I want to point anyone who subscribes to this blog over to the live blog for today’s CrisisCamp Miami event. It’s awesome how many people have showed up here at The Miami Herald building to build technical relief projects to aid non-government organizations working in Haiti. You can follow the event, which is happening all over the world in different cities, by searching for hashtag #ccHaiti on Twitter or on our live blog on the Web site.

CrisisCamp Haiti Introduction, Miami from Lori Todd on Vimeo.

There is no doubt about the amount of good that has been done in the aftermath of Tuesday’s devastating earthquake in Haiti as a result of social media. Text campaigns to raise funds, alerting rescuers to buried survivors and allowing Haitians to search for missing loved ones only scratches the surface. The outpouring of support and eagerness to help is reminiscent of the weeks following the 9/11 attacks.

But this is bigger.

With a death toll that may soon hit the hundreds of thousands in a place that was already ravaged by poverty and violence to begin with, nobody knows yet how large the scale of this disaster will reach.

In light of these events it would seem obvious that this wouldn’t be an appropriate opportunity to try and bait a mass of new Twitter followers, but apparently that isn’t obvious to everyone. Take Cleveland Browns receiver Donte Stallworth for example:

Sorry Donte.  I don’t believe your intentions were bad. In fact, I’m a huge cheerleader for people who have been graced with high-paying careers who make a point to give to those in need in times of crisis.  I just want to give you some outside perspective here.

We all know NFL athletes make the big bucks. Big enough bucks to be able to negotiate a settlement out of court last year after accidentally killing a pedestrian in Miami Beach. You clearly don’t need Twitter followers to be able to write a check. I understand that this may have been an oversight in your efforts to raise funds, but the nature of this emergency makes your quest for followers seem petty. The doctors in Haiti who need the supplies to help the dying could care less about your follower count, but they could certainly use the monetary donations to buy what they need to save more lives. Why waste time tied up in Twitter?

Yes, use Twitter to ask your followers to donate if they can. Yes, use Twitter to organize relief efforts. But please, don’t play follower games during tragedies. Things like that need to be left out of the equation altogether.

How you can help

It’s December 6. You’re in a rut. You stuffed yourself with turkey two weeks ago and have been counting down the days all year until Christmas.  The spirit of the holidays is buzzing through the air, but you just can’t feel it in your bones. You’re feeling more like the Grinch than a jolly Christmas elf.  Time is running out.  Here are five simple sure-fire ways to get visions of sugarplums dancing in your head in no time.

1. Change your phone wallpaper.

You use your mobile phone all day, so a little holiday reminder every time you unlock it is like transmitting subliminal Christmas messages into your brain.  Use a festive photo or a wallpaper you find online. Better yet, why don’t you Christmasfy yourself and use that. Bonus points for changing your ringtone to “Deck the Halls” or “Jingle Bells.” Super extra bonus points for changing your ringtone to the lesser-known classics, “Mele Kalikimaka” or Love, Actually’s “Christmas is All Around.”

2.  Get a tree. Get a pine candle. Get some tree branches.

Generally speaking, you need *the* scent. Pine, cinnamon, gingerbread, mistletoe; It really doesn’t matter. If you’re being frugal (and who isn’t these days?), go down to the hardware store and pick up some of the scrap branches that tree-cutters leave on the floor and deck your halls with them. Grab some of the sawed-off stumps from the tree lot and throw them in a pot of simmering water on your stove. Glade has a relatively cheap holiday candle collection (forget the expensive Yankee variety) if the thought of bringing nature into your home freaks you out. Nothing says holiday spirit like aromas wafting through the air.

