


• An environmental hazard was threatening your community and it was stopped or cleaned up.


• Your child was in the hospital.


• You used data from a research study to write a paper or proposal.


• Anyone in your family has a disability or mental health issues.


• You learned about an important social or community problem.


• You, your neighbor, or someone in your family received foreclosure prevention counseling.


• You visted a museum, gallery or went to a music, dance or theatre performance.


• You enjoyed a day at a wildlife refuge or even a national park.


• You adopted a new family pet.


• You gave or received blood.


• Anyone you know has been a victim of crime or domestic violence.


• You bought anything at a thrift store.


• The legislature received testimony about an issue that impacts your life.


• You love to watch NOVA, Nature or Colorado State of Mind or Sesame Street on TV


• A senior citizen in your family received a meal at home, goes to a day program or many other things.


• A struggling child you know received tutoring.


• Someone you know received food from a food bank, or utility assistance.

Obviously, this isn't everything. There are thousands of causes. What is most important is that you understand that we are all impacted by the work of charities every single day. When we give to charity, we are giving back what we have used, in addition to helping others.

Remember the charities that helped you this year and give what you can. Charities are grateful for every single dollar they receive, so don't worry if you can't give a lot.

Happy New Year!

Colorado Still Believes in Santa

Dear Colorado:

I still believe - do you?

Colorado is a generous community of people, as proven by your incredible donations on Colorado Gives Day, Indygive and Season to Share. Not to mention all of your other donations and volunteerism that is evident on Twitter every day.

I still believe that people are basically good. And if people are not showing that goodness, at minimum they still want to be good - and we can help them get there. I believe that Coloradans care about protecting our beautiful lands. I believe that we can still lift people out of bad circumstances if we work together. I believe Colorado is a rather magical place, filled with so many different kinds of people who know how to "rally."

I believe in you, Santa Colorado. And if we continue to believe together, then 2012 will be a great year.

Wishing you the happiest of holidays filled with prosperity, friends and family.

Renee @ConnectColorado

P.S: Here's the link again for tracking Santa through NORAD

Colorado Gives BIG in 2011!!!

Dear Colorado Followers of @ConnectColorado,
On December 6, 2011, Colorado has an opportunity to GIVE BIG to support local charities through the second annual Colorado Gives Day.

Colorado Gives Day is a project by the Community First Foundation. Last year, Colorado Gives Day raised $8.7 Million for Colorado charities! Let's see if we can beat that this year!

On December 6, Go to the Colorado Gives Day website and search for your favorite charites. You can donate to several charities all at once. Your donations are multiplied by some matching funds from local businesses. This year, they have even added a fantastic incentive called Bonus Bucks. "Bonus Bucks are prizes in the amount of $1,000 each. At least once per hour on Colorado Gives Day a donor will be randomly chosen, and the nonprofit associated with the donation will receive the cash prize!"

Twitter is an extremely valuable vehicle for promoting Colorado Gives Day. And that is where you come in. I know that my followers on @ConnectColorado are very interested in supporting charities. So would you please help me out and watch for my tweets concerning #COGivesDay and be sure to RT them so that we reach thousands of Coloradans?

December 6 on @ConnectColorado will be devoted to #COGivesDay. I hope you will participate in all the excitement and tweet with me. My tweets will be excessive on that day and I hope that you will understand.

No matter what you can afford to give to your favorite charities on Colorado Gives Day, your donation will have a significant impact. Being involved in promoting the event and sharing stories about your own favorite charities that are participating will also be very helpful. Be sure to use the #COGivesDay hashtag!

Thanks everyone!

New Hashtags for ConnectColorado

Photo by me! Taken near Tarryall, CO

Dear Followers:
As I said in my previous blog post, @ConnectColorado tries to tweet positive messages or to help the Colorado community in a positive way through Twitter. I try not to tweet bad news, political news, etc. that you get way too much of anyway.

I am starting some new hashtags on @ConnectColorado, and I want to explain why.

New hashtag #1 - #COMissing = Colorado Missing Persons
Twitter is a very powerful tool and just a moment of your time could help someone to find their loved one. A couple of years ago, the son of a friend of mine went missing. He was 19 years old and had a medical condition. I learned about how difficult it was for parents of adults to get help finding their loved ones. My friend's son was murdered - all for an Xbox, but it was possible he could have been found alive with more "eyes" looking for him. That is why I want to do this. I will be using only verified resources, by the way.

New hashtag #2 - #COHistory = Colorado History
Tweets about Colorado's rich (and often fun) history have been very popular on @ConnectColorado so the hashtag will help to find them all in one place. If you have a #COHistory tweet, be sure to tell me!

New hashtag #3 - #COEvent = Colorado Events
I don't tweet about ALL types events. They have to be for community good, arts & culture, nonprofit fundraising, etc. I consider the community value of the information. But if you have an event, let me know.

Old Hashtags I have used:
In the past, I started a couple of fun hashtags:
#ToCatchaDoGooder - is to highlight good deeds done by followers. If you see a do-gooder tweet, let me know!
#OurHope4CO - is used for Our Hope for Colorado Day, which I started this year

A note about Follow Friday #FF
I really appreciate all of the Follow Friday mentions from my followers! I do need you to know, however, that I don't RT all #FF mentions. I ONLY #FF Colorado peeps, because I only follow Colorado peeps. But I do mention everyone who does #FF me.

Every day is charity day on @ConnectColorado though. If you are trying to raise money for your favorite charity, please let me know!

Thank you all for following @ConnectColorado.

Wanted: News About YOU

Dear @ConnectColorado Followers:

If you read my tweets fairly often, you may have noticed a theme. I like to tweet about the "good life" in Colorado. (And will also pitch in when there is a disaster like the fires).

There is so much bad news that we are bombarded with every day. Instead, I am working to build a Colorado community of people and organizations that inspire one another.

So, I am inviting you great followers to send me tweets about you that I can retweet. Tell me about something you have done or you are doing like:

• Did you climb a 14er recently?


• Did you volunteer at a local nonprofit?


• Are you doing a project for school kids?


• Did you build a community garden?


• Do you need support for a walk or bike-a-thon you are doing for charity?


• Is your company doing something for charity? For example, @friskboutique recently did a diaper drive for Denver Urban Ministries.


• Are you organizing a tweet-up or flash mob?


• Are you trying to help an elderly neighbor to fix their house? Do you need help with that?

You get the idea, I'm sure!

People ask me all the time to retweet business-type tweets. I really like to help my followers, but straight up business promotion is not the purpose of @ConnectColorado. However, I am happy to help if your tweet has some kind of community support aspect to it. For example, if your company is cleaning up Colfax Avenue, let me know about it!

A special note to Colorado nonprofits: Whether you realize this or not, I already follow your tweets VERY closely. If you are following me, I watch your tweets to find things to retweet. If you are not following me, I don't retweet you! (And you probably aren't reading this anyway if you aren't following me!). But, I will ALWAYS retweet things that you need to have retweeted. If I have missed an important tweet, make sure you let me know.

I just wanted followers to know what I want to retweet. If you have retweeted me in the past, I put you on my Colorado Interacters lists, and I look at those lists to find great news about you that I can retweet. But again, if I missed something important, please let me know!

Thanks! Send me your tweets @ConnectColorado - not DM's. Be sure to include LINKS if it is something that people need more information about or if donations are involved! Give me all the info people want to know.

Happy tweeting Colorado!

Colorado Twitter Users Give Thumbs Up to Local Charities

Followers of @ConnectColorado recently gave testimonials about their favorite Colorado charities. The purpose of gathering this information is to help others to find reasons to support local charities, through the experiences of others. Here's what they had to say:

Follower @futurismguy recommends The Gathering Place (@TGPDenver ). He says he supports them because "1. They do a great job by all accounts. 2. They have the Enterprise Zone tax credit. 3. I've noticed that politically conservative men often have a distaste for helping women in need. This disgusts me and makes me want to do the opposite."