3.  Crank up the Christmas music. All the time.

For the next 19 days, I command you to put all other playlists aside and commit fully to non-stop holiday tunes.  It’s December, for goodness sake, and if you are reading this then you are already desperate.  You better watch out. You better not cry. You better tickle your ears with a little “Holly Jolly Christmas” because Santa Claus is coming to town, ya know. Slacker Radio has 11, yes 11, holiday stations of varying genres to choose from (Is there anything more awesome than a ‘Dysfunctional Holiday’ station? I think not). My tweeps helped compile this playlist of their favorite holiday tunes on Grooveshark which is definitely worth a listen. Or twelve. One for every day of Christmas.

4. Go to the mall.

The perfect solution for those who are too lazy to decorate their own place, a visit to the mall is an instant dose of cheer. Even if you have to fight a 60-year-old lady for a parking spot, navigate through stroller after stroller and argue with the teenage cashier at the Gap to get the extra 20% off from the coupon you found on the floor of the food court, it will be worth it. The mall is where all of the elements come together. Gifts, lights, sounds, smells, music and, of course, Santa Claus himself. You’re in the Big Man’s territory now. He’s got his eye on you.

Aventura Mall (photo courtesy of @Ines)

5. Get out the Christmas DVDs.

This should go without saying.  Instead of going out with friends to the bar in the cold and blowing cash you should be spending on gifts anyway, you need Holiday Movie Night. Every night. Everyone has their favorites.  Whether you prefer the classics like White Christmas or the raunchy contemporaries like Bad Santa, the spirit-enabling capabilities are strong with movies. Here is my list of the lists of the best Christmas movies. Time to load up your Netflix queue!

Chicago Tribune – Top 25 Christmas Movies

Rotten Tomatoes – Guide to the Best Christmas Movies

Moviefone – Best Holiday Movies

KCPNews – Movies to Get You in the Spirit

Huffington Post – Funniest Christmas movies of all time

Two of my personal favorites:

Love, Actually

Bad Santa (NSFW)

For our non-Christmas-celebrating-friends, I hope you can offer suggestions on surviving the Christmas season and getting into the spirit of your own holidays!

As the Online News Association annual conference unfolded last weekend, my coworkers and I were eagerly watching and griping at the same time. It would have been awesome to be there.

As tightly scheduled, financially struggling journalists, these big industry conferences seem more and more out of reach to attend but they also offer the greatest payoff in an industry where networking and skill sharpening is nearly the only way to stay afloat.

Lori Todd and I coauthored a blog post about how the expensive cost associated with these beneficial industry events ends up hurting several areas of our business in the long run, in ways that industry leaders may or may not realize. A tidbit:

Expensive conferences put out-of-work journalists at an even greater disadvantage. Attending industry events and keeping skill sets up-to-date are all we can rely on to market ourselves in a suddenly flooded field of applicants. Attending a conference is resume material. Following a conference online is not.

The rest of the post is over at Lori Todd’s blog. We’d love to hear feedback on other ways or ideas to establish more affordable training and networking opportunities that don’t necessarily involve staying connected through social media. Another 10,000 Words post from Mark Luckie stresses the importance of real-life relationships. I couldn’t agree more, I just wish they were more affordable.

Find us on Twitter: @malcolli, @loritodd. Let’s strike up a conversation.

You already know me. Lori Todd graduated in 2006 from the University of Miami and has worked at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Austin American-Statesman before returning to the Miami Herald as a news page designer in September 2008.

We know it’s been about two months since our first #HeraldTweetup (which totally rocked because of all of you lovely people) and South Florida is getting antsy. In case you haven’t heard, we’ve set a date, so you should save it! Set a reminder alert on your cell phone and RSVP on our twtvite for Thursday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. at Crazy Pianos (@CrazyPianosMIA) in Coconut Grove. The Miami Herald staff of reporters, bloggers, designers, editors, producers and tweeters are looking forward to happy hour with our followers on Twitter.

We ask that you RSVP so we can get an estimate of how many people to expect. We will be announcing some very exciting events that the Herald is planning and there will be plenty of people on hand to demo our new Dolphins ‘09 iPhone app if you want to check it out (come find me or @loritodd and we’ll show it off).  Hope to see you there!