Follower @2whlfun recommends Trips for Kids Denver/Boulder (@Tfkdenver ) because TFK connects over 1,000 underserved youngsters to cycling and the great outdoors each year.

Follower @indygive recommends Citizens Project (@citizensproject) because, "They work toward equality in the city of Colorado Springs and educating the public on why it's important."

An employee of Imagine! (@ImagineCOinfo) in Lafayette recommends the organization in saying "I've worked at Imagine! for 28 years and have seen first hand the impact that Imagine!'s services have had on people with developmental disabilities to support them to be successful citizens. There are thousands of good organizations in Colorado however, and I cheerfully support others too."

Follower @jhamps recommends Boulder County CareConnect (@CareConnectboco). She says, "CareConnect is a life-line for older adults and adults with disabilities in Boulder County. Many clients do not have loved ones nearby to help with everyday tasks that most of us take for granted. By providing volunteers to deliver groceries, drive clients to medical appointments and perform minor home repairs CareConnect allows members of our community the opportunity to remain independent and in their own homes for as long as possible."

Follower @alainagreen24 recommends Jewish Family Services (@JFS_Colo)
She says, "I'm biased because I work there, but it is a great organization because it helps more than 23,000 people each year from all faiths, incomes, races, etc. at difficult times in their lives!"

Follower @FireBug501 recommends Women's Resource Center in Larimer County (@WRC4Larimer) , "Because of the impact they have on their community, helping women pay for early detection of breast and cervical cancers."

Follower @Cactus_Mike recommends Big City Mountaineers (@bigcitymtneers) saying, "Having volunteered with BCM, I have had the joy of witnessing the transformative power of nature on the lives of young adults. This is a fantastic organization that enriches lives, broadens horizons and instills critical life skills."

Follower @lauralje recommends Mission of Mercy (@onechildmatters). She says, "Because their works makes a drastic difference in the lives of children."

Follower @clkinkel recommends Denver Hospice (@DenverHospice). "I respect and admire the mission of the Denver Hospice to provide comfort, compassion, and expertise to not only patients in their care but their families and community as well. I believe the Hospice embodies a philosophy of living and embracing each day we are given."

Follower @WestCOCongress recommends the Gill Foundation (@Gillfoundation) because of their "commitment to building progressive infrastructure, appreciation for diversity, and stewardship of community."

Follower @cpat71 recommends Water for People (@waterforpeople). "They help communities in developing countries to build and maintain infrastructure for clean, safe drinking water and sanitation. A huge need, which has far-reaching effects on improving every aspect of life."

Follower @lindseykatapski recommends Center for Native Ecosystems (@NativeEco) because, "They do a fantastic job of connecting, protecting, and restoring wildlife and wild lands in the Southern Rockies!"

Follower @daviescreative recommends Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep (@nilmdtsHQ). He says, "They provide an amazingly important service completely free, and all of the service providers (I'm one) donate their time and expenses."

An anonymous person recommends Operation Homefront of Colorado (@OHColorado) because, "It supports our Military!"

Follower @AlphaOmegaAcct recommends Lights for Life (@LightsforLife ) She says, "They recycle Christmas lights to support kids with cancer - I cant think of a better use for Christmas."

Follower @flatlanderesque volunteers for and recommends Metro Denver Partners (@DenverPartners).

Follower @CBix4 recommends OpenWorld Learning (@OpenWorld_Learn). He says, "It is the best after-school program in DPS. They focus on a whole-child approach using technology as a tool to get kids excited about learning."

Follower @eedesign recommends Womens Bean Project (@womensbean ). She says, "Women's Bean Project teaches skills to break the cycle of poverty. Bean mixes are DELICIOUS! For 15+ years we've enjoyed those mixes!"

Follower @dana_rinder recommends Junior League of Denver (@jldenver ) because they provide great training!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the survey! Please Retweet this post and let your charities know they were highlighted!